Forever... (novel)

1975 novel by Judy Blume
the Judy Blume novel

Forever is a 1975 novel by Judy Blume dealing with teenage sexuality. Because of the novel's content it has been the frequent target of censorship and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000 at number seven. The three ellipsis points at the end of the title are part of the title, and relate to the central theme of the novel.

In the town of Westfield, New Jersey, a high school senior, Katherine, finds herself strongly attracted to Michael, a boy she meets at a New Year's party. As their relationship unfolds, the issue of sex comes up more as an emotional and health issue than as a moral one. Both of them are aware that physical intimacy is both common and complicated. Their relationship progresses slowly as they begin to go on dates and trips together; they are accompanied on various meetings by Katherine's friend, Erica, who has known Katherine since the 9th grade and believes that sex is a physical act and not very romantic, and believes Katherine should "just get it out of the way." Erica and Katherine are also joined by Michael's friend Artie, who gets together with Erica. Katherine is reluctant, cautious about intercourse. When Michael is fondling her inside her panties for the first time, she stops him. Even though he says they can satisfy each other without the whole thing (actual intercourse), she stops his fondling. Then Katherine and Michael go on a skiing trip, where they plan to have sex, but Katherine has her period, and they are disappointed. Gradually, in successive times together during the skiing trip, alone in Katherine's bedroom, their intimacy increases. Katherine takes off her nightie, and Michael removes his pyjama top. They lie together, kissing, with their bodies moving against each other until Katherine has an orgasm. Now she decides to satisfy him, and asks him to show her what to do. Michael teaches Katherine how to hold his penis (nicknamed "Ralph") and how to rub it correctly, stroking rhythmically, until he ejaculates. (The book explains that Michael shows Katherine "how to hold him, [moving her] hand up and down according to his rhythm. Soon Michael moaned and [she] felt him come — a pulsating feeling, a throbbing, like the books said — then wetness. Some of it got on [her] hand but [she] didn’t let go of Ralph.") Their growing intimacy continues, including mutual masturbation. Days later, when Katherine and Michael do have sex (penetrative intercourse) with an unlubricated condom, on Michael's sister's living room floor in her apartment, she is not physically satisfied, but they are sure it seals a love that will be "forever". A few weeks later, after starting to use the birth control "pill", following her grandmother's frank advice, Katherine reaches orgasm when she and Michael are having sex. They both fall asleep briefly after Michael comes too quickly, and he is able to last longer when he wakes. They talk about this, Katherine saying how close she now feels to Michael. And then they shower together. A few days later Katherine has two orgasms during intercourse when he lies on his back, and she straddles him and can control their actions. Michael buys Katherine a necklace for her birthday that says "Katherine" on one side and "Forever Michael" on the other. That summer, both sets of parents make plans that will take Katherine and Michael to two different states. Katherine finds herself aware of the limitations of the relationship and is ultimately attracted to a tennis instructor, Theo, who is older than Michael. Theo calls her Kat, even though she is at first highly irritated with the nickname. Katherine tries to ignore the sexual tension between herself and Theo, but when she is stricken with grief on the death of her grandfather, Theo is the first person she turns to. They kiss, and Theo is the first to pull away. After Katherine is unable to answer Michael's next letters, he shows up at her camp, where his first sight of Katherine is her and Theo hand in hand. At a motel room later that night, Katherine is unresponsive, and Michael knows, without her admitting it, that she is involved with someone else. She gives back the necklace, and he drives off in a near rage. The book ends with one last chance meeting between Michael and Katherine, in which Katherine thinks, and tries to say with her eyes, that she does not regret the relationship, but she's not ready for "forever". At home, Katherine's mother tells her, "Theo called."

Forever has frequently been banned in schools and libraries on due to its detailed depictions of sexual intercourse, and because the protagonist, Katherine, uses birth control. Criticism of the novel often comes from religious groups and pro abstinence groups who consider the use of 'the pill' unsuitable. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom started tracking the most banned and challenged books in the United States in the 1990s and found that Forever landed in the top 100 banned and challenged books from 1990 1999 (7th), as well as from 2000 2009 (16th). In 2005, the book was the second most banned and challenged book in the United States.

The book was adapted for American television in 1978, featuring Stephanie Zimbalist as Katherine and Dean Butler as Michael. In June 2004, the Sacred Fools Theater Company performed a comic adaption of Forever for their Get Lit! series. In November 2022, Netflix announced that it had commissioned a television series adaptation, with Mara Brock Akil serving as showrunner and executive producer under her overall deal.