“Clearly, any female that grew up reading any of Judy Blume's titles, will identify with the essays included in this collection. This anthology is edited by Jennifer O'Connell, and includes essays written by 24 notable female authors. I was able to identify with so many of the musings of these various women, that I almost felt they were writing about my childhood, which is what they felt when they read Judy Blume's titles! Although I didn't have issues with waiting to develope (I could have cared less), divorce, or a big move to a new city, each author did bring up other, smaller, pre-teen concerns that came flooding back to my thirty-something memory. I also found myself sympathetic toward some of these women's issues with "current" women's problems. For instance, Megan Crane's thoughts on how friendships fade as we marry and create our own families. Others I enjoyed; Meg Cabot's problem of being to "babyish" compared with others her age, and Jennifer Coburn's, "White Guilt", and Shanna Swendson's, "revenge fantasies" (who doesn't like to see the beautiful, popular character get knocked down a peg or two?) . Most of all, I appreciated "The Mother of All ABalancing Acts", which had me look at the mothers from Blume's books in a new light.
This was an amusing look back on my adolescence. Most women will find this book enjoyable, but those who grew up in the late 70's and early 80's will especially enjoy some of the pop-cultural references.”
