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

Book Title: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Author: Judy Blume

Genre: Contemporary, Coming of Age, Middle-Grade to Junior YA

Blurb from Goodreads

No one ever told Margaret Simon that eleven-going-on-twelve would be such a hard age.

When her family moves to New Jersey, she had to adjust to life in the suburbs, a different school, and a whole new group of friends. Margaret knows she needs someone to talk to about growing up-and it’s not long before she’s found a solution:

Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret.

I can’t wait until two o’clock God. That’s when our dance starts. Do you think I’ll get Philip Leroy for a partner? It’s not so much that I like him as a person God, but as a boy he’s very handsome. And I’d love to dance with him…just once or twice.

Thank you God.

My Review

I remember reading this book when I was eleven years old and I’d just gotten my first period…. the trauma of that day has not yet left me! I was such a precocious pre-teen. I thought I knew everything about growing up because I’d had *the talk* and had been given one of those puberty / teen sexual health manuals.

But akin to pretty much any other precocious eleven year old it rather turned out that I knew nothing.

And then this brilliant book landed in my lap.

And there was Margaret.

Margaret who was as clued in and as clueless as I was!!! She was the most wonderful of protagonists. I related to her so much. When you’re that age every day feels like something new is happening and there can be so much spinning around your head as you try to make sense of your journey towards adulthood.

I think this novel should be a rite of passage for every young girl to read. My mum was the one who introduced me to Judy Blume and I’m so grateful to her for bringing home Judy’s books from the library for me to read. My mum was always pretty awesome like that. She was eternally bringing home books that she thought I would love. And she was always spot-on with her choices!!!

Are you there Judy? It’s me, Éimhear.

I’m all grown up now but I just wanted to say thanks so much for this book.

You made it okay to be all confused about growing up, about wanting to be an adult and a child at the same time.

You wrote what I was feeling even though I didn’t know what I was feeling. I have no idea how you did that and I just wanted to say how much your book meant to me.

Even though it’s decades later Margaret lives forever in my heart.

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