Ramona Forever

Ramona Forever is the seventh book in Beverly Cleary’s eight-book “Ramona” series, which follows the everyday adventures of the rambunctious Ramona Quimby. The previous installments are Beezus and Ramona, Ramona the Pest, Ramona the Brave, Ramona and Her Father, Ramona and Her Mother, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8. These books follow Ramona and her family as time passes, each one examining a different aspect of family life, relationships, and the challenges of growing up. 

The series creates an overall narrative trajectory into which each book fits. In the first book, Beezus and Ramona, nine-year-old big sister Beezus is annoyed by her four-year-old little sister Ramona, whose mischief often interferes with Beezus’s life. Over time, Beezus wants to get along with her sister and realizes that it is normal for siblings to have disagreements. In Ramona the Pest, Ramona tries to adjust to kindergarten in Miss Binney’s classroom, and in Ramona the Brave, Ramona has a tumultuous beginning to first grade as she tries to make new friends and follow the rules of her new classroom.

The following two books explore Ramona’s relationship with her parents. In Ramona and her Mother, Ramona wishes for more one-on-one time with her mother, who is often busy working and providing for the family. In the next book, Ramona and her Father, Ramona is affected by her father’s stress about his unemployment—and by his smoking habit. Ramona Quimby, Age 8, follows eight-year-old Ramona’s misadventures at school, where she tries to please her teacher, and at home, where her parents struggle to make ends meet. Ramona Forever is followed by the final installment of the series, Ramona’s World. As a result, the penultimate Ramona Forever explores increasingly challenging events and emotions, as the series shows Ramona growing up and increasingly perceiving the complex nature of the world around her.