Book Review: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume (Yearling, 1970)

Recommended for ages 9-12

This Judy Blume classic follows sixth grader Margaret Simon, whose parents move her from their home in New York to the suburbs of New Jersey, and her search for an identity as she goes through puberty. The book has received numerous awards, including the New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year (1970). In 2005, the book made Time Magazine's All-Time 100 Novels List.

Margaret meets new friends and they quickly form a secret club called the PTS's - Pre-Teen Sensations. They have to wear bras to their meetings and they talk about boys, school, and most importantly, when they're getting their periods. Nancy, the ringleader, makes Margaret uncomfortable with her superior attitude and concern over these things; she's afraid she'll be the last to get her period and be made fun of.

Raised without organized religion, Margaret has a very personal relationsihp with God and talks to him whenever she needs a comforting ear. She tells him her insecurities about puberty and her frustration with her family. With the other kids in her neighborhood identifying as either Christian or Jewish, Margaret struggles to know God in one of these faiths, but comes up empty; she asks him, after visiting both a synagogue and a church why she can't "feel him" the way she does when she talks to him.

I loved this book when I was in sixth grade and re-reading it now, it holds up, mainly because the heart of the story still exists. Mean girls may appear bigger than life now, but Nancy was definitely a pioneering mean girl; Margaret is the Everygirl that we all identified with - insecure about ourselves, insecure about our place in school and our families, and just trying to figure it all out. Blume weaves all of Margaret's insecurities together to create a solid, realistic character that girls can all identify with. Nobody does puberty like Judy Blume.

Judy Blume's website features the usual author fare; there is a bio, interview questions, even autobiographical essays. She offers advice on writing and has a section on censorship - she is a very well-known advocate for the freedom to read - and her "Reference Desk" section provides interviews and an index of articles and information about Blume.