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

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this in preparation for watching the movie with my mom. I’m bummed I never read this (or any Judy Blume book—what was wrong with me???) as a child. I probably would have loved it.

Reading it as an adult over 50 years after its publication, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. still feels like a decently accurate portrayal of the mindset of a white, middle-class American, preteen girl. I remember how eager my own classmates were in the late 90s and early 2000s to grow up and start “menstroo-ating.” I recall how frustrating and stressful it was when everyone suddenly seemed to be defined by the development of their bodies. And growing up in a small-town Baptist haven, I definitely remember what it’s like to feel religiously isolated from your peers.

I think books like this are more helpful to preteen girls than things like the What Every Girl Should Know film Margaret had to watch. After all, the average public school girl is exposed to What She Should Know well before the Official Lecture comes along. Reading stories about fictional characters sharing their struggles seems more helpful to real girls who can relate to Margaret.

It’s funny now to think of how controversial this book was when it was first published. Imagine the scandalized 1970s crowds being exposed to modern culture wars. Their brains would probably implode.

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𝓟.𝓢. This review was crossposted from Goodreads because it contains actual thoughts rather than a typically facetious single-sentence remark. View all my book ratings and pointless takes on Goodreads or The StoryGraph.