Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
| Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. | |
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| Author(s) | Judy Blume |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult |
| Publisher | Yearling |
| Publication date | 1970 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 149 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-440-40419-3 |
| OCLC Number | 19882286 |
| LC Classification | MLCS 2006/13809 (P) |
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is a 1970 book by Judy Blume, typically categorized as a young adult novel, about a girl in sixth grade who grew up without a religious affiliation. Margaret's mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, and the novel explores her quest for a single religion. Margaret also confronts many other pre-teen female issues, such as buying her first bra, having her first period, coping with belted sanitary napkins (changed to adhesive sanitary pads for recent editions of the book), jealousy towards another girl who has developed a womanly figure earlier than other girls, liking boys, and whether to voice her opinion if it differs from those of her friends.
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[edit] Plot summary
The main conflict in the novel comes from Margaret's need to settle her mixed religious heritage. She deals with her issues of belief in God, as the story is frequently interlaced with her praying by beginning with the title's words "Are You there, God? it's me, Margaret." In school, she is assigned a year-long independent study project; she chooses a study on people's beliefs, which proves to be more than she can handle as she is finding out a lot about herself as well. She also is dealing with conflict between her grandparents on both sides of her family, as her maternal grandparents are trying to guarantee that she is indeed Christian as she was born with a Christian mother. Margaret enjoys spending time with her paternal grandmother, who seems to accept her for who she is and is more accepting of her son's interfaith marriage, although she has referred to Margaret as "my Jewish girl" and introduced her to synagogue services, but more for the purpose of showing her granddaughter what the Jewish faith entails. The ambiguities of her interfaith identity are particularly highlighted in a scene — following a heated argument with another girl — in which Margaret visits a church, finding her way to the confessional booth; there the unseen priest inquires as to her problems, but — believing at first that the priest is God himself speaking to her and not comprehending the concept of Christian confession or its confidential nature — she simply responds "I am sorry," before running out of the church in tears.
Margaret eventually stops "talking to God" after being in the middle of a confrontation between her parents and maternal grandparents. She is angry at him for putting her in such a conflict. In the end of the book, she goes to the bathroom and finds spots of blood in her underwear. She calls her mom, who was prepared for this and has bought Pads. She puts the pad on, and makes one final prayer to God before the book ends:
| “ | Are you still there God? It's me, Margaret. I know you're there God. I know you wouldn't have missed this for anything! Thank you God. Thanks an awful lot... | ” |
Besides religion though, Margaret moves from New York to the New Jersey suburbs, where she encounters Nancy, who leads her into a club where the talk about boys, bras,and periods. She becomes attracted to Phillip Leory, a boy at school, and kisses him at a party while playing "Spin the Bottle." She does get a bra and is excited but also confused about growing up.
[edit] Major characters
- Margaret Simon – Protagonist of book. She's 11 years old, an only child, and is starting the 6th grade. She's just starting puberty and noticing boys, plus she's uncertain of which religion she prefers to follow.
- Barbara Simon (nee Hutchins) – Margaret's stay-at-home mother, who is Christian.
- Herbert Simon – Margaret's father, who is Jewish and is in insurance.
- Sylvia Simon – Margaret's Grandmother and Herbert's mother. She refers to Margaret as "my Margaret" or her "Jewish girl".
- Nancy Wheeler – Margaret's neighbor and her first new friend in Farbrook, NJ.
- Gretchen Potter – A friend of Nancy whose father is a doctor, and is a member of the Four PTS's.
- Janie Loomis – Another girl in the Four PTS's with Nancy, Gretchen, and Margaret.
- Evan Wheeler – Nancy's older brother.
- Moose Freed – Evan's friend and a boy Margaret takes an interest in.
- Miles J. Benedict Jr. – Margaret's sixth grade teacher who is in his first year as a teacher.
- Laura Danker – A classmate of Margaret's who is tall and very developed for her age.
- Phillip Leroy – A classmate of Margaret's whom she initially likes.
- Mary and Paul Hutchins – Barbara's estranged parents who all but disowned her for marrying outside her religion, and after Barbara sent them a Christmas card, made plans to visit the week Margaret was supposed to go to Florida.
[edit] Awards
In 2011, the book was placed on Time's top 100 fiction books written in English since 1923.[1]
[edit] Subsequent book
Blume's success with Are You There God? It's Me Margaret inspired her to write another book, Then Again, Maybe I Won't. This novel deals with Tony Miglione, a boy of the same age as Margaret who is dealing with puberty as well, although his transition from childhood to adulthood is quite different from Margaret's.
[edit] External links
- Judy Blume's website
- Works by or about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
[edit] References
- ^ Grossman, Lev (16 October 2005). "All Time 100 Novels". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1951793_1951936_1952095,00.html. Retrieved 10-01-2011.
