Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World - Ann Shen (2016)

Judy Blume

You might never think a sweet, diminutive author from New Jersey writing about tween girls would land so many times on the banned books list, but that’s what makes Judy Blume (1938-) one serious bad girl. Blume didn’t start writing until after she had married, at twenty-one, and had two babies, by twenty-five. She started by submitting rhyming stories to publishers that she had made up while doing her household chores. Then she took a writing course and produced her first two books, including Iggie’s House, a coming-of-age novel dealing with racism. From there, Blume became prolific, producing a flood of young adult books dealing with controversial topics: puberty, masturbation, bullying, teen sex, and divorce, all from the teenager’s perspective. Her most famous novels—including Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Blubber; Deenie; and Forever—were all banned from school libraries because of their frank discussions of teen sexuality. That didn’t stop her. The books have also won her legions of young fans for answering burning questions in an honest and funny way that helped normalize the awkward stages of growing up. Blume became a huge champion for the National Coalition Against Censorship; and, to date, her books (she’s written twenty-eight so far) have sold more than eighty-two million copies in thirty-one languages around the world.