There's been perennial debate

over Judy Blume's Forever, most recently amongst public librarians on a list I'm on regarding sexual situations and the fact that it was written at a time before HIV became prevalent and therefore does not include advice regarding more than preventing pregnancy.

Several librarians have chimed in that the book deserves to be on the shelves in the young adult section regardless of challenges, that subsequent editions of the book DO include caveats regarding HIV, etc., and that we often ignore the fact that teens are quite savvy in terms of sex--more so than we were in the past.

I wish I'd read Forever before my first sexual encounter; it would have no doubt helped immensely. But I was a somewhat clueless 18-year-old. I've known several people whose first encounters were much younger.

Here's what author Judy Blume has to say about this often challenged book.