Quotes from Judy Blume

Not that memories were enough—they didn't keep you warm on a cold winter's night. They couldn't hold you when you were frightened or sad. But they were better than nothing.

You can't deny you ever loved them, love them still, even if loving them causes you pain.

Nights are the worst. You just don't know what it's like for me, trying not to think of [him]...knowing that we're going to be apart for so long. It's pure torture.

love at thirteen is nothing like love at eighteen.

Understand that you're sensitive." Miri was proud for coming up with such a good word. "Is that like saying I'm dramatic, or crazy?" Miri was careful now. "Sensitive is better than dramatic, and it's definitely not as bad as crazy.

Be careful,' Irene warned Miri. 'All boys want the same thing.' So do girls, Miri thought.

There are some people who just make you want to see how far you can go.

this two-way hatred. I don't understand it. I wonder how much of it is caused by fear?

In this age of censorship I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced--writers' voices, teachers' voices, students' voices--all because of fear. How many have resorted to self-censorship? How many are saying to themselves, Nope ... can't write about that. Can't teach that book. Can't have that book in our collection. Can't let my student write that editorial in the school paper.

Now that's my point about my mother. I mean, if she understands so much about me then why couldn't she understand that I had to wear loafers without socks?

My brother's a pain. He won't get out of bed In the morning. Mom has to carry him Into the kitchen. He opens his eyes

Some people never get over their first loves. They spend their whole lives trying to recapture the thrill. Sometimes, after fifty years they get back together. They meet at some reunion or other and realize they were meant to be together.

Book banning satisfied their need to feel in control of their children's lives. Those who censored were easily frightened. They were afraid of exposing their children to ideas different from their own. Afraid to answer children's questions or talk with them about sensitive subjects.

I can't think when you're in here, he said. What do you have to think about? Making!

But I have discovered that if you love someone the way I love Mew, you learn to overlook the disgusting things.

I used to think if you read enough books you'd automatically know how to do everything the right way. But reading and doing are not the same at all.

on the rug.

Are you still there God? It's me, Margaret. I know you're there God. I know you wouldn't have missed this for anything! Thank you God. Thanks an awful lot.…

Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. What would you think of me doing a project on religion? You wouldn't mind, would you God? I'd tell you all about it. And I won't make any decisions without asking you first. I think it's time for me to decide what to be. I can't go on being nothing forever, can I?

Sometimes she wished she were a little kid again. Everything was so simple then. Now she never knew when she was going to find out something terrible, something she didn't want to know. Sometimes her jaw ached in the morning. She wondered if Princess Elizabeth's jaw ever ached.

I must—I must—I must increase my bust.

What I worry about most is the loss to young people. If no one speaks out for them, if they don't speak out for themselves, all they'll get for required reading will be the most bland books available. And instead of finding the information they need at the library, instead of finding the novels that illuminate life, they will find only those materials to which nobody could possibly object.

She's someone to come to terms with, the way you have to come to terms with your parents, your siblings. You can't deny they ever happened. You can't deny you ever loved them, love them still, even if loving them causes you pain.

Some changes happen deep down inside of you. And the truth is, only you know about them.