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Banned Book Review: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

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Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Judy Blume
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published February 28, 2023 (Orig 1970)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Margaret shares her secrets and her spirituality in this iconic Judy Blume novel, beloved by millions.

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, Margaret is happy to belong.

But none of them can believe Margaret doesn’t have religion, and that she isn’t going to the Y or the Jewish Community Center. What they don’t know is Margaret has her own very special relationship with God. She can talk to God about everything—family, friends, even Moose Freed, her secret crush.

Margaret is funny and real. As you read her story, you’ll know why this book has been the favorite of millions of readers. It’s as if Margaret is talking right to you, sharing her secrets with a friend.

My Review

My elementary school teachers read books like Superfudge out loud to us, but I largely missed out on the books Judy Blume wrote for girls. An aunt gave me the book Tiger Eyes when I was in high school, which I read but didn’t like at the time. So, this is my first time reading Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.

I can see the reason why so many people love and appreciate this book. It centers girls and speaks frankly about the pressure that girls feel during adolescence as their bodies change in ways that their peers notice. I love that. To have a space that normalizes the awkwardness, the questions, and the shifting landscape in relationships between girls is so important.

I also appreciated the exploration of faith and religion, though I suspect that some of the issues might be less relevant today maybe? Margaret’s dad is Jewish, and her mom was raised in a Christian family. Because of this, they’ve decided not to participate in any organized religion and to let Margaret decide what she believes as an adult. This is complicated by the fact that Margaret’s grandparents and some friends want her to choose between Judaism and Christianity, as if she has to pick a side in an argument.

I suspect that community pressure to join a particular faith is probably less now than it was in the 1970s, but that might really depend on where you live and family circumstances. So maybe it’s still super relevant for some young readers!

It’s always fascinating to me to read a novel that would have been classified as “contemporary” when it was written which essentially then is read as historical fiction. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. was first published more than fifty years ago.

Yet the importance of safe spaces where girls can talk frankly about their experiences is just as important now as it was back then. I’m really glad I was finally able to read this book.

Why Has Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret Been Banned?

The open discussion about Margaret’s experience with puberty has prompted its being banned. She and her friends can’t wait to get their periods and develop curves. Margaret also questions whether she’d like to participate in religion. Her family is nonreligious, but she feels left out of the ceremonies and rituals that many of her friends experience, which makes her curious about religion. She goes to services and offers a kid’s view of the experience.

Margaret’s experience will resonate with a lot of readers, especially those experiencing pressure about growing up or asking questions about religion. I’m glad there are books that reinforce that it’s normal to have those kinds of questions around Margaret’s age.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Margaret wonders when puberty will begin. She discusses her growth (or lack of it) with girl friends. Margaret and her friends do exercises where they flex their chest muscles, hoping this will help them develop their figures.

The girls talk about starting their periods. They also talk about a curvy girl in their class and spread rumors that she’s had sexual experiences with boys. They don’t say anything overt, and, in fact, when someone asks Margaret to explain what she thinks the girl has done, Margaret herself isn’t sure. She only knows it’s something that’s bad or shameful and has to do with boys. It highlights the ignorance and shaming surrounding relationships and sexuality at the time.

Margaret attends a birthday party where the kids briefly play Spin the Bottle and Two Minutes in the Closet. It’s mainly awkward approaching cringey. One boy politely asks Margaret for permission to kiss her. Another makes it clear he’s going to do what he wants (he kisses her on the mouth more than once).

Spiritual Content
Margaret’s grandparents disowned her mother when she married Margaret’s dad because he is Jewish and they are Christian. Margaret’s family is nonpracticing, and her parents want her to choose what, if any, faith she’ll practice when she grows up. She prays to God privately, not sure her whether her family would be supportive of the habit. She visits a synagogue with her grandmother to see if she would like to practice Judaism, and follows a friend to the local Catholic church where she walks into a confessional. At one point, adults argue about whether religion is something you choose for yourself or whether you’re born into it. The conversation makes Margaret uncomfortable.

Margaret includes prayers spoken directly to God as part of the narrative.

Violent Content
Margaret’s dad injures himself while using a lawn mower. She goes looking outside to see if he’s lost a limb, but he just ends up needing stitches. Margaret repeats a hurtful rumor to someone and upsets them. She feels bad about it later and knows she was wrong.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Hunt for Eden’s Star by D. J. Williams

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Hunt for Eden’s Star
D. J. Williams
Tyndale House
Published April 4, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

The Hunt for Eden’s Star

A coming-of-age teen is thrown into a world of ancient secrets when he discovers a supernatural compass that protects a weapon of mass destruction. With the help of a diverse group of friends, he embarks on a global adventure, seeking the truth about his sister’s death. He uncovers two clandestine, supernatural societies waging an epic, hidden war that threatens the future of civilization.

D. J. Williams’s suspenseful, page-turning style whisks readers into a wildly exciting, supernatural adventure that grabs hold of the imagination and never lets go. As Jack races to collect ancient artifacts critical to the survival of the world, readers are transported to incredible locales across Asia, including the lush jungles of the Philippines and the high-energy streets of Hong Kong. Themes of addiction, revenge, faith, and friendship emerge as Jack battles literal and psychological demons, and even his own friends and family members, on his quest to thwart the forces of evil.

My Review

This was a tough one for me. Suspense is always a bit of an iffy genre, so it could be that I’m generally less comfortable reading that type of story. I found myself struggling not only with some of the suspense elements, but also other elements of the story as well.

One of the things I wrestled with most was the portrayal of characters. I felt like a lot of the characters came across as kind of flat. Jack and his friends kind of acted a bit like frat boys, only interested in girls when they were attractive or could offer the boys a benefit of some kind (a key to an exclusive area, for example). Do high school boys act like that? Yeah, I’ve known some who did. But I found it to be an odd choice to cast those boys as the heroes of the story?

I also felt like Jack never really gained real forward momentum. There were a few scenes where he would make a grand statement about having a goal (one time this was about getting revenge for his sister’s death), and in the next scene, another character would basically tell him that was the wrong goal because reasons. And Jack would abandon his stated goal and kind of be back to trying to figure out his next move. I think I expected him to at some point become the character making things happen.

He does have moments where he accomplishes this. For example, he rescues a bunch of girls who are prisoners being trafficked by the bad guys. It’s a cool scene, but it didn’t really connect to the larger story other than to remind us that the bad guys are super bad.

Conclusion

HUNT FOR EDEN’S STAR has a lot of interesting elements in it. For example, Jack and his friends attend a coed, elite boarding school with four houses. Each house is identified with a particular set of virtues. Students are assigned to a house by a sort of magical process. Very reminiscent of a certain wizarding school. It was cool, and maybe the various houses are more involved in later books in the series, but I didn’t really catch much connection to the story in this first book.

Lots of the story takes place in Hong Kong, so I enjoyed the connection to history and politics/current events happening there. I kind of wish the story had featured that more in connection to the plot.

So, there were some really cool elements. I don’t know if the author just wanted to include all the things that will be relevant to later books to kind of garner reader interest for those things and set up some elements for later? It made the book kind of a long one for YA, especially for YA suspense, at almost 500 pages.

On the whole, I think this series really isn’t for me. Parts of it reminded me of the TIME ECHOES series by Bryan Davis which also has kind of a secret society, murder mystery thing going on. If you liked that one, then HUNT FOR EDEN’S STAR might be a good fit, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Jack is white. Some minor characters are BIPOC.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some comments by boys about girls being attractive. A man brings a girl who is bound and blindfolded to Jack’s room and hints that Jack is to have sex with the girl.

Spiritual Content
Some characters worship Elyon. It seems like this might be supposed to be a representation of Christianity. (The book is published by a Christian publisher.) The religion is pretty transactional. Characters earn supernatural gifts by fully committing to the faith. Jack must pass tests where he must master his fear and instead have faith. If a servant of Elyon goes to a forbidden place, they lose their supernatural abilities and eventually die. Jack’s sister made a kind of contract with Elyon– her life for his– and this means Jack must be the one to complete a mission she left unfinished.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some battle scenes involving gunfire. Jack witnesses a political protestor murdered by police in the street. Jack discovers a group of girls who are victims of human trafficking. All are bound and blindfolded.

Drug Content
Jack and his friends visit a club and drink alcohol. Jack takes a pill that a stranger hands him in passing. He reflects on his past as an addict and credits his sister with saving him.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE HUNT FOR EDEN’S STAR in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.