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kamharellano's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I first read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret when I was 9 years old. Back then, the societal aspect of this book didn't really strike a chord with me. I absolutely did not care about finding out what religion Margaret ends up picking in the end, and other than rolling my eyes at the bigotry and disrespect of both maternal and paternal grandparents for both Margaret's feelings and her parents' feelings and decisions (although at the time I was unable to articulate what I was feeling as such, merely telling the school librarian, who'd suggested that I read this instead after finding me reading Stephen King novels, that all the adults in it sucked), I had no reaction to or investment in any of the relationships Judy Blume portrays in here.
What makes this book such a classic is how much Blume treats the concept of growing up with care and sincerity. This book came out in the 70s, and I was a pre-teen in the late 90s and early 00s, and still my girlfriends and I were chanting, "I must - I must - I must increase my bust!" like it was a prayer. Things that are Big Deals to kids at that age - getting periods, growing boobs, experiencing attraction for the first time, realizing the similarities and differences between you and others, making friends, ending friendships, handling mean girls and bullies and trying to recognize if you're a mean girl or bully - are treated with the appropriate level of gravity. There's no condescension, no portrayal of adults as all-seeing and all-knowing paragons of virtue. Instead, there's just a girl, and her thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, and all her unanswered questions.
And that's the beauty of this book, really. There's no neatly tied up ending. There's no answers to any of the questions. We never find out if Margaret chooses to be Jewish or Catholic or Christian, or any other religion or no religion at all. We never finds out if she makes up with Laura Danker, or if Nancy Wheeler ever outgrows her lying mean girl tendencies. That's what growing up is, at the end of the day. A whole lot of unresolved questions and open endings.
As an additional note, this is the first time I'm rereading this as an adult. Despite the fact that she's the main character, I find myself no longer really being too interested in Margaret. Instead, I ended up deeply resonating with Laura Danker. Of course, I didn't realize this when I was 9, or even when I was 10 or 11 or 12. But at that age, I was her. Got tall early, grew boobs early, and was whispered about for it. I hope all the Laura Dankers out there know that you're fine, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you, and when the going gets tough, it's perfectly okay to punch the Nancy Wheelers of the world in the face.
What makes this book such a classic is how much Blume treats the concept of growing up with care and sincerity. This book came out in the 70s, and I was a pre-teen in the late 90s and early 00s, and still my girlfriends and I were chanting, "I must - I must - I must increase my bust!" like it was a prayer. Things that are Big Deals to kids at that age - getting periods, growing boobs, experiencing attraction for the first time, realizing the similarities and differences between you and others, making friends, ending friendships, handling mean girls and bullies and trying to recognize if you're a mean girl or bully - are treated with the appropriate level of gravity. There's no condescension, no portrayal of adults as all-seeing and all-knowing paragons of virtue. Instead, there's just a girl, and her thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, and all her unanswered questions.
And that's the beauty of this book, really. There's no neatly tied up ending. There's no answers to any of the questions. We never find out if Margaret chooses to be Jewish or Catholic or Christian, or any other religion or no religion at all. We never finds out if she makes up with Laura Danker, or if Nancy Wheeler ever outgrows her lying mean girl tendencies. That's what growing up is, at the end of the day. A whole lot of unresolved questions and open endings.
As an additional note, this is the first time I'm rereading this as an adult. Despite the fact that she's the main character, I find myself no longer really being too interested in Margaret. Instead, I ended up deeply resonating with Laura Danker. Of course, I didn't realize this when I was 9, or even when I was 10 or 11 or 12. But at that age, I was her. Got tall early, grew boobs early, and was whispered about for it. I hope all the Laura Dankers out there know that you're fine, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you, and when the going gets tough, it's perfectly okay to punch the Nancy Wheelers of the world in the face.
lindapatin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
shelbell10's review against another edition
4.0
Just little classic I never read as a kid. I’m glad I didn’t read it in middle school, I’m not sure I would’ve enjoyed the banter as much as I did now
lindsaymay92's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
mabelcharlotte's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
alayna017's review against another edition
5.0
This was a coming of age book that I never read as a teen. It was a compelling look at adolescence and what we were all thinking at that time! It continues to be relevant even now, highly recommend.
omerd84's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0