Forever... by Judy Blume

Zero to Well-Read

Riot New Media Group, Inc.

Arts, Books, Society & Culture

4.7 • 837 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You never forget your first. Rebecca and Jeff revisit Judy Blume's classic young adult novel about first love, losing your virginity, and the thrills and fears of growing up. They discuss what made Forever... radical in 1975 and why it's still being banned and challenged today, what's timeless and what hasn't aged so well, and why every teenager should read a book like this. Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content. Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Email us: zerotowellread@bookriot.com Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read! Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This season of zero to well-read is presented by thriftbooks.com where you can find new used books,
0:07.6	more than 19 million of a 19 million account including games, music, and more.
0:13.6	I'm going to shout out something I found just now on thriftbooks.com.
0:17.1	It's the Judy Bloom Teen Collection, a box set.
0:20.4	It includes, Are You There, God, It's Me, Margaret, Deanie, Forever. Then again, maybe I won't. And Tiger Eyes, sticker price, full retail new of 5899. You get it right now new for 4075. That's a good deal for a teen in your life. If you're looking for forever itself, there are 32 editions available
0:38.4	right now. The lowest price one I see is a paperback in very good condition for five bucks,
0:44.3	but there's all kinds of additions here. There have been so many coverage. You can kind of
0:47.8	pick the one you like the best. Thanks so much to Thriftbooks.com for sponsoring this season
0:53.7	of Zero to Well Red.
0:55.4	Hey, everybody, Jeff here. Just a quick word before we get into the regular episode.
0:59.6	Listen, I don't know what was going with Mike. I don't sound that good. I think it was coming in the wrong thing.
1:04.3	I'm not sure. Did the best I could to clean it up. It is what it is this time. So sorry.
1:10.1	Hope you will still stick around for our
1:11.5	discussion of Forever by Judy Bloom, but just wanted to give a heads up. Okay, here we go. Let's get on
1:16.3	with the show. You're listening to Zero to Well Read, a podcast with everything you need to know
1:23.5	about the books you wish you'd read. I'm Jeff O'Neill. And I'm Rebecca Shinsky. Today we are talking
1:28.5	about first love, the first time, and the facts of life. It's Judy Blooms Forever. A very important
1:35.9	book from my childhood and many of yours I know as you're listening. And our colleague, Kelly Jensen,
1:41.4	who is our resident expert on young adult books and on book banning and censorship,
2:01.6	is going to be joining us for office hours over on the Patreon to talk about the book's history and Judy Blum's legacy and, of course, the halo of censorship and banning that has surrounded this book for the last 50 years. So be sure to join us on the Patreon and get those office hours. This is your first time joining us today.
2:02.5	We do a couple of things here.
2:03.9	We talk about what the book is about.
	...

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