Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. By Judy Blume

            This story follows an incoming sixth-grader named Margaret Simon. Margaret and her family move from New York to New Jersey before school starts. As she begins sixth grade, she faces a lot of peer pressure and changes that come with turning twelve. She joins a group of friends that have a secret club called the PTS’s (the Preteen Sensations). The PTS’s come together once a week to discuss bras, periods, their crushes, and drama from room 18 at school. For her year-long project for Mr. Benedict, she decides to learn about different religions to try to choose one by the end of the year. Margaret’s dad has a Jewish background and her mom has a Christian background. However, her parents do not practice any religion and want Margaret to choose her own religion when she is old enough. Margaret feels pressure from her classmates and her grandparents to pick either Christianity or Judaism. Margaret talks to God often, especially when she is worried that she will develop slower than the other PTS’s or when she feels confused about religion. At the end of the book, she feels hopeful that she is developing like a normal twelve-year-old girl because she finally gets her period. She also discovers that gossip is not always true and comes to feel more comfortable in her search for religion even though she has not yet chosen one. In 1970, this book was chosen for Time Magazine’s Outstanding Book of the Year and was on its All-Time 100 Novels List in 2005. Additionally, in 2012, this book was chosen for Scholastic Magazine's Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books For Kids.

            This book would be best suited for sixth and seventh-grade girls. Because of the content, I would not use it for the whole class and I could not have it in my classroom library. However, it would be a great book to use for girls who are struggling through the transition into sixth grade. This book was helpful for me when I was in middle school. Due to the content, I would get the parents’ permission for their child to read it. I could also recommend this book to parents as a resource for their middle school daughters. I would explain the controversial topics in this book, especially that of religion and physical development. However, I imagine that many students could relate with Margaret in the book since students in middle school may feel socially awkward, have to make decisions for themselves, and feel torn between wanting to be children and wanting to grow up. Overall, I would have to be careful about using this book, but with the parents’ permission, this book could help other sixth grade girls like Margaret know that they are not alone.