Great Books: Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Yes, Are You There God? It's Me Margaret is on the list, courtesy of TIME Magazine's List of 100 greatest English language novels from 1923 to the present.

I read this when I was a kid (eight to ten - don't remember exactly) and it has really stood up to the passage of time. There's a reason Judy Blume is one of the most banned author in the United States. She deals with mature issues in a way that's accessible to kids, and some people don't like that. Because they're morons.

I have got to get this mad out of the way somehow, but the only way I think I can do that is to let it out. How stupid are people anyhow? This is a book that deals with, oh god, menstruation, and liking boys, and religion, and this is stuff little girls desperately need to know, so what the fuck is wrong with people that make this number 62 on the list of most frequently challenged books? Who thinks their child shouldn't be reading this book? Do they actually think their kid isn't going to have to deal with these issues? Isn't already thinking about members of the opposite sex? Isn't wondering about God? Will their child grow up in some perfect bubble world and burst into puberty on their wedding day? Newsflash: when Zeus gestated Athena in his head and she burst forth fully grown, that was a myth, not a parenting role model!

Note to people: stop being asshats. I hate that.

Judy Blume kicks ass. Rereading it as an adult I was kind of surprised to find out that this is a decent book with a lot more layers than I remembered. It's not just that Margaret is 12 and wants to get her period; she has just moved to a new neighborhood, to the suburbs of New Jersey from Brooklyn. Her parents don't toally get along with her father's mother (Jewish) and are completely estranged from her mother's parents (Christian). Margaret just wants to get along and fit in. But 12 is a lot harder than 11, what with a) boys b) periods c) bras d) school dances.

The writing is wonderful. Just reading the first chapter gave me the chills, the way she sets everything up. Blume just casually tosses in a mention of the fact that Margaret is an only child because her parents couldn't have any more kids. And if you notice it, that lays there underneath everything for the rest of the book, that extra bit of tension between her parents, one more in a set of immense pressures that their marriage has survived.

Further note: ha! This book has been updated. When I first read it Margaret used a 'belt'. I never got to see one of those until the magic of the internet (thanks, Museum of Menstruation!) Now Margaret uses disposable adhesive pads, the same 'equipment' a modern young person would be familiar with. It's a change that makes sense.

13 comments:

AnnaMartin said...

I am so glad that they updated it! Back home, we (or, I should say, Mom) still has what I believe is the first copy you read, unless she has given it away since I last read it a few years ago.

I remember loving the book but being totally confused by the belt thing!

Who updated it, do you know? I mean, is Judy Blume still around? Otherwise, who did the changes?

And who in their right mind would ban this book? That's retarded.

mapletree7 said...

She's still around, and looking good.

Liz said...

I don't know...when is a book a reference guide to be updated, and when is it literature to be left as is. We all loved the book and remember it even though none of us used belts. I think it might take away some of the charm of it when it's updated.

Maxine Clarke said...

I never discovered Judy Blume when I was a teenager, maybe I am too old, or maybe her books were not then published in the UK. (Have to admit, I guess, that this would have been the late 1960s). Are you writing from the US or UK or somewhere else?

However, I read about Judy Blume when older and when I had a daugther myself encouraged her to read her, to no avail. Cathy is now 15. Too old now do you think? She reads a lot of books on this kind of topic (I think! haven't read them myself being "past it"), eg Sarah Manning, Jodi Picoult.

Cathy read a lot of Jacqueline Wilson when she was 8-11, as has Jenny (my younger daughter, now 10). If you are not in the UK, do you get Jacqui W's books? She is most popular children's author in UK. I am not sure if she writes about menstruation but she writes about first boyfriends, peer pressure, being bullied, single parent families, babies being dumped in dustbin, mother drug addict, tatooed, etc -- all from point of view of child and definitely extremely non-judgemental. JW was not writing when I was of an age to read her, but I read a few to my girls when they still liked being read to, and I do think they are excellent at "speaking to the child".

Apols for long rambling comment. I am having a day off work so a bit of time. Probably never happen again!

all the best, I love reading your reviews as you post them.

mapletree7 said...

I think probably this counts as 'living literature'.

There's one other thing that might have been changed - I rememebr the boy she had a crush as named 'Wolf'; instead, his nickname is 'Moose'. But that might have been me.

mapletree7 said...

Thanks, Maxine, I like your blog too (orgy of mutual congratulation indulged).

Are You There was originally published in 1970, so you missed the window.

I'm not familiar with Jaqueline Wilson. I thought Sue Townsend was the most popular children's author in the UK!

Yup, I'm in the US.

Maxine Clarke said...

You aren't going to read all of this overlong post (below) but it is about a Times report that Jacqui Wilson is the top children's author borrowed from libraries for the nth year running.

http://petrona-maxine.blogspot.com/2006/02/crime-overtakes-romance.html

Sue Townsend was very popular quite a few years ago, but has struggled over the past 10 years to repeat the success of the first couple of Adrian Mole books. JW seems to write books that everyone (children) just snaps up. The author herself is lovely and spends loads of time going round schools and giving talks at books meetings.

Probably Roald Dahl peaked around the Sue Townsend time too. He is still v popular but probably not as much as JW.

Have had a quick look at Amazon US and JW's books are available "over there".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=br_ss_hs/002-1511149-9734405?search-alias=aps&keywords=jacqueline%20wilson

Tracy Beaker is a good one to start with. About a girl in a children's home convinced her mother is going to turn up and take her "home". But they are all pretty much of a theme.

She does write for 3 distinct age groups, though. One 5-7, one 8-12 (the best books I think) and the last for teens.

Anonymous said...

There's an article in this month's Atlantic that includes some discussion of how the sexuality of young women is celebrated in Judy Blume's writing, and how different this is from contemporary culture. You might enjoy it.

alice, uptown said...

Are you there God?,... came out the year that I turned 10. If the only change needed to make the book contemporary is to go from sanitary belts (still in use in hospitals, along with a baby-futon-sized sanitary napkin) to Maxipads, then it really must hold up.

As for layers, re-read "Harriet the Spy." You'd be amazed at the book's take on class consciousness.

Anonymous said...

What a great ambition. I read a ton but I don't think I could manage to blog about them all. Heck, I have a hard time posting the titles. Must bookmark you and come back for more.

Susan Taylor Brown
http://susanwrites.livejournal.com/

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