8. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret.

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume/Read by Laura Hamilton (Listening Library) 2008

Genre

Coming of Age

Honors (for the novel; not the audio book)

Nene Award 1975
Great Stone Face Children's Book Award 1980

Review

Margaret and her family move from New York City to Farbrook, NJ.  Margaret spends the novel hoping to fit in and be normal.  This takes on many meanings: from the mundane (not wearing socks with her loafers), to the biological (hoping she'll get her period and develop a bust), to the social (trying to fit in with her friend Nancy and the other girls in the secret club the Four Preteen Sensations), to the romantic (though she has a crush on Moose, she always tells her group of friends that, like them, she likes Phillip Leroy best) to the religious (she continually addresses God throughout the book, but struggles to find a religion that is right for her).  She also learns about trust throughout the novel.  While her friend Nancy is never portrayed as a villain, it becomes clear that Nancy lies.  And her lies sow the seeds of many of Margaret's conflicts.

Opinion

Blume is quite masterful at capturing the feeling of peer pressure and worries about body image that accompanies entrance into middle school.  Having not had precisely the same experience, it struck me as odd how all the little girls longed to have their period.  But thinking back, I do remember a sense of hoping that puberty would come at the appropriate time, so I wouldn't feel out of place.  Laura Hamilton, in her reading of the book, recreates the voice of an 11-12 year old very well.

Ideas

The book would make an excellent entry on a series of books about entering middle school.  There seem to be many books centered on this theme.  In the late summer before school starts, a display like this might be very attractive for all the former 5th graders (or 6th depending upon how the grades are divided).