58. Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl Learned from Judy Blume

I've read novels by more then half of the authors that contributed essays to this book and after reading the essays I can see where a lot of the ideas for the novels came from. This was a good read, although I do think it had a few too many essays... by the end everyones story seemed a bit the same and I feel like I skimmed through the latter ones and didn't enjoy them nearly as much as the first few essays. Overall though, a good read and a must for anyone who was a Judy Blume fan!

Here's a review from B&N:

For millions of American girls growing up, Judy Blume's awkward, self-conscious characters became surrogates, allies, and comforters in their silent struggles. The 24 essays of Everything I Needed to Know about Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume honor an unconventional mentor who has entertained readers even as she teaches them. The topics touched here are as wide and deep as Blume's fiction: divorce, bullying, peer pressure, menstruation, weight issues, sibling rivalry, and racism. The contributors include Meg Cabot, Beth Kendrick, Julie Kenner, and Cara Lockwood.