I've recently been revisiting Blumes work, and something that is just consistently holding them back for me (even if I remembering loving the book as a kid) is the constant fatphobia. I didn't remember it being so bad in this one but at one point it just ramps up and develops a really shitty narrative on 12-13 year-old girls bodies. Like, part of the "happy ever after" aspect is tied to Stephanie losing weight she gained? Her mom sends her with a boiled egg and carrots for lunch while trying to make her do exercise videos? Honestly the other topics and discussions in here are pretty solid, but I definitely wouldn't love putting this in the hands of the target age reader because of the body image aspects. ( )

Friendship

Judy Blume is the teen whisperer. Personally, I would have been much worse off in my early teen years if I had not had the comforting voice and guidance of the characters that she brought into existence. Stephanie Hirsch is just entering junior high school with her best friend Rachel. These two have grown up together and know each other inside and out. When Stephanie meets Alison on the eve of the first day of school, she realizes that she can make room in her life for more than one friend. We get to walk through the 7th grade school year with Steph, Rachel, Alison and their families as they deal with first crushes, first periods, divorce, friendship ups and downs, secrets, and betrayals. This book reads like your own 7th grade best friend is telling you about their days in the halls of their junior high. It is a book that I have come back to again and again in my life, just so I can feel the hug of familiar characters and experiences.

While it is rather dated in so many ways, the themes Blume covers are still relevant today. ( )

This book and its followup, Here's To You Rachel Robinson are the only two Young Adult books by Judy Blume that I had not read as a young adult (they were published after my time). I saw them both at a Free Little Library and thought, why not?

It's good, but I don't know if I'm missing something reading it for the first time as an adult; some small essence of teen that can be recalled but not brought up fresh, or if this just isn't as good as Blume's other YA books. I enjoyed it but it failed to click with me on any deep level.

The girls' friendship is flawed from the beginning; secret keeping is a big part of the plot here, but of all the secrets kept and revealed, the biggest one
that Rachel knew about Steph's parents' separation before she did
was never confronted or discussed. How do you know something like that and not bring it up with your friend? Keeping secrets about your own self is your prerogative, but keeping secrets that affect your bff seems inexcusable.

Who knows though, I might have missed some subtle hint that Steph knew and was just not facing it. Or maybe that just isn't a big deal to teens and I don't remember that far back as clearly as I'd like to. Either way, it was still a good read, even if it wasn't a classic Blume. ( )