Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Rating:
Summary: Summer Reading
Review: Have you ever had a problem in your life and you turned to someone that you would never ask for help from? That is what Margaret did in Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. The genre of this book is realistic fiction. The theme of the book is to face your fear of growing up. Margaret is a thirteen year old girl who moves to New Jersey because her parents have a problem with her grandmother. She makes new friends at school and joins a club. All the girls in the club are into growing up fast and Margaret feels left out because she isn't sure she wants to grow up fast. This story takes place in present day in New Jersey. The conflict in the book was that everyone was into growing up fast and started fighting about who would grow up the fastest. The fighting is also the most important event because everything before and after the fight reflected on it. I really like this book because it deals with problems that girls could go through in real life. Another reason I liked this book is because while you read the book it gives you hints on how to solve problems. I recommend this book to girls from the age of eleven to sixteen. If you like reading an interesting and funny book, read Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book is great. It might be fictional but it helps girls understand puberty. Especially to girls that are afraid to talk to their moms. It shows coming of age and it teaches girl that puberty shouln't be something to be afraid of. It also teaches that everything happens at a right time.

Rating:
Summary: Give me a break!
Review: I can't believe there are so many people out there who loved this book. It is simple-minded, boring, unrealistic, and on top of that, it has a bad message! This book is about a girl named Margaret who is in sixth grade and is obsessed with getting breasts, getting her period, being popular, and boys. And this is a book that many parents give their kids? Honestly, if you're a mother, do you want your kid to act like that? Margaret's friends are also mean and disrespectful. I read this book when I was twelve and I hated the story and I hated Margaret from start to finish. She didn't act anything like me or any of my friends. I was much more interested in historical fiction, like "A Break With Charity," by Ann Rinaldi, or fantasy, like "Wise Child," by Monica Furlong. These books go beyond the world of popular culture and taught me a lot more than silly books like "Are You There, God, It's Me, Margaret". Now my sister is twelve, and guess what? Although she and I are quite different, she hated the book as much as I did, and so did most of her friends. I know a lot of twelve-year-olds, and most of them would rather be making up silly songs or playing outside than dreaming about boobs and boys. The truth is, not many kids really act like the stereo-typical "pre-teen" girls in this book. And I think most people would agree that that's a good thing.

Rating:
Summary: Are you there God? Its me Margret
Review: Are you there God? Its me Margret is a good book about a girl who has to go through a lot of changes. She has to move states, leave her grandma, make all new friends, and out of all of that she has to figure out her religion. Margret is an eleven year old going on twelve who is very confused with her life. She just moved states and has to make all new friends. On the first day she meets Nancy, Nancy tells her all of the Do's and Dont's of the 6th grade. She has to wear her shoes without socks or she would look like a "baby". Margret and Nancy become best friends. On the first day of school they find out that they are in the same class together and with other of her friends. They then make a club called the four pts (The four pre-teen censations). All five of the girls tell eachother everything and do everything together. In the mix of making friends Margret has to try and chose her religion since her parents come from different religions she can chose her own. All of her friends have a different religion so she goes to different churches to try them out. She is very confused with her religion because her Grandma wants her to be jewish, her other Grandparents want her to be christian, and her parents are getting angry at both because they want it to Margrets decisions. She is also growing up and needs to make some of her own decisions. I liked this book because it showed me that even if you do have to leave family and make new friends, things will still come out good in the end.

Rating:
Summary: Disgusting.
Review: This book was very interesting, and Judy Blume is an excellent author. However, I don't think the book is really appropriate for pre-teenage children. As a matter of fact, it especially is not appropriate for adults...The realism is lost, in all honesty, when all the girls are going crazy about starting puberty. Nobody is that excited about their period or bras. I think there are plenty of other books for children to read about puberty that are more informative and less in the realm of cheesy romance novels.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Wish to Grow Up too Fast
Review: A Review by Brena

Margaret had moved from New York to a smaller community in New Jersey. Wishing all she could do is fit in with the other girls. She joined a club calling them the Pre-teen Sensations. All the girls want to become a woman so fast. Between growing up and fitting in she was trying to decide what religion is right for her only coming to the right resolution for her faith.

This story really makes you understand the feelings that Margaret are going through. I really liked that you could very well understand what she feels or how she thinks. Especially when she must start wearing a bra, she still felt herself that she didn't need one, but she wanted to become a woman. It was also very easy to follow along with the pace of the story and dialogue. The language was easy to follow and descriptions were very clear in Margaret's life. The conflicts she faces with religion show great realism to actual life for young children.

I would recommend this to people who like to read a young coming-of-age drama. The people to most enjoy this book would be young girls ages 8-14. The audience is mostly young woman.

Rating:
Summary: Time To Grow Up!
Review: Before I get started on telling you how cool this book is... I must tell you this is mostly for Girls on how hard changing can be from a girl to a woman.The main charter is Margaret. A girl whose family is different from others. Her family has just moved and she does not think she will be able to make new friends, but she is wrong there.Her new friend is Nancy. Margaret,Nancy and some other girl make a club called the PTS's, but one of the rules is that have to wear bras to be in the club ...all the girls except Nancy wears a gro-bra. After Margaret has her period and kissed a boy things start to get wierd. I liked this book because it seemed like things my friends and I might do. They seemed like real people and real problems.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!!!
Review: This book is very good and funny! This book also gives a lot of details.
It makes sense in every part of the story. You will not want to put it down at all! You will just keep reading it and reading it! When I started reading Judy Blume's books, I kept on buying them, and this is one of my favorites. You might be just like me!

Rating:
Summary: A really good book that got me ready!
Review: This book is a really good book. Judy Blume has a way of writing that is unlike anything else. In this book Margaret moves to a new town, where she meats 3 very nice girls, who turn out to be good friends except for one problem; these girl are all into growing up, getting their periods, and having thier breasts develope. Margaret feals emabarresed because she is still "flat" and she doesn't feal like she is going to start her period any time soon. Margaret decides to talk to God about her troubles. She talks to him like a friend and it helps her.
One day Margaret is invited to a party, by a boy in her class who really likes her. He invited the whole class, when Margaret and her 3 friends arrive the boy decides to play "Spin the bottle". When the boys get tired of that game they decide to play "2 Minutes in the Closet". Margaret doesn't feal ready to kiss any one, but what is she supposed to do?
This book is very funny, but I wouldn't recomend it to anyone younger than 10. It deals with a lot of growing up, and puberty. It could scare anyone younger than 10, and make them afrade of growing up. My mom and I have talked about this kind of thing, and this book just helped me to be even more prepared. I think any girl who is nervouse becuase they're still "flat" or they are afraid of not growing up quickly enough, should read this book, that way they can comfort their fears and be reassured that their body has this under control!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book!!!
Review: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is one of my most favorite books by Judy Blume. In this book, Margaret Simon was a girl who lived in New York and had no religion until she had to move to New Jersey because her grandma was too much of an influence on her. Margaret was very upset with this decision and was nervous about her first day of school in New Jersey. She thought she would have no friends. She never wanted to go to New Jersey and didn't understand why her parents would do this to her. An hour after they moved into their new house, someone knocked on their door. It was a girl named Nancy Wheeler. Nancy was taller then Margaret, and had longer hair. She invited Margaret to go under the sprinklers. After they went under the sprinklers, Margaret went home. Nancy said that Margaret will meet two of Nancy's friends later on when school started. Things started to change when Margaret meets Gretchen and Janie and things brighten up. I wont't spoil the rest for you but I can asure you, you will love this book!