61 pages 2 hours read

Judy Blume

Forever...

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1975

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Chapters 16-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 16 Summary

Katherine contracts the same flu as Michael and is sick for days, unable to get out of bed without assistance. Michael calls Katherine on Thursday to check in, and when they determine they are both getting better, Katherine asks if Michael can still come over that weekend. Michael is well enough to come over on Sunday, and they sit in the den, holding hands and catching up.

Katherine waits another week, the day of her birthday, before she tells Michael about beginning birth control. They attend a play to celebrate her birthday, and at dinner afterward, Michael presents Katherine with a necklace engraved with her name on one side and “Forever…Michael “ (134) on the other. Katherine begins to cry, and Michael fastens the necklace around her neck. She tells him it is the most meaningful gift she has ever received.

In the car, Katherine shows Michael her birth control pills. Katherine asks if Sharon and Ike will be away that weekend, and Michael says no, but that he will think of something. The next night, Michael picks up Katherine and tells her that his parents will be out until midnight, so they have a few hours to be alone together at his house.