Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
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| Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. | |
|---|---|
 1970 paperback edition |
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| Author | 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 preteen girl in sixth grade who grew up with no religion. 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 the 2006 edition 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 what her girlfriends seem to believe.
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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 also deals with her issues of belief in God, as the story is frequently interlaced with her praying by beginning with the title's words. In school, she is assigned a year long independent study project, to which she chooses a study on people's beliefs, which proves to be more than she can handle as she is finding 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 seems to enjoy instead 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 in, the unseen priest inquires as to her problems, but – believing at first that the priest is God himself speaking to her, and moreover 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.
Blume's success with Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. inspired her to write another book, Then Again, Maybe I Won't, which this time 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 obviously quite different from Margaret's.
[edit] Censorship
Due to its frank treatment of sexuality and religion, this book is one of the top 100 most frequently challenged books at American libraries (i.e. books that have been requested to be banned), listed at number sixty on this list.[1]
In the 1970s, Blume experienced very few attempts at banning or censoring her work. According to her, this changed practically overnight after the 1980 presidential election. She stated in an interview that one night a woman phoned her, asking if she had written Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. When Blume replied affirmatively, the woman called her a "Communist" and hung up. Blume joked that she never did figure out if the harasser equated communism with menstruation or religion, the two major concerns in twelve year-old Margaret's life.[2][3]
The book was parodied in the South Park episode Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Judy Blume's website
- Works by or about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
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