Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

⭐⭐
Not a book for me and not one I would recommend. It didn't hold my interest, and probably felt more of a chore to get through. Not completely terrible, but I didn't have a good experience. This book was an enjoyable read, but there are several things I wish were done differently.

I can only imagine the relief a girl coming-of-teenage might feel while reading this

I know I read this as a kid, but I do not remember anything except for “I must, I must, I must increase my bust!”. I guess some things just really stay with you.

This remains the defining coming of age story. Still the blueprint for movies like Lady Bird of Eight Grade, just a foundational text for people interested in grounded stories of adolescent ennui. Was shocked to see this came out in 1970, feels very daring for a children's book back then which tracks given people are still trying to get it banned today.

I am a sucker for religious uncertainty, struggling with femininity, and school drama so this ticks all the boxes. Margaret has a great voice that balances overly thoughtful narration with heaps of tween angst. Her titular reframe is initially a bit silly, but once the book begins to explore her anxieties around religion (stemming from pushy adults on all sides), it takes on a greater significance as it's clear her relationship with god means a lot to her despite having no name to put to it.

I do wish the emotional beats weren't reserved for the last 30 or so pages. Much of the book is straightforward scenes of children existing in fairly unremarkable ways (which is itself interesting), but a lot of the major threads go unresolved as there simply aren't enough pages to handle them once the ball starts moving. It has also aged quite severely in many places, which would be alienating enough if everyone wasn't also extremely rich.

Glad to have this as a reference text for similar media, and excited to check out the recent movie which seems to complete the circle of grounded coming of age stories that are maybe more popular than ever.

As a kid this wasn't my fav JB book–I didn't relate to Margaret's desire for boobs and her period at alllllllll but I still found other parts of Margaret's character to be very relatable. Judy Blume is an icon for a reason, she is SO great at creating these very honest, vulnerable voices. And re-reading it as an adult I found I picked up on more nuances, especially among the parent/grandparent dynamics.

MANY more thoughts on the podcast:

https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-220-are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret/

Re-read on audiobook. I remember hiding in the library at school reading this in 4th grade, being absolutely shocked about bras and periods (we didn't have the internet back then, friends!). I did not, however, remember the very frank discussion of religion. She's “no religion” and goes on an exploration tour through Judaism, Christianity, and catholicism to see what feels right to her. For a YA book from 1970, I am impressed.

Rating: 3.9 leaves out of 5Characters: 3/5 Cover: 3/5Story: 4.5/5Writing: 5/5Genre: Children/ClassicType: AudiobookWorth?: SureHated Disliked It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedDecided to read the book after seeing the trailer. It was a quick read and for the most part pretty good. Though, honestly, gotta say that it secured my feelings of not liking preteens too much. Yes, I know I was one, but who says I liked me at that age now that I am 31? Lol. Either way the fact that this book was ever banned makes me laugh. Ohhh nnnoo periods and girls liking boooyysss. I really question the intelligence of the people who thought this was a bad book.

I love Judy Blume.
I find it interesting that I haven't read this book before. I suppose it was the “God” part of it. The themes of this book were never interesting to me.

Now, This is one of the 100 most “challenged” books... in the 80s, in some libraries, the kids had to have a slip from their parents before they could borrow this book! USonians are crazy. Batshit crazy. (OK, some of them. and not just USonians. But the people who ban this book and remove it from school libraries are. If your preteen hasn't made up their mind about God, this book won't influence them one way or another. I mean, I'm Pagan. Jesus is not for me. Yet, one of the books that most influenced my beliefs is The Last Battle of Narnia. C.S.Lewis. One of the most Christian authors ever. People will take what ever they take from ANY book. More people have grown averse to Christianity by reading the Bible than any other book ever written. (Most people hate Christianity because of Christians, what people identifying as Christians do and say and how they treat people. It's not books.)

Another thing I find interesting is that Judy Blume hasn't been translated into Swedish. I grew up in Finland, and she's pretty popular there.

I loved this! This is another Blume book I didn't read when I was younger, but I know I would have loved it then. Blume's writing is ever charming and relatable, more so here than in Forever for me. Margaret's comments about her friends, school, and growing up hearken back to when I was that age, when I was having very similar thoughts. I was never the kind of preteen who hoped and hoped to get my period or to wear a bra (wise beyond my years!). I loved all the characters and the things they talked about, especially Margaret's friends and their breast obsession. I pretty much knew going in that I would love the book, but what surprised me were the religious themes. They weren't heavy-handed or partisan at all; they presented themselves naturally, the way a real child would think about them. I'd definitely recommend this to female readers young and old!

If you look through my previously read books, you won't find any Judy Blume. This omission is not because I truly haven't read Blume, but because it has been so many years and I'm not entirely sure which books of hers I did read. I know I read several from the Fudge series, but did I read them all? If not, which ones did I read? I'm pretty sure I read some of her other works, but so many of the titles sound familiar and I know I didn't read that many.

Recently, I was thinking of Blume and figured it was high time my grown-up self read something of hers. Would my adult perspective make her stories any less earth shattering? Nostalgia would surely boost my feelings for something I'd read before, so I decided to try one I knew I hadn't ever read. I went with the classic Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

If I was the person I am now back in elementary school, I so would've read this book. Back then, however, I had little interest in reading fiction books (shocking, isn't it?). I wasn't as much of a reader then, either, but what I did read was largely Strange, But True Facts and Garfield and World Records and... And surely I was not going to read a “girl's book.” (Thank you society for filling young minds with such stupid concepts.)

Despite having never read this book, nostalgia took over. Totally. There's a feel to these books (is it just Blume or all children's books of the era?) that is unique. Regardless of the novel's subject matter, I couldn't help but think about the Challenger and be filled with a desire to watch Who's the Boss?. There's a magic to these stories that probably would be lost on someone not born in the seventies or eighties. (I have a feeling kids in the nineties were still collectively reading Blume, but it's only a feeling. Can anyone confirm or deny?) Sure, there's a universal appeal that I'm sure still entices some young readers, but I doubt most grade school libraries are constantly running out of Blume novels like they were once upon a time.

Aside from the nostalgia, I largely enjoyed this story, but it did not impress me as much as I had hoped it would. Frankly, I felt the story was cut short. Brevity is a necessity in these stories, but this one had such a slow build up and then it was over. Also, it's all rather shallow. The characters are shallow. The plot is shallow. The philosophy is shallow, as is the religion. This is all rather a tame approach to the serious problems of a upper-middle class white girl in America. But you know what? So be it. It's Judy effin' Blume.

Read it with 10 year old and had to explain somethings that have changed (walking to gate, Playboy magazine, 12 year riding buses alone in New York city). Sweet book to introduce body and friend changes. We found friends more discussion worthy than puberty.

I can't exactly remember why this book was on my to-read list. I think I saw it on one of the unshelved.com bookclub notes and thought it was a cool premise.

I really wasn't expecting how old fashioned it was.
It was apparently first published in 1970.

I still thought it was a very cute short story. Most of the characters had depth. I can actually related it to some of the few school memories I still have.

I don't think I know anyone I would recommend it to, but its an insight into young girls (which sounds a little creepy) that I wasn't expecting. I'm betting its pretty outdated though.

As a teenager, I was going about my own merry way until Margaret and her literary ilk sent me into a neurotic spiral of “why don't I worry about my body shape?” “Why don't I have obsessive, angsty crashes on guys?” “Why don't I care whether my friends have their periods?”

The answer, revealed years later is that I'm far wiser than these girls and their nonfictional counterparts – a truth I wish I knew as a middleschooler when teachers harassed me about not being able to find ways that Margaret resonated with me.

A book about a petty and shallow girl, befitting petty and shallow preteens and the intelligent young women who want insight into why their peers have suddenly gone crazy.