Blume, Judy (1938-…), is an American author of humorous, realistic books for children and adults. She is best known for her novels about middle-class children. These novels discuss problems of young people from their point of view and in their own language.
The antics of a younger brother nicknamed Fudge in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Superfudge (1980), Fudge-A-Mania (1990), and Double Fudge (2002) are popular with younger children. For an older age group, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970) describes 11-year-old Margaret’s reactions to her parents’ mixed-faith marriage and to her own maturing body. In Then Again, Maybe I Won’t (1971), a boy faces similar problems of young people. Tiger Eyes (1981) focuses on the pain of losing a parent through death. As Long As We’re Together (1987) tells about three girls and how one of them deals with her parents’ divorce. Blume wrote about the same three girls in Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson (1993).
Blume’s books are often criticized for their subject matter and frank language. The novel Deenie (1973) stirred controversy because of a passage in which the girls’ gym teacher explains masturbation. Forever … (1975) describes the first sexual experience of two high school students. The book has also become controversial. Defenders of Blume’s books praise her ability to write openly and sympathetically about the concerns of young people in an enjoyable and easy-to-read style.
Blume has written a series of books for young readers about an 8-year-old girl named Abigail (the Great One) and her 6-year-old brother Jake (the Pain). The series includes The Pain and the Great One (1985), Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One (2007), and Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One and Going, Going, Gone with the Pain and the Great One (both 2008). Letters from young readers and Blume’s comments on them were collected in Letters to Judy (1986). Blume has written four novels for adults. They are Wifey (1978), Smart Women (1983), Summer Sisters (1998), and In the Unlikely Event (2015). Judy Sussman was born on Feb. 12, 1938, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She married John M. Blume, an attorney, in 1959.
