Ahhhhhh, Judy Blume.  Probably one of the most prolific – and beloved – middle grade and young adult authors, well, ever.  She’s been all over the bookish news lately, as she just released her first adult novel in seventeen years (In the Unlikely Event, which I also read and loved this month).  In honor of Blume’s new novel, Kerry of Entomology of a Bookworm proposed a readalong featuring two of Blume’s all-time greats: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret and Summer Sisters.  As I mentioned in my responses to Kerry’s kickoff questions, Blume was a big part of my reading childhood.  I believe – although my mom can correct me if I’m wrong – that my first forays into the Blume canon were the Fudge books, starting with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  (I haven’t thought about those books in years, but I do still have a soft spot for that trouble-making Fudge.  Hope my kids love the Fudge books as much as I did.)  I eventually moved on to the young adult novels, and my favorite was Just as Long as We’re Together.  (Apparently there’s a sequel, Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson.  How did I not know that?)  But one I missed, somehow, was Blume’s all-time classic, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.  So when Kerry suggested a readalong, naturally, I jumped on the chance to remedy that omission.

The Plot…

When the novel opens, Margaret Simon and her family are preparing for a move from New York City to New Jersey.  Although Margaret’s parents justify the move with reasons like fresh air – more space – better schools, Margaret suspects that they might also be trying to get her away from her grandmother.  Grandma is a devout Jew who would love for Margaret to join the religion – which makes Margaret’s agnostic parents uncomfortable.  Still, Grandma is a darn sight better than the grandparents on the other side.  Margaret’s mom was raised Christian, and her father was Jewish, and when they decided to marry, Mom’s parents cut them out of the family.  (The reader does well to remember that this book takes place in the 1970s; I don’t know that the story line would be as realistic if written today.  At least, I hope it wouldn’t.)

As Margaret settles into life in the suburbs, she finds herself swept into new friendships.  The gregarious Nancy Wheeler takes Margaret under her wing and invites her to join a secret club, the Pre-Teen Sensations, in which all members must wear bras and alert the others when they get their first periods.  And thus begins a year of growth in which Margaret convinces her mother to buy her a training bra and anxiously awaits her first period.  (Reading this book as an adult, all I wanted to say to Margaret was, “Oh, honey.  Trust me, bras and periods are not nearly as exciting as you think.  Don’t rush it!”)  Margaret immerses herself in junior high, with all its worries about friends and boys and reputations.  Meanwhile, she continues to spend time with Grandma and deals with more family drama as her other grandparents suddenly seem to want to be in her life.

It’s a lot for a Pre-Teen Sensation to handle, but Margaret has a confidante: God.  Although Margaret is “no religion,” she still keeps up a steady stream of conversation with God, pouring out all her hopes, dreams, and questions.  Why would Mom keep secret from Dad the fact that she sent Margaret’s grandparents a Christmas card?  And please, come on God, help a girl out in the bra department!  Also, while we’re at it, when is Margaret going to get that elusive period?  The other girls are shocked at Margaret’s non-religious family; how will she know whether she’s supposed to go to the YMCA or the JCC?  For a class assignment, Margaret spends the year attending various religious services, trying to figure out what religion would be her best fit – but none of the churches or temples seem right.  Margaret feels uninspired at best, and at worst, like a fish on the minister’s hook.  (She spends a lot of time counting hats.)  In the end (spoiler alert!) Margaret realizes that her relationship with God – personable, friendly and intimate – is exactly what she needs.  Especially when he finally obliges on that whole period thing.

My Thoughts…

Like I said, I loved Judy Blume’s novels as a kid.  So I’d bet that, had I read this at age 13 instead of 33, it would have really spoken to me.  (Except, maybe, the period stuff.  I don’t remember ever being so excited over that particular milestone.  More nervous that it would arrive at an inopportune time.)  Even now, I really enjoyed it, and I think my adult perspective shed light on certain aspects of the book that would have been completely lost on me as a pre-teen or young teenager.  (For example, I cringed at the casual cruelty the girls displayed toward Laura Danker, but I also recognized that their behavior was rooted in jealousy, which I think I would have missed twenty years ago.)

The best part of the book, for me, was watching Margaret’s evolving relationship with God.  When the book begins, God is a sounding board, a place to lob worries about friends and boys and seriously, God, when is Margaret going to get her period, I mean COME ON already.  (I particularly enjoyed one scene in which Margaret, getting ready for a party, decides to stuff her new bra with cotton balls and then says, in effect, see, God, I just need a little help here.)  Yet as Margaret attends different religious services, she comes to recognize that her personal relationship with God is more fulfilling than the rote recitation of lines she doesn’t even understand.  And that she doesn’t need to know whether she’ll go to the YMCA or the JCC, because what she has is deeper than the external trappings of religion.  While it’s true that, at the end of the book, God is still a sounding board for friend and boy troubles (although at least Margaret has her period now, thanks, God!) Margaret is much more comfortable with the idea of charting her own religious path.

All things considered, I really did enjoy this book.  There was an awful lot of bra-and-period talk, but it’s Judy Blume, so that’s pretty much a given.  There was also a lot of wisdom sprinkled in.  So – better late than never – I’m very glad I’ve finally gotten to know Margaret Simon.

Have you ever read Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret?  What did you think?