Forever...

Forever by Judy Blume. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003. 192 pages.

      1. A succinct evaluative annotation. Plot: [Conflict] Katherine met a boy, Michael, and knew right away that he was the one for forever. They didn’t go to the same school and Katherine was still a virgin, but none of those problems mattered between the two of them. [Rising Action] After Katherine and Michael started dating while, Michael stated that he loved her and also wanted to have sex – but the two weren’t reasons for one another. [Climax] Katherine finally did lose her virginity and she thought that she was going to be with Michael for the rest of her life. They had a summer apart, right before they were going to different colleges, but they both said that nothing would change and that they will always be together – forever. [Falling Action] Katherine became attracted to another boy at the camp she was at for the summer, making Katherine realize that Michael may not, in fact, be the one for forever. [Resolution] In the end, Katherine and Michael broke up because she realized that she was too young to make a decision that big – to be with Michael for the rest of her life when she just turned 18, but she would always remember the love she had toward Michael and would never forget it. Theme: The themes in this novel included romance, friendship, sex, love, and growing apart. Tone: The tone was definitely serious in this novel because the main theme was rotated around sex and Katherine wanted to make sure she was making the right decision in the end. Style: There was nothing unusual or remarkable about the author’s writing style. The reader read what a normal high school teenage girl goes through when she is thinking about having sex for the first time, and the decision making Katherine went through before having sex. Characterizations: Katherine is a very shy, reserved girl. She didn’t give into pressure, but rather went through the right actions before having sex with Michael to prevent diseases or pregnancy, showing that she was a responsible, mature teenager. Readability: This was a quick, easy novel to read. It’s short and takes very little time to get through the storyline.

2. My reactions to the book. I think this was a good book. It was very short but a great story and it shows Katherine’s reaction to sex and love and moving on. It’s a romance novel, but it’s realistic – I think many teenage girls today will definitely be able to relate to this story and maybe even learn something that they hadn’t realized before reading it. The downside is that not many boys are going to read this novel, so it’s a one audience viewer, but the content is very accurate and helpful to any reader wanting to find out more about sex but just wants to read a novel about the subject and not a textbook.

3. Comment on the cover art. The cover art for this novel will definitely only attract female viewers to read it. However, with this version of the novel, I really think that high school females will pick it up because of the cover. It definitely looks like a romance novel and the viewer will want to know more about the content inside of the novel, intriguing them what forever… means and because it’s a small novel it might be a popular read to just pick off of the shelf.