Read the hilarious coming-of-age classic! Judy Blume’s Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is now a major film starring Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, The Notebook) and Abby Ryder Fortson (Ant-Man).

Meet Margaret. She’s going through all the same things most teenage girls have to face; fitting in, friendship and first bras.

Life isn’t easy for Margaret. She’s moved away from her childhood home, she’s starting a new school, finding new friends – and she’s convinced she’s not normal.

For a start she hasn’t got a clue whether she wants to be Jewish like her father or Christian like her mother. Everyone else seems really sure of who they are.

And, worst of all, she’s a ‘late developer’. She just knows that all her friends are going to need a bra before she does. It’s too embarrassing to talk to her parents about these things.

So she talks to God instead – and waits for an answer . . .

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume was first published back in 1970, so be prepared to be transported back in time, a time when things were a little different, and yet some things never change.

Margaret is a young girl who is going through a lot of upheaval in her life. Her family has moved from the hustle and bustle of New York to the New Jersey suburbs. She has gone from attending a private school to a public one, though one with not many pupils, and she is at an age when her body is starting to change.

On top of all this, Margaret is having a little religious crisis in which she is unsure what faith, if any, she wants to belong to as her parents aren’t religious but her grandmother and her friends are, though she talks to god, a lot, hence the title.

We hear a lot about how people and their bodies change as they get older but this is normally about older adults or boys, rarely do we get an insight into how eleven-year-old girls’ bodies and minds are adapting. It has been a long time since I was that age but I remember some of the drama and this book is spot on.

Through a class project, Margaret looks at different religions and attends different places of worship in the hope that she can resolve her religious identity. Whether you are religious or not, this book although has a religious side-plot weaving through the main, is more about self-identity and becoming happy in your own skin than religion.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret was a quick, short, and easy read. The chapters were snappy and the plot held my attention and gave me a good giggle. The book for being over fifty years old is as relevant today as it was back in 1970.

Judy Blume has been winning legions of fans around the world with her stories. More than eighty-two million copies of her books have been sold, and her work has been translated into thirty-two languages. She receives thousands of letters every month from readers of all ages who share their feelings and concerns with her.

In addition to her hilarious Fudge books, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Superfudge, Fudge-a-Mania and Double Fudge, some of her incredibly popular books include The Pain and the Great One series and Freckle Juice. Judy lives in Key West, Florida, and New York City with her husband.