Release Day Fabulosity

Today is the release date of Everything I Needed To Know About Being a Girl I learned From Judy Blume.

Sadly, I haven’t actually been able to get my hands on it yet. I pre-ordered from Amazon, but it hasn’t come. By contrast, my mother, who pre-ordered, received her copy on Saturday. (I probably should have warned her that I’d written about us.)

We’ve been getting great reviews:

From Library Journal:
By turns funny and poignant, this essay collection captures the essence of YA author Judy Blume’s appeal. Pieces were contributed by a raft of women writers—many firmly established in chick lit—who were deeply influenced by Blume’s works in their youth. Many focus on dealing with changes in bodies, relationships, and situations….This uniformly well-written title will be warmly welcomed by those who had epiphanic experiences upon first reading Blume’s titles. Although a collection of this sort runs the risk of being dismissed as fluff, the essays are substantive and thoughtful. A recommended purchase for public libraries; academic libraries may also wish to consider

From Publishers Weekly:
This collection of 24 essays edited by O’Connell (Plan B) pays tribute to the influence of Judy Blume and her work about coming-of-age as a girl in America. In each piece, the writer reveals what O’Connell calls her “Judy Blume moment,” telling a heartfelt and revealing story that reflects the same social awkwardness and true-to-life experiences Blume conveys in her novels, from menstruation to childhood bullying to masturbation… Readers who similarly found solace and support in Blume’s work should relate easily to these writers through the Blumian characters and themes they evoke. Writing in the spirit of Blume, these women present their experiences as a series of personal truths: “girl moments. Woman moments, Human moments.”

From Booklist:
In stories contributed by many well-known female writers, this anthology pays homage to the “guru” of female adolescence… Funny, poignant, honest, and reverential, these stories will resonate strongly with the legions of readers who, like the authors, are grateful and lifelong Blume devotees.

Pick up your copy today!

(In passing, it blows my mind that I’ll have four books out by the end of this year — five if you count the two versions of SSG.)