Module 2: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

GoodReads. (2016). Are you there God? It's
Me, Margaret. Retrieved from https://www.
goodreads.com/book/show/37732.Are_
You_There_God_It_s_Me_Margaret

Book Summary: Margaret and her parents have just moved from NYC to New Jersey, right before 6th grade starts. Margaret makes quick friends with Nancy, Gretchen, and Janie. Together, they survive the trials and tribulations of pre-teen girls: awkward school dances, impatiently waiting for her first period, secret crushes, and classmate drama. But Margaret is a little different from her friends: her mom is Christian and her dad is Jewish. This has caused Margaret quite a bit of cognitive dissonance in her spiritual identity. She tries praying to God to help her sort it all out, but, unfortunately, doesn’t ever come to a conclusion.

APA Reference:

Blume, J. (2001). Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret (revised format ed.). New York City: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a seminal middle grade read, especially for girls. Some of it is dated (i.e. square dancing school dance and records), but other portions of it are still highly relevant, especially concerning Margaret’s cognitive dissonance surrounding religion and her and her friends’ worries about getting their period and wearing a bra. While the period and bra concerns are resolved, the religion question isn’t so much. This invites great questions for readers to talk about with parents and/or youth ministers (or the equivalent). In a time when religious curiosity and freedom to be a “none” were taboo, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was an important addition to the middle grade canon.

Professional Review:

Staff. (1970, October 1). Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret [review of Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ book-reviews/judy-blume/are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret/

The comical longings of little girls who want to be big girls -- exercising to the chant of "We must -- we must -- increase our bust!" -- and the wistful longing of Margaret, who talks comfortably to God, for a religion, come together as her anxiety to be normal, which is natural enough in sixth grade. And if that's what we want to tell kids, this is a fresh, unclinical case in point: Mrs. Blume (Iggie's House, 1969) has an easy way with words and some choice ones when the occasion arises. But there's danger in the preoccupation with the physical signs of puberty -- with growing into a Playboy centerfold, the goal here, though the one girl in the class who's on her way rues it; and with menstruating sooner rather than later -- calming Margaret, her mother says she was a late one, but the happy ending is the first drop of blood: the effect is to confirm common anxieties instead of allaying them. (And countertrends notwithstanding, much is made of that first bra, that first dab of lipstick.) More promising is Margaret's pursuit of religion: to decide for herself (earlier than her 'liberal' parents intended), she goes to temple with a grandmother, to church with a friend; but neither makes any sense to her -- "Twelve is very late to learn." Fortunately, after a disillusioning sectarian dispute, she resumes talking to God. . . to thank him for that telltale sign of womanhood. Which raises the last question: of a satirical stance in lieu of a perspective.

Library Use: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret would be an excellent book to include in pre-teen girls kits, along with American Girl’s The Care and Keeping of You and other similarly focused books or magazines.