Judy Blume for adults, again

May 19, 2015 8:05 AM

She had, however, uncovered what she insisted would be her last adult novel. And she had discovered something else: The '50s were not that boring; there were currents running through the time that intrigued her after all. "All of these things that were going on underneath that the children didn't know, now, as an adult, I can know," she said, and smiled with the power of it. "Or I can make it up."

Judy Blume, the author you grew up with, whose books have consistently made the American Library Association's list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books and one of the most frequently censored authors in America, is about to publish a new novel for adults (NYT).
posted by Melismata (12 comments total)

Love her work. Thank you for the pick-me-up.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 8:15 AM on May 19, 2015

When I was in Jr High there was a slightly older kid who had checked Blume's Wifey out of the public library and would regale / shock / amuse / arouse anyone he could interest with the smutty bits of that one from this author known to us from the YA books (including of course Forever). As I recall they were very smutty, but then I was 11.
posted by chavenet at 8:17 AM on May 19, 2015 [4 favorites]

Places I Never Meant to Be is a good anthology of challenged YA authors assembled by Judy Blume.
posted by dr_dank at 8:51 AM on May 19, 2015

I loved that NYT article! Really amazing peek into a writer's creative process (which profiles often don't accomplish). Also, her marriage sounds really healthy and enviable.
posted by Juliet Banana at 10:02 AM on May 19, 2015

Damn, I didn't know she was still cranking them out or even breathing air. ARE YOU THERE JUDY, ITS ME, O. LAWLESS: THAT THING WITH THE SANITARY BELTS, I HEAR YOU GOT THE MEMO. Also and flensing and teenage drinking. And roughage. YOU TOOK US WEIRD PLACES, AUNT JUDY.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 10:22 AM on May 19, 2015 [5 favorites]

chavenet, I found Wifey at a library book sale around eighth grade and thought, "Judy Blume! I've never heard of this one!"

It lived under my mattress pretty soon after that.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:35 PM on May 19, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wifey is what you graduate to after Forever.

Then, as a bitter spinster, you get resentful that Sandy really doesn't know "how good she has it."
posted by sockerpup at 2:07 PM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's non-controversial and all, but I discovered today that there were two later Fudge books I'd never heard of, and am considering tracking them down.
posted by JHarris at 2:59 PM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

I really hope the title is Who Do You Talk To About Pussy?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 4:01 PM on May 19, 2015

I gleefully shared this post to Facebook and a friend pointed out the Judy Blume will be at the Toronto Reference Library in June. I briefly entertained the idea of going - and then realized that I wouldn't hear, or see, anything that happened because I would absolutely be one of those people who "burst into tears, as if reuniting with someone they had not known they missed."

Judy Blume was the voice of my childhood, absolutely. I'm grateful.
posted by VioletU at 5:24 PM on May 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

I love her, though has she ever spoken about her grandson who attacked & raped a 17 yr old girl at the family home in Martha's Vineyard? I heard, as a kid, he was the inspiration for the Fudge character.

I've been worried she's going to defend his behavior.
posted by discopolo at 7:00 PM on May 19, 2015

Ok, after this thread I had to go read Wifey. I really found the unexamined racism very interesting. Unexamined from the character's perspective, I mean. You can tell that Judy is trying to say something. For instance, during a scene at the club where the characters are talking about black people she casually notes that the waiter, who has been standing there the whole time, is black. It makes the reader cringe, but there is no evidence that the characters have any cognitive dissonance at all.
posted by domo at 2:03 PM on June 10, 2015 [1 favorite]