Vintage Tuesdays - We Must, We Must!

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret


Written by: Judy Blume

Released: June 1, 1970 by Bradury Press

Summary: If anyone tried to determine the most common rite of passage for preteen girls in North America, a girl's first reading of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret would rank near the top of the list. Judy Blume and her character Margaret Simon were the first to say out loud (and in a book even) that it is normal for girls to wonder when they are ever going to fill out their training bras. Puberty is a curious and annoying time. Girls' bodies begin to do freakish things--or, as in Margaret's case, they don't do freakish things nearly as fast as girls wish they would. Adolescents are often so relieved to discover that someone understands their body-angst that they miss one of the book's deeper explorations: a young person's relationship with God. Margaret has a very private relationship with God, and it's only after she moves to New Jersey and hangs out with a new friend that she discovers that it might be weird to talk to God without a priest or a rabbi to mediate. Margaret just wants to fit in! Who is God, and where is He when she needs Him? She begins to look into the cups of her training bra for answers ...

I think that just about every girl who is an avid reader goes through a Judy Blume phase. I know that I sure did in grade 5 or so. But this was the one book that my friends and I passed around to each other like it was the Holy Grail or something. I’m pretty that we all read it at least a dozen times and at times we could be found trying to increase our bust sizes.

This is one of the books that I would give to family members – note to self: birthday presents for next year if I can find enough used copies – and if I could I would pass it out on the streets. Ok, that last bit would be a little creepy...

Margaret is a fantastic character who is able to navigate through stuffing your bra with cotton balls and getting your first period after all your friends. She is one of those iconic characters that symbolize the coming of age of pre-teen girls everywhere no matter their race or religion or social status. Plus, the fact that this was first published in the '70s and is still relevant in toady's society just goes to show how fantastic this book is. For that alone, I think that this is a complete 10/10 novel of the first rate kind but of course, there are many, many, other reasons that this is a fantastic book which should be read.