"About school, I have two things to say. One, senior year is a bore, except for activities and history..." (p. 118)
Okay, so that quotation has little significance to the actual storyline, but it is still my favourite line!
Forever chronicles the life of Katherine as she finishes her last year of high-school with all of the feelings of social awkwardness and desires to be accepted that are often associated with one’s teen-aged years. Katherine soon finds herself “head-over-heels” in love with Michael,
a boy that she met at a New Year’s party. They believe that their young love will last forever, despite the warnings that Kath’s parents express and the rocky relationship that their two best friends experience together. The question that remains in one’s mind throughout the book is “Will this love actually last forever?”
When I started reading this book, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I could not put it down. Although the plot line was pretty thin, it had me trapped by the second chapter. I could relate to some of the situations, others not as much. On the other hand, I wondered if it was really appropriate for young adults as some situations were definitely adult-content. However, the more that I reflected upon the book, the more I believed that this book was potentially a good read for teen girls. It is not as descriptive as some of the other books on the reading list for this category, and at the risk of sounding old, times are changing. Although this book was controversial in the 1970s, it is relatively tame compared to many movies and television programs.
I think that this book is a great tool to teach young adults the important things to consider in relationships. The notion of being both physically and mentally ready is strongly emphasized and Kath is very careful to be safe and take all pre-cautions that are available. Her trip to the clinic is especially important because it gives girls an idea of what to expect at an appointment, and made sure to point out that nothing hurt, which will hopefully ease potential fears.
Another part of the story that I enjoyed was how the story was clearly placed in the 1970s. The occasional reference to playing the ‘record’ or going to see a film with Robert Redford made me laugh (after I searched for his name in Google). Also the letters that Kath and Michael wrote to each other during the summer were very nostalgic compared to e-mail or text messages today. The distance that the couple experienced is likely something that young adults cannot quite relate to today as technology makes communication much easier.
With that said, I still do not see Forever on the reading list curriculum for my old Catholic schools, which is rather unfortunate. I attended very strict Catholic schools which tended to leave out random pieces of reality. The curriculum left out random important parts of real life including sex-education and the ‘minor’ detail about the Orange Order in Canadian history (a pet-peeve of mine because I did not learn about it until HIST 1406, and I was rather confused). For this reason, I think that it is important to make these types of books available in the public libraries so that young adults can learn more beyond what they see on the television. It is important not to shy-away from this type of book as reality shows that young adults are pushing boundaries and need access to this type of literature. Especially in my home town that has the highest rate of teenaged pregnancy in the country!
I really enjoyed this book, it was an easy quick read. I would recommend this to any teen girl (probably 15+, though I may be too conservative with that age...)
For more information about the book, see http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/judy-blume/forever.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment