Like a lot of the writers who contributed to this volume of essays, I devoured Judy Blume's books as a young preteen. Granted, a lot of the references and slang were dated by the time I was reading a dog-eared public library copy of Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, but the social mores and pack mentality of tween girls, it seems, never changes.
Like many of the authors whose essays are collected here (Melissa Senate, Meg Cabot, Erica Orloff, Kayla Perrin, Julie Kenner...) I found comfort in Judy Blume's books because they reassured me that I was not the only young girl struggling towards adolescence and trying desperately (perhaps TOO desperately) to fit in with my peers.
Reading this collection made me realize how much Judy Blume's books influenced my worldview -- and made me wonder how my current TBR pile will be reflected in my outlook 20 years from now. Hmm, now what would a collection of essays on Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Woman I Learned From Harlequin be like? 
