Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

by Judy Blume

Truth be told… my mother was not the one who informed me about the changes that happen to a girl’s body when she starts to become a woman (things like when to start wearing a bra and how the menstrual cycle factors in). Judy Blume was. And I don’t think I’m alone. Let’s be honest: It’s often difficult and embarrassing for girls on the cusp of womanhood to talk about these things with their mothers. Thank goodness for Judy Blume. She was writing about topics that were taboo that are no longer taboo (divorce, sexual exploration, etc.). But this book is one of her most oft-challenged titles, and her editor, Richard Jackson, has always said it was because of “the God question.” Margaret Simon talks to God. Herself. With no rabbi or priest present. She has a very personal relationship with God, and this book invites teens to ponder questions about who God is to her (or him) and what kind of relationship she’d (or he’d) like to have with God. As a companion to all the questions that come with adolescence, physical or spiritual, this book can be a godsend.