and another winner!
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
1970 cover
I don't think I ever read a Judy Blume book as a kid or even a pre-teen. There was no especial reason for that, except I tended to chose adventure books, boy's books, and those starring horses in a leading role. The Hobbit, Danny Dunn; Black Stallion; Misty of Chincoteau.
But I should have, because I can really identify with Margaret. I was happily content being a "kid" until my eighth grade friend introduced me to makeup, fashion, and Vogue magazine. It suddenly wasn't good enough to be me--I had to be "in" and to do that, I had to be noticed by boys. All the girls in the class fell for the same, unbearably cute guy...the jerk who only noticed you to make fun of you. I still wish I'd punched the lights out of Johnny Whats-his-name for messing up my chess game.
Margaret has other issues, just as I had at that age. She's the child of a Jewish father and a Christian mother, and they're leaving her free to make up her own mind about religion. When she's ready. I had a nonbelieving dad and a non-practicing mom so I, too, was on my own. I had a Christian great aunt; she had a Jewish grandmother. I joined a Baptist church but found it disappointing; she, visited her friends' churches but didn't settle on one. I also searched for God but only found him in the quiet of my room.
It's a book that girls of all times and all places will recognize as their own story. Not the time or the place--the heart.
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