Judy Blume: A Life

Journalist Oppenheimer (Squirrel Hill) contends in this impressive biography that Judy Blume “rewired the English-speaking world’s expectations of what literature for young people could be.” Born into a progressive, Jewish family in New Jersey in 1938, Blume followed a traditional path to college, marriage, and early motherhood. When her children were young, she decided to find work (“I had to do something, you know?”) and began writing. Her early attempts at children’s picture books and novels were rejected by publishers, but she continued writing and revising her work, and in 1970 published her breakthrough young adult novel, Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret?, which dealt with menstruation and religion in a manner that aligned with the genre’s move to realism, Oppenheimer explains. Over the next five years, Blume published eight more books, including Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Deenie. Frankness without moralism or didacticism became her trademark, and she didn’t shy away from writing about sexuality and puberty. Her work was often targeted in book bans, prompting Blume to become an anti-censorship advocate. Along with her professional career, Oppenheimer provides insights into Blume’s personal life, including the dissonance she felt being seen as “a sage, a guru” by children and parents while simultaneously going through a divorce. Fans will be delighted. (Mar.)