A timely appreciation of an author who indeed “represent[ed] something much bigger than herself”—and still does.
A literary biography of Judy Blume argues for her lasting impact.
“What’s the secret ingredient that makes Judy Blume’s work so potent?” So asks Bergstein, author of Women From the Ankle Down, in her introduction to this book, revealing her personal admiration for the groundbreaking author and her thematic mission. Braiding together cultural context, Blume’s biography, and literary analysis, Bergstein answers her own question book by book. Of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970), Bergstein argues that what makes the protagonist “special” is that “she isn’t remarkable—but she is real.” The author’s exegesis of arguably Blume’s most famous book draws on elements of her subject’s adolescent years and the debate over sex education that roiled the U.S. in the late 1960s, as well as a close reading of the title itself. It’s an effective treatment, which Bergstein carries into her discussions of Blume’s later books. Her examination of Forever (1975) which “young readers were smuggling…around their social circles like contraband,” touches on such cultural landmarks as the adoption of tampon use by teenagers and the 1972 Supreme Court case that legalized access to contraception for unmarried people. In addition to Blume’s papers and published accounts, Bergstein draws on interviews with librarians, educators, and others. These yield insights into, among other topics, Blume’s relationship with her legendary editor, Dick Jackson, and book banning, both the 1980s wave that found Blume’s books in the crosshairs and the present-day one. Bergstein occasionally digresses, devoting more time to kindred spirit Norma Klein’s work than feels necessary, and she sidesteps opportunities to defend Blume’s writing against critics who complain about low literary quality. Nevertheless, readers can’t help but come away with a renewed appreciation for Blume and her legacy.
A timely appreciation of an author who indeed “represent[ed] something much bigger than herself”—and still does.Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781668010907
Page Count: 288
Publisher: One Signal/Atria
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
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