Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

ANNOTATION

Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old girl talks over her problems with her own private God.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

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 has 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.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Judy Blume's body of work returns to her original editor, Richard Jackson, with the rerelease of four classics in hardcover. An African-American family moves to all-white Grove Street in Iggie's House, to be released in April. The author's breakthrough title, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, about 11-year old Margaret Simon's struggles with puberty and religion, is now available in hardcover as well as in a Spanish-language edition, Estas ahi Dios? Soy yo, Margaret. Two additional titles came out last season: Blubber takes on preteen teasing; and It's Not the End of the World explores the effects of divorce. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature - Jeanne K. Pettenati, J.D.

Margaret Simon is starting sixth grade in a new school in a new state. She and her parents have just moved from New York City to a suburb in New Jersey. Margaret is not too happy about all this. For one thing, the move has taken her away from her grandmother, Sylvia Simon, who is her biggest fan. Chapter one begins with Margaret talking to God. She tells God how scared she is to be facing all these changes. Throughout the book, Margaret talks to God in a very open and spontaneous way. Although she talks to God, Margaret does not belong to any one religion. Her parents were both raised in different faiths and their marriage created problems for their extended families. So they decided to let Margaret make her own decision about joining a religion when she gets older. This is an issue for Margaret in the suburbs because it seems that all the kids she meets are either Christian or Jewish. Margaret also worries about being liked by her classmates. She soon meets a girl named Nancy, and becomes part of her group. The girls are obsessed with boys and bodily changes. They are curious in a healthy way about how they will change from girls to teenagers. Female readers will identify with Margaret and relate to the things she worries about during her sixth grade year. Although this book was originally published in 1970, the issues Margaret deals with are timely for today's girls on the verge of adolescence. Readers will laugh with Margaret. It will be easy for girls to imagine themselves in Margaret's world because it is a realistic one. She experiences a wide range of emotions, all of which will strike a chord with readers. 2004 (orig. 1970), Dell Yearling/Random House, Ages 10 to 14.

AudioFile - Carolyn R. Angus