Is Are You There God? It's me, Margaret

[sunshinesupermum]

My grandson is 10 years old. Is this a suitable read for him or is it only for girls? TIA

As a PP mentioned ‘Then Again Maybe I Won’t’ is a Judy Blume book about a boy going through puberty. All I remember about it is he used to perve at his neighbour through his binoculars, and he ended up in hospital with stomach pains due to anxiety (or too much wanking).

AYTGIMM is about female puberty and female friendships. It'll be completely unrepeatable to boy.

Yet I really enjoyed 'Then Again, Maybe I Won't' as a 10 year old girl, even though it was all about male puberty. I was fascinated by Tony getting uncontrollable erections at random moments, such as when asked to complete a maths exercise on the board at school (and glad to know I had cause to be thankful that any random horny moments I had as a girl were undetectable).

Yes, I enjoyed all the JB books as a kid, even if they had a boy protagonist. It's weird how this is seen as normal as I was a girl, but somehow not suitable for a boy to read a book written from a female perspective.

I wouldn’t propose it as a novel that I’d expect to be of interest to a 10y.o boy but I certainly wouldn’t take discourage him from reading if he was mature enough not to be icked out by periods and interested in reading it.

I used to like reading my older brother’s Adrian Mole books when I was about ten, and I never worried about not getting off with a posh girl or wanked to Big & Bouncy 😂 Maybe they gave me an insight into how boys feel, and the (sometimes peculiar) things they do, but I suppose having a brother also helped boys not feel like a different species. If I hadn’t had a brother they’d have been even more useful, come to think of it, fiction is a good way of seeing inside the heads of people who are different to you.

(I have a 14 y.o son and a 10 y.o daughter if that’s relevant OP)

As I recall, it's all about a girl praying for periods and bigger breasts.

My DS is nearly 10. I wouldn't want him reading it.

It's just a really odd choice. There are so many children's books available it's not like there's a shortage of things for them to read.

I think of that book every time I hear the name Ralph. Or see a white furry rug.

I think there's a film out

But it's about periods and stuff

I read it at primary school. I imagine it's quite dated / of it's time ie the 70s

I remember there was one about a boy who had a lot of wet dreams: i read it as a kid but didnt really understand what a wet dream was. I thought he was peeing himself 🤣

There's no such thing as a girls book or a boys book.

Definitely do not buy him Forever !

To all the people saying it's about periods, so a boy shouldn't read it -wtf.
Don't read it because it's dated or but very good or any other reason, but not because the protagonist is a girl.

It's an exaggeration to say that's all it is about. Much of the story is about Margaret's efforts to find a religion to fit her belief in God, because she suddenly feels isolated, being the child of a mixed-faith marriage but neither Christian nor Jewish by upbringing, in an environment where everyone else is one or the other.

Of course boys should read it - a ten year old boy should know all about periods by now. Jeez, what is with all these posters wanting to stop boys relating to girls?!! Boys should be encouraged to know all aspects of puberty, not just male puberty. I can't believe the posts I am seeing!

It's nothing to do with that. The book is very dated and it's about a group of girls who form a club and they all wait for their periods and there are exercises which are meant to help your chest grow. It's probably just not a very interesting read for a 10 year old boy. There are far better, more engaging ways to teach boys about male and female puberty.

This is a trip down memory lane. I'd forgotten how many Judy Blume books I read in the 80s.

I'm sure a 10yo book could read it, but he's not the intended audience and I'm not sure it would really resonate with him. Surely there are a hundred other books he would enjoy more.

I grew up in the 1970s New Jersey where Judy Blume set a lot of her novels (and I think Forever was actually set in my hometown). I don’t remember the characters from Forever being the same age as Are You There God - the Forever characters were much closer to being at the end of high school than the beginning.

I wouldn’t think a 10 year old boy would be particularly interested in girls getting periods and growing their boobs, but I see no reason not to let him make that decision himself.

So many Judy Blume books went over my head a bit. Looking back, Iggie’s House was about a black family being told to leave the neighbourhood? I loved Blubber as well. I always found Are You There God a bit boring but I was probably a bit too young when I read it.

I remember Tiger Eyes being so moving.

I was about 10, the content is fine. However it'll be pretty dated.

Yes, Iggie's House is where the Garbers, a black family move into a racist neighbourhood, where the 'Queen Bee' immediately starts a campaign to hound them out. Winnie, the protagonist, wants to befriend the family because she's lonely after her best friend (the Iggie of the title) moved out of the house where the Garbers now live, but although well-meaning, she initially sees being friends with a black family as a great novelty and angers the Garbers by making assumptions about them and patronising them.

Wow, this took me right back! I read it as a teenager when I was about 11. I can't remember the details but I think I thought it was quite rude...but then I did have quite a sheltered upbringing.

I've now just googled Judy Blume and it turns out she's 85 and is still writing. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

@Mommybunny what I meant about about Margaret and the Forever characters being a similar age is because Margaret was published in 1970 and the characters are age 11/12, Forever was published in 1975 and the characters are 17/18. So in theory they are all a similar age.
I love figuring out how old book characters are now based on when books were published.

I remember all of these well too. I don't think a 10-year old boy would be interested in this one. Not because 10 year olds shouldn't understand periods, but the whole book is angsty waiting for it, and just quite dull I expect for a boy. I never enjoyed the religious aspect of it that much either. I was puzzled about the belts and loops and stuff!

Tiger Eyes was about the girl with divorced parents, wasn't it?
Then Again Maybe I Won't was the boy puberty; I don't remember the details of the plot - was there divorce there too? I do remember the binoculars!
Deenie was the scoliosis one.
Iggie's house the racism with the family moving in.
Blubber was the horrible bullying, I remember that well.
Starring Sally J.. that was the weird Hitler one. I didn't like it as much as the others, maybe because I didn't really understand some of it.
There are some newer ones I read later when I went through a JB re-reading phase, like Just As Long as We're Together, about pre-teen girls and falling in and out of friendship, quite realistic in that way - more up to date about periods, with pads rather than belts etc., though it sounds like Margaret has been updated now too. I think there's at least one sequel to this one.

Tiger Eyes was about the girl with divorced parents, wasn't it?

No, that was 'It's Not The End of the World'.

Tiger Eyes is where the girl, Davy's, father is shot in an armed robbery. She goes with her mum and brother to stay with relatives in New Mexico, where she meets and develops feelings for a young man 'Wolf' while she is processing her grief for her father. It's a very moving book, I cried when I read it (at a particular scene where she lights a candle for her father).

why ever not?