A Sampling of the Classics: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

For a recent assignment, we were asked to read a "classic" YA novel. Now, you may be wondering what it means to be a classic. Sadly, I do not have a satisfactory answer for that question. As far as I'm aware, what makes a book a classic is its enduring popularity and literary merit. I chose to read Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume partly because I had never read her, partly because I had just read Chelsea Handler's Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea and so the title caught my eye. In case your wondering the two do not have much in common but they can both be read in about two hours so feel free to make your own judgments. Basically, the novel is told from the perspective of 12-year-old Margaret and focuses on her arrival at puberty, her uncertainty towards religion, and her problems with friends as she tries to assert herself as an individual and as a member of her friend group.

This novel is definitely geared towards young, pre-pubescent girls. As a "classic" this book is significant because Blume was the first ever to address menstruation and its importance for young girls. Blume has had immense influence on YA authors and continues to be adored in the YA circle and its easy to see why. Her protagonist was authentic and she engaged issues that had in the past been ignored but which have a big impact on young girls. I found parts of it dated but that's inevitable for a book written over twenty years ago. One of the best aspects for me was her ambivalence towards religion, which is possibly even more relevant today given our increasingly pluralistic society. Would I recommend this novel? Only to young girls. And even then, you have to know a person to recommend a novel to them. I for one would not have liked this book as a young girl. I would have found it boring, but then I was always more of an action/adventure/fantasy/pirate/knight/anything exciting fan. Still, the writing is fluid and the characters believable. Plus, Blume is a huge name in YA lit so perhaps I just need to read something else by her.