Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Twelve year old Margaret has a lot of worries for her young age. She wonders if she will ever need anything beyond her training bra. When the time comes to kiss a boy, how will she even know how? And she is desperately afraid that she will be the last girl in her club to get her period. As if this wasn’t enough, she also has a new home and a new school. And where does God fit into all of this…

Ok. I think I became a reader through Judy Blume’s books. Ok…. maybe I started with my collection of Nancy Drews and then on to the Hardy Boys, but in those early years of double digits, Judy Blume was my author of choice. I fondly remember reading this book and it was a pleasure to pull it out again for this re-read.

Judy writes well with her sixth grade voice of Margaret, page by page going through Margaret’s fears and hopes for her new school and for herself. When Margaret’s teacher asks the students to share what religion they are, Margaret starts to wonder about that too.

What I love about this book is how Margaret takes her questions to God. Throughout the whole book God is her companion and much like a voiced diary, Margaret shares it all. The book is funny and sweet and a wonderful book for young girls as the are starting to ask their own questions. I think this book would be a wonderful discussion book that could be shared between mother and daughter.

Reading this book again made me laugh out loud (all I am saying is six cotton balls…. ) and reminded me of the wonderful stories and characters I had found with Judy Blume. It brought me back to a time when I worried about such things and it was good to read a book about a girl who had concerns like me.

Check out all the covers for this book… how fun are they!

Did you ever read this book? What cover was your copy?

Why was Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret banned?

Due to its relatively frank treatment of adolescent sexuality and religion, this book is one of the top 100 most frequently challenged books at libraries (i.e., books that have been requested to be banned), according to the American Library Association.

A fun FYI: This book was seen being read by Sawyer from the hit TV show LOST, on the beach, demonstrating his indiscriminate desire for reading material. He disliked the book, calling it “predictable”, with “not nearly enough sex”.