Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Margaret is a fourth grader who settles into life in suburban New Jersey after moving from New York City. She is not religious because her parents did not raise her with one religion, but she feels pressure to declare herself as Jewish or Christian because everyone else knows what religion they follow. Despite her lack of religion, she has a close relationship with God, who she prays to regularly. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret follows Margaret as she navigates friendships, puberty, and school all while exploring her spiritual identity.

Review:

Despite being over fifty years old, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret mostly holds up as a funny, relatable coming-of-age story. The main character, Margaret, is a likable main character with a good heart and a good head on her shoulders. She balances relatability with a unique and bold personality. Although she makes mistakes, she is shown to be intelligent and capable.

The book’s frank discussion of puberty and menstruation important and sensitively handled. The book is not a substitute for period education, but it does normalize the experience and shows how someone’s first time getting their period can be both exciting and a little scary. The other main theme of the book is religion, which is also explored in a thoughtful and child-appropriate manner. Margaret feels torn between the expectations of various people in her life about what religion (or lack of religion) she should follow, and she approaches the issue with an open mind. She attends various religious services and reads book on the subject, and she refuses to let anyone tell her what religion to follow, all the while maintaining her own relationship with God. The book also showcases how religion can cause conflict in adult relationships.

Besides the major themes of puberty and religion, the book also follows Margaret as she goes about daily life as a preteen girl. We watch Margaret make friends, enjoy quality time with her grandmother (another fun character), develop crushes, gossip, complete schoolwork, and settle into life in New Jersey. These less dramatic parts of the story serve to help Margaret feel like a real person and heighten the story’s relatability.

My main critique of the book is that it is about fifty pages too short. Blume takes her time building up Margaret’s character and problems, but the climax and falling action are handled way too quickly. I would have liked to see more time spent unpacking the main conflict and the lessons learned from it.

The only critique of the content I have is the handling of an issue regarding Margaret’s male fourth-grade teacher, Mr. Benedict, and another girl in her class, Laura.

Margaret hears rumors that Mr. Benedict treats Laura differently because she is the only girl in the class with fully developed breasts. Margaret assumes that this is true and observes some behaviors that might indicate this to be the case. However, the whole situation is rather ambiguous because we later learn that the source of these rumors is highly unreliable. I would have liked to have seen more in the book that a) clearly indicates that a teacher treating a child differently because of how their body has developed is NOT OKAY and/or b) indicates that Mr. Benedict is not, in fact, a creep. As it stands, the book treats it as an unfortunate but “to be expected” sort of thing. If your child is reading this book, I suggest having a conversation about what behaviors are not appropriate from teachers and other authority figures.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret if:

· You are a fan of Judy Blume’s other works

· You are interested in reading about themes of growing up and religion

· You are a preteen navigating puberty

You might not like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret if:

· You want to read a book that tackles puberty from a more modern perspective (this book mostly holds up, but it does show its age at points)

· You dislike rushed endings

A Similar Book:

Twelve by Lauren Myracle (the second book in the “Winnie Years” series). I recommend this book if you loved Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and want something similar or if you are looking for a more modern story that deals with similar issues. Similarities between these books include:

· A twelve-year-old girl as the protagonist

· Explorations of friendship and growing up

· “Slice of life” style

· Frank discussions of puberty and menstruation

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I can definitely understand why so many people love this book, Margaret speaks so matter of factly to the readers, just telling life like it is. So many adults would shy away from talking about topics like religion, periods, and just puberty in general with kids that it's refreshing to have a book that doesn't flinch away from these topics. And hence why this is on the list for the 100 most banned books because nothing gets a book banned faster than touching on subjects that adults don't want to talk about with their kids. If you get down to it, that's the reason for the vast majority of book bans.

This is a pretty quick read, and at this point, there are things in here that kids definitely won't relate to. But the overall message is important, and I can see why this book has withstood the test of time. It's not my favorite book I've ever read, but it's a quick read and still considered a children's classic.

Content Warnings

bitterseason's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Content Warnings

chronicallybookish's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Quick Stats
Age Rating: 9+ ish
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4/5

A childhood classic. The book everyone reads in 5-6th grade. I did not read it. In fact, I’d never read a Judy Blume book before today. I’m not sure how that happened, since the last book my dad ever read was Super Fudge (when he was 10), and it’s a running joke in our family. Somehow, I never picked it up. Nor did I pick up any of her other books.

Until my mom and I were in the car on Friday and started talking about books she read as a child. She was shocked I’d never read it. I said I probably should eventually. And then today, a few days later, I was with my Grandma at the thrift store, and guess what they had for only 25 cents? You guessed it! This book. So obviously I bought it and started reading it immediately.

Okay, okay, the actual review starts here!

I loved Margaret. She was an earnest and realistic character. I personally couldnt relate to her at ton. I never wanted my period. It sounded kind of awful to me. I was like, I’ll wait as long as I can… and yet I was one of the first people I know to get it. But I’ve known enough preteen girls to know she is a great representation of how most girls feel as they start puberty, and characters like her—books like this one—are so important to this day. And I know they were especially so then. Both my mom and grandma were telling me how controversial the book was when it came out/when my mom was in middle school for talking about periods at that time. (My grandma was an elementary/middle school teacher when it released in 1970, and my mom was in late elementary/early middle school in the mid 80s).

I did not like Nancy. She was bossy and kind of a brat and reminded me way too much of some of the girls who made my life hell when I was that age. I wished we could have seen more of Gretchen and Janie, and especially of Laura.

There wasn’t much of a plot outside of trying to figure yourself out, and that made the book feel a bit slow and like it dragged on at times, despite being only 150 pages, but I felt so strongly for Margaret in her struggles with her body and religion, that I didn’t mind too much.

I think 11 year old Kaley would have been bored to tears, if I’m being honest. Not enough animals or swords or dragons and way too much talk about boring old boys. But 19 year old Kaley really appreciates the book, and I think that it’s a great book for girls of that age to read.

Content Warnings

buttermellow's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Brings back memories of my childhood, waiting to his puberty.

Content Warnings

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