One for the Girls

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

by Judy Blume

Summary

New house, new city, new school, new friends. Bras, boys, bust exercises. Eleven-year-old Margaret Simon has a lot to deal with, and Judy Blume’s classic book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, follows her as she embarks on a new school year at an age where everything is changing. Margaret is eagerly awaiting the day when she gets to wear a bra, kiss a boy and learn what cramps feel like. She also struggles with bigger issues, like figuring out where God is, and if her habit of talking to God on her own is weird because she doesn’t go to church or a synagogue. All Margaret wants is to fit in, but she also has a lot of questions and thoughts of her own to figure out before she can decide who - and how - she wants to be.

Worth staying up past bedtime?

Absolutely. Even though Margaret and I are separated by about 16 years of life experience, I found her to be a completely relatable and honest character. I wish I had read this book when I was 11, because just like Margaret, I had many questions and confusions about my body, church, friends and school. Her struggles reminded me of my own middle school experiences, and I found myself completely absorbed in her story.

Margaret isn’t perfect, and I loved that about her. She makes mistakes just like the rest of us, and she doesn’t shy away from asking questions and saying what she wants, which I think makes her a great role model for young girls. I felt a twinge of envy when she boldly announced to her mother that she was ready to wear a bra. I know the words didn’t come out my mouth that easily when I made the same declaration many years ago!

I would highly recommend this book to any pre-teen girl and possibly even to the mothers of those girls - just to remind them of what they were going through at that age!

Reviews

"With sensitivity and humor Judy Blume has captured the joys, fears, and uncertainty that surround a young girl approaching adolescence." - Publishers Weekly

"Female readers will identify with Margaret and relate to the things she worries about during her sixth grade year. Although this book was originally published in 1970, the issues Margaret deals with are timely for today's girls on the verge of adolescence. Readers will laugh with Margaret. It will be easy for girls to imagine themselves in Margaret's world because it is a realistic one. She experiences a wide range of emotions, all of which will strike a chord with readers."

-Jeanne K. Pettenati, J.D. Children's Literature

At the library

This book would provide a great discussion topic for a group of girls. Bring in a health professional to answer some of the health and body questions raised in the book, and see if the girls would be comfortable asking their own questions.

In the book, Margaret talks to God when she is worried or confused or when she just wants to get some thoughts out of her head. Ask the girls what they do when they feel like expressing their thoughts, fears and questions. Do they pray, write in a journal, talk to someone? What works and why?

SLIS 5420 / Module 2

Week of Sept. 6-12