Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

 

On June 4, 2023, we met in Santa Cruz to discuss Karen's pick: "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume. Although, all of us had already read the book in our youth, we thought it would be interesting to revisit this coming-of-age classic that was recently released as a movie. In the book, the main character, Margaret, is almost twelve and has just moved out of New York City to suburbia. Trying to fit in, she makes friends with a girl down the street who is the leader of a secret club where a small group of friends talks about crushes, bras, and getting their first periods. As Margaret adjusts to her new life, she realizes that she is alone in not having a religious affiliation. Her father is Jewish and her mother is Christian and they have allowed Margaret to make her own choice. Which will she choose? Throughout the book, we hear the inner dialog of Margaret as she talks to God about her hopes and fears as she learns about her developing body and explores her own identity.

As middle-aged women rereading this book, we were all struck by what we had remembered and what we didn't. The general consensus was that we recalled the parts about puberty but not about Margaret's exploration of religion. It was interesting to see how much more depth there was in the book than we realized and how the book was truly before its time. We discussed the characters including Margaret, her mom, Margaret's friends and grandmother. We also compared modern views with trends from fifty years ago, especially gender identification. A fun read!

We were thrilled to have everyone present this time along with Rebecca's dog Fin, who is always happy to be right where the action is. 

Happy 20 years of bookclub, everyone!