Judith Sussman "Judy" Blume (born February 12, 1938) is an American writer, best known as an author of children's and young adult novels, she has also written several novels for adults.
Her works were and continue to be frequently banned because she was one of the first authors of Young Adult novels to write about certain subjects previously considered "adult", such as menstruation, masturbation, or depression. The basis of her YA writing has always been pretty much that she didn't want to treat her audience like they were unintelligent: "I wanted to be honest. And I felt that no adult had been honest with me. We didn't have the information we should have had." She is a highly esteemed author in those circles that aren't trying to ban her, and is responsible for providing Nightmare Fuel to a whole generation.
She wrote many books. Among them are Blubber, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., and Forever. She has written one series, beginning with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, featuring Peter Hatcher and his Annoying Younger Sibling Farley, universally known as "Fudge".
Books by Judy Blume with their own trope pages include:
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
- Blubber
- Deenie
- Fudge series
- Iggie's House
- Just as Long as We're Together
- Here's to You, Rachel Robinson
- In the Unlikely Event
- It's Not the End of the World
- Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
- Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself
- Summer Sisters
- Then Again, Maybe I Won't
- Tiger Eyes
Other books by Judy Blume books provide examples of:
- Annoying Younger Sibling: The Pain in The Pain and the Great One (although the book also makes the point that the Great One is just as annoying in her own way).
- Audience Participation: In 2018 Blume announced that she was finally going to start a serious effort to get film adaptations of her books made, and asked her fans to recommend which ones she should do first. Unfortunately, it wasn't much help as by far the most popular answer was "All of them." The nod went to Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., which filmed during the spring and early summer of 2021.
- Darker and Edgier: Blume's one of the most challenged and banned writers of the 20th century, due to her frank discussion of topics like puberty, menstruation, and masturbation, in books written for young teenagers.
- I Call Him "Mister Happy": Forever — "Katherine... I'd like you to meet Ralph."
- No Ending: Blume's books often lack much catharsis or payoff beyond the main character's personal growth, with them still dealing with all the same issues they had at the start, because that's just how life is a lot of the time.
- Non-Indicative Name: Katherine in Forever... thinks her and Michael's relationship will be Exactly What It Says on the Tin, but it turns out to be this trope.
- The Noun and the Noun: The Pain and the Great One.
- One-Book Author: Blume's only appearance in a television series was in The Simpsons episode "D'oh Canada", which would also count as the only time she did character acting, as her other screen role in Tiger Eyes was a Creator Cameo.
- Parental Favoritism: Played with in The Pain And The Great One, a book told in two parts. In the first, an older sister describes how her little brother "The Pain" gets away with murder and is clearly the parents' favorite; in the second the brother describes the sister "The Great One" in pretty much the same way, also concluding that she must be the favorite.
- Parents as People: In most of Blume's work, parents are depicted as human beings with their own faults and foibles who don't always make the right choices. On occasions this goes hand in hand with Adults Are Useless.
- School Play: The One In The Middle Is The Green Kangaroo is about a kid who has the main part in a school play.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Blume's works talk about the harsh, unhappy aspects of growing up with the joys and wonder that life has to offer, making it in the middle.
- Their First Time: The novel Forever has this as a major plot point, with Katherine and Michael basically working their way through "the bases", all the way up to having sex.
