Judy Blume’s body of work emerged in a time where there was no dedicated young adult genre – no body of work for the teenagers of this nation to parse through. Blume’s ability to craft the nuanced young characters and true-to-life plots that define her literature has cemented her as one of the greatest authors of all time, but nothing proves the transformative and lasting influence of literature more than the work that comes after it. ‘Twenty-Four Seconds from Now…’ by the award-winning author Jason Reynolds is being heralded as ‘Forever…’ for young, Black men in America. It is a tender look at first love and first sex through the eyes of 17-year-old Neon. With Reynold’s trademark direct language, lyrical descriptions, and endearing and complex characters, the novel and its themes resonate with anyone who has ever felt first love and anyone who loved Judy Blume. » Subscribe to MSNBC: youtube.com/msnbc » Subscribe to MSNBC on TikTok tiktok.com/@msnbc » Subscrib...