Module 15: Forever

Title: Forever

Author: Judy Blume

Summary:
This story is about some teenagers who are in the last year of their high school. They're experiencing friendship as they will be graduating soon and now they are planning to attend parties and meeting kids from other schools. Kathryn and Erica are friends who attended a New Years party at Sybil's house with other kids. It was at this party that Kathryn met a boy name Michael Wagner who was from another school and they became friends. Although Kathryn wasn't interested at Michael in the beginning but later went out to dinner and met at special places which brought them closer. They started seeing each other which then led to  dating, finally they became boyfriend and girlfriend and decided that they will always be together forever. Michael straight up front asked Kathryn if he could kiss her, and as their friendship grew Michael wanted to get closer and started touching her in places that she would never thought of. Kathryn had to pull herself away most of the time and that made Michael felt uneasy. Michael started to slow down as he didn't want Kathryn to think that it was the only thing he was after, making love. Each day they would meet and go out to dinner, he would kiss and touch her in ways that she started to want more than just kissing. Michael would always make his moves, and Kathryn felt that maybe should just do it with him. Then one night as they lay next to each other, Michael started removing his clothes and hers, and for the first time she saw his private part and touched it. After that night, they couldn't stay away from the other. Michael would use his sister's apartment or they would go to Kathryn's house after they met for dinner and have each other. One day Kathryn was told by her mother that she was hired to work at the camp. Although Kathryn tried her best not to go, she ended up going and that's where she met Theo, one of the workers at the camp. Her feelings started changing and although she loved Michael, she felt different. At the end, all of the plans that she had made with Michael were postponed, as she was sure she was falling in love with someone else. In discussing her feelings with Michael, there was no way that he could change Kathryn's mind in coming back to him so they decided to break up. Kathryn felt that maybe love wasn't only about making love, but caring for the other individuals feelings that made her decide to leave Michael and stay with Theo.

Biography:
Blume, Judy (1975). Forever. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

My Impression:
I was very surprise when I read this book as I didn't expect this type of genre and the language that was used. I enjoyed the reading and I felt that it could be very useful for older students like high school or young adults. I believe that its a very important subject and it would be difficult for parents to except this type of reading material to be on the library collection. I feel that the author is an individual that is not afraid to express her opinions, and she's very open minded. I would recommend this book as we are given that  choice to choose anything that you would want to read. It would not sit well with parents if they knew that it was in a collection in the elementary schools. Sometimes there are parents who have the hardest time explaining an important issue like this one, so having books can assist in explaining what is the best thing to do when it comes to these types of issues.

Professional Reviews:

Professional Reviews Forever...

Booklist ( October 15, 1988; 9780027110302 )

Katherine and Michael's romance progresses rapidly from kissing to sexual intercourse after Katherine gets the Pill-- but will their love last forever?

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission. Review retrieve from:  Bowker Books in Print Use in Library: This book will be used in the library as a discussion topic. I will not use this book as a librarian in the elementary school, but in the high school, I will definitely ask the students about their opinions on the matter of sexuality. I will seek the principals advice if it's alright to have a discussion about this issue as I know students might not want to talk about these type of topics. Image retrieve from:   https://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=568&q=the+book+%22forvever%22&oq=the+book+%22forvever%22&gs_l=img.12...4084.22755.0.27224.25.14.0.11.0.0.389.3211.1j5j6j2.14.0...0.0...1ac.1.wAZbaUiIUfc