Review: Judy Blume Forever

This documentary follows the story of famed author Judy Blume, who found her fame writing children's books in the 70's, then expanded to both young adult and adult novels. 

Judy Blume was essential for me as a girl growing up in the 90's. Thankfully, my school didn't ban her books. My favorite was Blubber. I no longer have my original copy, I settled for a reprint that I bought again as an adult. When I saw someone holding the copy that I had in the film, I actually felt jealous. That's how attached to this book I am. Deenie was another one that I adored. It was the first time I heard someone talk about masturbation as a normal thing and not a joke. You have to understand that for me as a preteen at that time, I had American Pie and Slums of Beverly Hills as my guide for that. And it's not even a main plot point in the book, it's just something that happens and that was eye opening for me.

And like my Judy Blume story, you'll hear plenty others in the film, as well as from Judy herself and some of her many, many pen pals. That was the thing that got me really emotional about this documentary. The thought of all these young girls writing to Judy because they didn't feel they could talk to anyone else. Her writing was that eye opening for them. I loved that. I love that she kept boxes of these letters.

If you're familiar with Judy and her work, this documentary is nothing but love. If you've never read anything from her, I still highly recommend it because it's very well rounded and pure. The bar is set so high for documentaries this year going forward.

Judy Blume Forever indeed.

Grade: A