Although Blume is one of the most popular writers of young adult books in the last two decades, she is also among the most controversial. Many of her novels have been criticized and censured repeatedly, mainly because of themes of sexual maturation, frank language, and the absence of customary moralizing. Some critics fault her colloquial prose, her tendency to dwell on even the most mundane of life's experiences, and her prosaic treatment of the character's thoughts and feelings, while others consider these elements to be among her strengths. In any case, her name, which is well known to children, is used on children's books and often-explicit young adult and adult novels alike, a circumstance that some people feel might confuse younger readers who may be led into reading novels that are not appropriate for their age group.

Forever has received the brunt of the criticism, having...