Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

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

27 reviews

kirstym25's review against another edition

4.0

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

gwenswoons's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Loved this. I needed something light that would not make me cry because my Dad was dying and I did not feel like I could physically deal with crying more than I already was. I missed this when I was a young reader (was already reading way-older-people books by the time I would have read any Judy Blume), so it was fun to read this like thirty years later than I might have. I thought it was so funny and sweet and tender, and Laura Hamilton’s audio narration was pure delight for me. It didn’t do me in with the iconic love I know so many people feel for it — but I’m also almost 40, and, even more relevantly I suspect, did not actually ever have the kinds of religious questions (or biological ones, for that matter) that Margaret grapples with during the book. So I loved it for the sweet middle-grade read that it was, but, to answer my writing teacher — who was shocked when I said I picked this because I needed something less emotional to read at the moment — no, it didn’t make me cry or move me remotely in that way. (NOT a letdown, especially for what I needed! It just didn’t do that for me!)

Content Warnings

chelseafrieske's review against another edition

2.5

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

m_liz's review against another edition

4.0

fast-paced

Content Warnings

ricksilva's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Margaret, a few months short of twelve years old, moves to the Jersey suburbs from New York City, and tries to figure out what religion she belongs to. She talks to God on a regular basis, but her parents, one raised Christian and one raised Jewish and both decidedly agnostic at this point, have decided to let Margaret make any religious decisions on her own.

Margaret converses with God through a succession of pre-teen experiences, and eventually finds herself back in the middle of her parents' original fight with their own parents over religion.

This has good character work, and great details. The book is notable for its time because it doesn't shy away from the realities of puberty, but it handles these issues with grace, a touch of humor, and compassion. It also does a great job with the upper-middle-class New York/New Jersey setting and culture.

Although some of the bigger issues are left unresolved, the story feels very real, and the growth and sincerity of Margaret's character are delightful.

Content Warnings