| Product Summary | | Format: Paperback | | ISBN: 9780440404194 | | Publisher: Yearling | | Publish Date: 2/1/1993 | | Buy.com Sku: 30067531 | | Item#: R47CN6 | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 66066 | | Dimensions (in Inches) 7.5H x 5L x 0.5T |
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| | | | "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. We're moving today. I'm so scared God. I've never lived anywhere but here. Suppose I hate my new school? Suppose everybody there hates me? Please help me God. Don't let New Jersey be too horrible. Thank you..." (from the first line) "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
No one ever told Margaret Simon that eleven-going-on- twelve would be such a hard age. When her family moves to New Jersey, she has to adjust to life in the suburbs, a different school, and a whole new group of friends. Margaret knows she needs someone to talk to about growing up-and it's not long before she's found a solution.
Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. I can't wait until two o'clock God. That's when our dance starts. Do you think I'll get Philip Leroy for a partner? It's not so much that I like him as a person God, but as a boy he's very handsome. And I'd love to dance with him... just once or twice. Thank you God.
Annotation:
Margaret Simon faces a lot of changes the year she enters sixth grade. First, her family moves from New York City to a small town in New Jersey where she must settle into a new school and meet new friends. She also deals with her questions and anxieties about her first period, her first bra, and her newfound feelings for boys. A virtual rite of passage for preadolescent girls, ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET was originally published in 1970, and was one of the first works of fiction to address the topic of menstruation. This book also broke ground by examining religion in a decidedly secular manner. The daughter of a Jewish father and a Christian mother (both of whom come from deeply religious backgrounds, but neither of whom is particularly religious), Margaret's personal struggle to determine where her own faith lies mirrors her adolescent struggle to establish her own identity while still fitting in with her peers.
| Author Bio| Judy Blume | | Judy Blume is one of the most popular authors of children's books. Her writings have won a large number of awards, many of which were selected and voted on by children. Blume is known for her honest and frank dealings with subjects important to emerging adolescents such as teenage sexuality, including masturbation and menstruation. Her presentation of these topics has also made her one of the most frequently censored authors for young people. In 1981, her desire to give young people the right to information access led to the creation of the Kids Fund, which gives grants to non-profit organizations that serve young people. She was given the Carl Sandburg Freedom to Read Award in 1984 and the American Civil Liberties Union Award in 1986. She also received the 1995 Margaret A. Edwards Award for Outstanding Literature for Young Adults--special mention was made of her book FOREVER. |
| | Read A Chapter | Chapter One Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. We’re moving today. I’m so scared God. I’ve never lived anywhere but here. Suppose I hate my new school? Suppose everybody there hates me? Please help me God. Don’t let New Jersey be too horrible. Thank you.
We moved on the Tuesday before Labor Day. I knew what the weather was like the second I got up. I knew because I caught my mother sniffing under her arms. She always does that when it’s hot and humid, to make sure her deodorant’s working. I don’t use deodorant yet. I don’t think people start to smell bad until they’re at least twelve. So I’ve still got a few months to go.
I was really surprised when I came home from camp and found out our New York apartment had been rented to another family and that we owned a house in Farbrook, New Jersey. First of all I never even heard of Farbrook. And second of all, I Click to read more... Chapter One Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. We’re moving today. I’m so scared God. I’ve never lived anywhere but here. Suppose I hate my new school? Suppose everybody there hates me? Please help me God. Don’t let New Jersey be too horrible. Thank you.
We moved on the Tuesday before Labor Day. I knew what the weather was like the second I got up. I knew because I caught my mother sniffing under her arms. She always does that when it’s hot and humid, to make sure her deodorant’s working. I don’t use deodorant yet. I don’t think people start to smell bad until they’re at least twelve. So I’ve still got a few months to go.
I was really surprised when I came home from camp and found out our New York apartment had been rented to another family and that we owned a house in Farbrook, New Jersey. First of all I never even heard of Farbrook. And second of all, I’m not usually left out of important family decisions.
But when I groaned, “Why New Jersey?” I was told, “Long Island is too social-Westchester is too expensive-and Connecticut is too inconvenient.”
So Farbrook, New Jersey it was, where my father could commute to his job in Manhattan, where I could go to public school, and where my mother could have all the grass, trees and flowers she ever wanted. Except I never knew she wanted that stuff in the first place.
The new house is on Morningbird Lane. It isn’t bad. It’s part brick, part wood. Also, there is a very nice brass knocker. Every house on our new street looks a lot the same. They are all seven years old. So are the trees.
I think we left the city because of my grandmother, Sylvia Simon. I can’t figure out any other reason for the move. Especially since my mother says Grandma is too much of an influence on me. It’s no big secret in our family that Grandma sends me to summer camp in New Hampshire. And that she enjoys paying my private school tuition (which she won’t be able to do any more because now I’ll be going to public school). She even knits me sweaters that have labels sewed inside saying MADE EXPRESSLY FOR YOU…BY GRANDMA.
And she doesn’t do all that because we’re poor. I know for a fact that we’re not. I mean, we aren’t rich but we certainly have enough. Especially since I’m an only child. That cuts way down on food and clothes. I know this family that has seven kids and every time they go to the shoe store it costs a bundle. My mother and father didn’t plan for me to be an only child, but that’s the way it worked out, which is fine with me because this way I don’t have anybody around to fight.
Anyhow, I figure this house-in-New-Jersey business is my parents’ way of getting me away from Grandma. She doesn’t have a car, she hates buses and she thinks all trains are dirty. So unless Grandma plans to walk, which is unlikely, I won’t be seeing much of her. Now some kids might think, who cares about seeing a grandmother? But Sylvia Simon is a lot of fun, considering her age, which I happen to know is sixty. The only problem is she’s always asking me if I have boyfriends and if they’re Jewish. Now that is ridiculous because number one I don’t have boyfriends. And number two what would I care if they’re Jewish or not? Continues...
Excerpted from Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaretby Judy Blume Copyright © 1986 by Judy Blume. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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