Some people are hounded by controversy. Such people include Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Madonna, and Michael Jackson. They are criticized about their words, their looks, their money, or their behavior, always being questioned by the public. Whatever they do, they just cannot escape their reputation. Judy Blume is not as notorious as the aforementioned people, but in her own way she is surrounded by controversy. She is criticized about her writings and her frankness about sexual content and language. Although she has sold over six million copies of her books, still many school libraries consider her books inappropriate for adolescent readers.
Judy Blume was born on February 12, 1938 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Rudolph and Esther Sussman. She attended New York University in 1961 and graduated with a B.S. in education. On August 15, 1959, Judy Blume married John Blume, but they were divorced in 1975. On May 8, 1976, Judy married Thomas Kitchens and is still with him. She has written 22 books and more than 65 million copies of her books have been sold. She has won more than 90 awards. Blume only began to write after her children entered nursery school in the mid 1960's, and now is a well known writer of juvenile and adult fiction. Judy Blume is one of the most controversial young adult authors, despite this, her books are valuable to her legion of young readers who get most of their private questions addressed without having to talk to adults. Judy Blume felt alone at times while growing up, and didn't have anyone to talk to about her problems. She writes about such issues that are important to young adults to show an accurate sense of her readers" concerns. Her two most widely censored novels include "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" and "Forever." .
"Are you there God? It's Me, Margaret" has two main themes: Margaret's search for a religious identity, and her worries of the physical signs of puberty.
