Anybody else go to Blumesday on Saturday night? Seven local authors read excerpts from their favorite Judy Blume books, including Superfudge, Forever, and, of course, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.

One of the best moments was in Courtenay Hameister’s introduction to Margaret, when she reminded the audience that the book actually is about religion, not just periods and bra straps. I had the same reaction upon rereading it recently: Holy shit, this book is about a girl in the grips of an existential crisis.

I also really enjoyed Frayn Masters’ reading from Forever: She told us that as a kid her copy of the book had all the “important parts” highlighted, so she gave us the abridged version: “Page 14: I saw my reflection in his glasses,” and so on through the introduction of Ralph the Penis and the rest of it.

I found Forever at a garage sale when I was ten and immediately read it twice in a row. After committing as much of it to memory as possible, I panicked, ripped up the book, and hid the pieces at the very bottom of the garbage can so my parents wouldn't find it. I don't know why I freaked out so hardcore. I'm not Catholic or anything. I think I'd just never encountered anything like it before.

Here's a great quote about the book from a recent Newsweek interview:

NEWSWEEK: What led you to write “Forever”? Judy Blume: At the time I wrote “Forever,” I had a 14-year-old daughter, and she was reading a lot of books about young love. But in every book, when a girl succumbed to having sex with her boyfriend, she would be punished with an unwanted pregnancy, a grisly abortion sometimes leading to her death, or she would be sent away by her family. The boys in these books had no feelings and took no responsibility. My daughter said to me, "Couldn't there be a book about two nice kids who have sex and no one dies?" I hated the idea of feeding young people the idea that sex is linked to punishment. Sexuality is a healthy, normal, and natural part of life. And in real life, boys can be hurt, too. And so, I decided to write “Forever.”

What a badass, right? I'd forgotten, too, how funny some of her writing is—Erin Ergenbright's selection from Superfudge cracked my shit up. As soon as I finish rereading the Harry Potter books I think it's time to move on to a reread of the Blume catalogue (I've also been trying to track down some Christopher Pike—the Final Friends trilogy in particular, if anybody has any leads).