Are You There God It's Me, Margaret
by Judy Blume
Recommended by Catherynne M. Valente and Clara Jeffery
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Reading Profile
Should I read this?
Reads like a candid, preteen diary: plain, chatty voice and small scenes about friendship, crushes, bras, and the messy questions that arrive before adolescence. Useful as a window into the interior life of an almost-twelve-year-old—good for remembering awkwardness and for readers who prefer plainspoken honesty over plot twists. Limiting elements: some passages repeat the same anxieties, and modern readers may find the social setting and slang mildly dated. No hands-on exercises—this is character-driven, not prescriptive.
Read this if...
- •middle-school teacher planning a unit on growing-up literature who needs a short, relatable text to prompt class talk about bodies, boundaries, and friendships; the plain voice makes classroom discussion accessible.
- •parent of an 11–13-year-old trying to figure out how kids think and speak about puberty in their own words; the book supplies everyday language and scenarios you can use as conversation starters.
- •aspiring YA writer working on believable preteen narration who wants a compact example of voice-first storytelling and how interior anxieties can carry a scene without heavy plotting.
Skip this if...
- •readers who want fast-paced plots or multiple intersecting storylines — you'll likely put it down when the narrative stays in internal monologue and the same worries are restated.
- •those expecting modern, explicit discussions of gender and sexuality — annoys if you prefer contemporary language and broader identity frames rather than a narrow preteen perspective.
- •readers irritated by domestic detail and quiet scenes — you’ll lose interest if you prefer novels that move by external drama instead of small social moments and gossip.
Margaret Simon, almost twelve, likes long hair, tuna fish, the smell of rain, and things that are pink. She?s just moved from New York City to Farbook, New Jersey, and is anxious to fit in with her new friends?Nancy, Gretchen, and Janie. When they form a secret club to talk about private subjects like boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Ma...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:hard
Audience Fit
- middle-school teacher planning a unit on growing-up literature who needs a short, relatable text to prompt class talk about bodies, boundaries, and friendships; the plain voice makes classroom discussion accessible.
- parent of an 11–13-year-old trying to figure out how kids think and speak about puberty in their own words; the book supplies everyday language and scenarios you can use as conversation starters.
- aspiring YA writer working on believable preteen narration who wants a compact example of voice-first storytelling and how interior anxieties can carry a scene without heavy plotting.
- readers who want fast-paced plots or multiple intersecting storylines — you'll likely put it down when the narrative stays in internal monologue and the same worries are restated.
- those expecting modern, explicit discussions of gender and sexuality — annoys if you prefer contemporary language and broader identity frames rather than a narrow preteen perspective.
- readers irritated by domestic detail and quiet scenes — you’ll lose interest if you prefer novels that move by external drama instead of small social moments and gossip.
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Why recommended
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in Young Adult and Fiction.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Clara Jeffery
“Saw @judyblume trending and I almost had a heart attack. She's fine. 50th anniversary of "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret" a book I cannot imagine going through puberty without. | Today is the 50th anniversary of Are you There God, It?s Me, Margaret. This book was so much to me as a girl. Yeah, the belts confused. But no other book was talking about how I might feel about menarche or even gasp look forward to it #thanksmargaret @judyblume @SimonKIDS”
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Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider The Giver by Lois Lowry. Recommended by 6 sources.
“Lois Lowry uses spare, plain prose to center a single conceit: a supposedly ideal community that controls emotion and memory. The story follows twelve-year-old Jonas as small revelations accumulate into a sharp ethical dilemma, which makes the book useful for conversation and classroom discussion. Its limitation is emotional restraint and deliberate vagueness—many details and characters stay underdefined—so readers who want rich sensory worldbuilding or a tidy conclusion may feel unsatisfied.”
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How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.