21 Best 「judy blume」 Books of 2024| Books Explorer
- Deenie
- Blubber
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
- Summer Sisters: A Novel
- Tiger Eyes
- Wifey
- Are You There God? It's Me Margaret.
- Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself
- Here's to You, Rachel Robinson
Scoliosis twists Deenie’s plans for seventh grade in this classic Judy Blume novel with a fresh new look.Deenie’s mother wants her to be a model, with her face on magazine covers—maybe even in the movies—but Deenie wants to spend Saturdays with her friends Janet and Midge, tracking Harvey Grabowsky, the captain of the football team, around Woolworth’s. She wants to be a cheerleader, too, and go to the seventh-grade mixer to hear Buddy Brader play his drums.Instead, Deenie is diagnosed with scoliosis. And that means body stockings to squeeze into, a roomful of strangers to face, and a terrifying brace that she’ll need to wear for years that goes from her neck to her hips. Suddenly Deenie has to cope with a kind of specialness that’s frightening—and might be hers forever.
What happens when teasing goes too far? This classic middle grade novel from Judy Blume addresses the timeless topic of bullying and has a fresh new look.“Blubber is a good name for her,” the note from Caroline said about Linda. Jill crumpled it up and left it on the corner of her school desk. She didn’t want to think about Linda or her dumb report on whales just then. Jill wanted to think about Halloween.But Robby grabbed the note and before Linda stopped talking it had gone halfway around the room. There was something about Linda that made a lot of kids in her fifth-grade class want to see how far they could go…but nobody, Jill least of all, expected the fun to end where it did.
Now a major motion picture starring Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates!A Time Best YA Book of All TimeMargaret shares her secrets and her spirituality in this iconic Judy Blume novel, beloved by millions.Margaret Simon, almost twelve, likes long hair, tuna fish, the smell of rain, and things that are pink. She’s just moved from New York City to Farbook, New Jersey, and is anxious to fit in with her new friends—Nancy, Gretchen, and Janie. When they form a secret club to talk about private subjects like boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret is happy to belong.But none of them can believe Margaret doesn’t have religion, and that she isn’t going to the Y or the Jewish Community Center. What they don’t know is Margaret has her own very special relationship with God. She can talk to God about everything—family, friends, even Moose Freed, her secret crush.Margaret is funny and real, and her thoughts and feelings are oh-so-relatable—you’ll feel like she’s talking right to you, sharing her secrets with a friend.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard’s world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become “summer sisters.” Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—because she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart.Praise for Summer Sisters “Compulsively readable . . . [Blume’s] powers are prodigious.”—The New York Times Book Review “As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing ‘How Sweet It Is.’ You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was.”—Chicago Tribune “An exceptionally moving story that can leave the reader laughing and crying . . . sometimes at the same time . . . Blume creates a rich tapestry of characters.”—The Denver Post “Blume’s characters still tend to hover after the book is set aside. . . . She catches perfectly the well-armored love between longtime female friends.”—The Seattle Times
Davey has never felt so alone in her life. Her father is dead—shot in a holdup—and now her mother is moving the family to New Mexico to try to recover.Climbing in the Los Alamos canyon, Davey meets the mysterious Wolf, who can read Davey’s “sad eyes.” Wolf is the only person who seems to understand the rage and fear Davey feels. Slowly, with Wolf’s help, Davey realizes that she must get on with her life. But when will she be ready to leave the past behind and move toward the future? Will she ever stop hurting?
With more than four million copies sold, Wifey is Judy Blume's hilarious, moving tale of a woman who trades in her conventional wifely duties for her wildest fantasies—and learns a lot about life along the way.Sandy Pressman is a nice suburban wife whose boredom is getting the best of her. She could be making friends at the club, like her husband keeps encouraging her to do. Or working on her golf game. Or getting her hair done.But for some reason, these things don't interest her as much as the naked man on the motorcycle...
Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, eleven- going on twelve-year-old Margaret talks over her problems with her own private God.
Sally investigates post-WWII Florida with theatrical flair in this classic middle grade novel from Judy Blume. Now with a fresh new look!Sally J. Freedman was ten when she made herself a movie star. She would have been happy to reach stardom in New Jersey, but in 1947 her older brother Douglas became ill, so the Freedman family traveled south to spend eight months in the sunshine of Florida. That’s where Sally met her friends Andrea, Barbara, Shelby, Peter, and Georgia Blue Eyes—and her unsuspecting enemy, Adolf Hitler.Dear Chief of Police:You don’t know me but I am a detective from New Jersey. I have uncovered a very interesting case down here. I have discovered that Adolf Hitler is alive and has come to Miami Beach to retire. He is pretending to be an old Jewish man...While she watches and waits, and keeps a growing file of letters under her bed, Sally’s Hitler will play an important—though not quite starring—role in one of her grandest movie spectaculars.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and the adult bestseller In the Unlikely Event comes a tale of family, friendship, and pre-teen life like only JUDY BLUME can deliver. The companion to Just As Long As We’re Together.CAN YOU BE too perfect?From the outside, Rachel looks like the perfect daughter in the perfect family. She’s a straight-A student, a gifted musician, and a good friend. But Rachel feels as if it’s all falling apart. Her brother, Charles, was just kicked out of boarding school and is now at home, wreaking havoc. Her sister, Jessica, has problems of her own, which Rachel thinks it’s her job to help solve. And Rachel herself is considering adding drama club, community service, and class president to her already crowded roster of activities. Rachel’s best friends, Stephanie and Alison, urge Rachel to lighten up and enjoy the end of seventh grade. Easy for them to say. Not so easy for Rachel. Not even when Jeremy Dragon, the coolest boy in ninth grade, notices her. Is it possible that perfection isn’t the key to an exciting life?An ALA Best Book for Young Adults“A master.” —SLJ
Part of the classic Fudge series from Judy Blume, bestselling author of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing!Farley Drexel Hatcher—otherwise known as Fudge—thinks he’s a superhero, but his older brother, Peter, knows Fudge is nothing but a big pain! Dealing with Fudge is hard enough, but now Peter’s parents have decided to move to New Jersey for an entire year! Even worse, Peter’s mom is going to have a new baby. And if this baby is anything like Fudge—help! How will Peter ever survive?“As a kid, Judy Blume was my favorite author, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was my favorite book.”—Jeff Kinney, author of the bestselling Wimpy Kid seriesLove Fudge, Peter, and Sheila? Read all these books featuring your favorite characters:Tales of a Fourth Grade NothingOtherwise Known as Sheila the GreatFudge-a-ManiaDouble Fudge
In her highly anticipated new novel, Judy Blume, the New York Times # 1 best-selling author of Summer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, creates a richly textured and moving story of three generations of families, friends and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed by unexpected events.In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place—Nat King Cole singing “Unforgettable,” Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat. And a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.In the Unlikely Event is vintage Judy Blume, with all the hallmarks of Judy Blume’s unparalleled storytelling, and full of memorable characters who cope with loss, remember the good times and, finally, wonder at the joy that keeps them going.Early reviewers have already weighed in: “Like many family stories, this one is not without its life-changing secrets and surprises. There is no surprise that the book is smoothly written, and its story compelling. The setting—the early 1950s—is especially well realized through period references and incidents.” —Booklist (starred review) and “In Blume’s latest adult novel . . . young and old alike must learn to come to terms with technological disaster and social change. Her novel is characteristically accessible, frequently charming and always deeply human.” —Publishers Weekly
What’s a guy gotta do to get some freckles? This perennial bestselling favorite from Judy Blume has a fresh new look!More than anything in the world, Andrew Marcus wants freckles. His classmate Nicky has freckles—they cover his face, his ears, and the whole back of his neck. But when Andrew asks Nicky where he got them, Nicky just says he was born with them. Some help he is!That’s when Sharon offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe—for fifty cents, she promises, Andrew can look just like Nicky. His freckleless days are over! He rushes home to whip up the concoction. Grape juice, vinegar, mustard…But what starts out as a simple freckle juice recipe quickly turns into something disastrous. Andrew is still determined to get his freckles, and to show that pesky Sharon that she doesn’t know everything—and he has the perfect solution! Or does he?
Two thirtysomethings try to find their way through the complications of post-marriage love in this beloved novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Judy Blume. Margo and B.B. are each divorced, and each is trying to reinvent her life in Colorado—while their respective teenage daughters look on with a mixture of humor and horror. But even smart women sometimes have a lot to learn—and they will, when B.B.’s ex-husband moves in next door to Margo... Includes a New Introduction by the Author
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • “Summer Sisters is a book to return to again and again.”—Colleen Hoover“As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing ‘How Sweet It Is.’ You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was.”—Chicago TribuneIn the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard’s world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become “summer sisters.”Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—because she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart.
When Sally’s family moves to Miami Beach for the winter of 1947, she is excited and nervous at the same time. What will school be like in Florida? Will she make any friends? Will she fit in so far away from home?Miami Beach has so many things to worry and wonder about, Sally is in for one unforgettable winter!
Get a guy’s perspective on adolescent hang-ups in this classic Judy Blume novel, now with a fresh new look.“That’s an interesting way to solve the problem, Tony.”Miss Tobin is talking about a math problem on the blackboard, but Tony is thinking about real problems.If his parents or his friend Joel or Joel’s sixteen-year-old sister Lisa knew what Tony was thinking about a lot of the time, they’d probably freak out. About snitching on Joel, who Tony knows is a shoplifter. About watching Lisa undress each night and liking what he sees. About money and the changes money makes in people (especially his mother).Hung up at thirteen. That’s Tony Miglione—especially this morning in math class in front of Miss Tobin, for everyone to see...
In Sirs & Madams, Joanna C Valente shows us that she is an adroit navigator of the human condition and knows the nooks and crannies of heartmeats and the grey and fluid nature of brainmeats. Let her take your hand. You'll be all the better for it. -Sean Doyle, author of This Must Be the Place Death and the promise of death. What more could you want in a poetry collection? Life? Why yes, that's in here too. It's swimming through every word ripping out our hearts and putting something else there that beats just as nice. I like that. Joanna Valente's first collection, Sirs & Madams, is filled with that. I often find it difficult weaving narrative and poem, but Valente does it with spectacular results. These poems echo a John Berryman "Dreamsong" mashed with Maggie Nelson's "Jane: A Murder Mystery." In other words, yes. "She says she loves men who are dead, they are the men who love the most," "Five paragraphs, one tank gasoline, loneliness greater than the sum of your parts," and "You tell her she should become a silent film star, that her eyes are singing" are just some of the dynamic lines in this book. It's in your hands, don't miss out on the promise of reading it. -Thomas Fucaloro, author of It Starts from the Belly and Blooms and Mistakes Disguised as Stars Valente's SIRS & MADAMS is rendered with stylistic and syntactical panache and courage. It is moving, mournful and musical. It is beautiful and bereft. Valente is a great writing talent who awaits wider recognition. -Seamus Scanlon, author of As Close As You'll Ever Be In Sirs & Madams, tones of birth and death compel deftly-drawn characters whose "veins are everywhere." On the surface, a tight form takes hold: Valente has real command over her structure and voice. But underneath, the nuance blooms; the poems are at once gritty, feminine, natural and morose. This book needs to tell its story and you need to listen. One gets the feeling that reading this book will set someone free. Who is it? You decide. -Lisa Marie Basile, author of APOCRYPHAL
Can Karen keep her parents from getting a divorce? This classic novel from Judy Blume has a fresh new look.Karen couldn’t tell Mrs. Singer why she had to take her Viking diorama out of the sixth-grade showcase. She felt like yelling, “To keep my parents from getting divorced!” But she couldn’t say it, and the whole class was looking at her anyway.Karen’s world was ending. Her father had moved out of the house weeks before; now he was going to Las Vegas to get divorced, and her mother was pleased! She had only a few days to get the two of them together in the same room. Maybe, if she could, they would just forget about the divorce. Then the Newman family could be its old self again—maybe. But Karen knew something she didn’t know last winter: that sometimes people who shouldn’t be apart are impossible together.
No one should have to survive adolescence (or adulthood) without Judy Blume. And with this essential boxed set of seven beloved novels, no one has to.The ideal antidote for angst at any age, this boxed set of seven classic Judy Blume books makes a great gift for yourself or someone else. From Margaret and her crisis of faith in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to Karen and her coping with her parents’ divorce in It’s Not the End of the World, the characters of these cherished novels feel like more than characters—they feel like friends.This boxed set includes paperback editions of the following Judy Blume classics:Are You There God? It’s Me, MargaretBlubberDeenieIggie’s HouseIt’s Not the End of the WorldThen Again, Maybe I Won’tStarring Sally J. Freedman as Herself
Is there a difference between first love and true love? Judy Blume’s groundbreaking novel about teen sexuality has a fresh new look.The bed is brass, covered with a patchwork quilt, and “nice and firm,” Michael says, “in case you’re interested.”Katherine is interested.Katherine and Michael are in love, and Katherine knows it’s forever—especially after she loses her virginity to him. But when they’re separated for the summer, she begins to have feelings for another boy. What does this say about her love for Michael? And what does “forever” mean, anyway? Is this the love of a lifetime, or the very beginning of a lifetime of love?