Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Published 1970 · 168 pages · 30,336 words · about 2 hours at an average pace · Coming-of-Age

How hard is Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret to read?

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret scores 25 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it relatively accessible. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 25 out of 100
The vocabulary is simple and accessible, reflecting the perspective of an almost-12-year-old protagonist. It uses common, everyday language without rare words, specialized terminology, or complex allusions, making it highly readable for its target audience. This places it slightly above 'Diary of a Young Girl' (22) due to its fictional narrative scope, but well below 'Beach Read' (30).
Sentence structure: 28 out of 100
The prose features predominantly short, direct, and declarative sentences, mirroring a child's natural speech and thought patterns. While there are some compound sentences, complex nested clauses are rare, ensuring a straightforward and easy-to-follow narrative flow. Its simplicity is comparable to 'Diary of a Young Girl' (22), with slightly more narrative variation.
Abstraction: 30 out of 100
The narrative is highly concrete, focusing on Margaret's immediate experiences, social interactions, and physical development. While she grapples with personal questions of religion and identity, these are explored through her direct, lived experiences rather than abstract philosophical discussions. This makes it more grounded than 'Atomic Habits' (38) and closer to a pure adventure narrative.
Information density: 30 out of 100
The book maintains a steady, linear pace, concentrating on Margaret's internal world and personal journey. It avoids complex subplots, intricate symbolism, or dense historical details, presenting concepts clearly and manageably. This makes for a light, focused read, similar to 'The Housemaid' (35) in its directness but with less plot complexity.
Narrative indirection: 25 out of 100
Margaret's narrative is characterized by direct, explicit expression of her thoughts, feelings, and observations, particularly in her internal monologues with God. Readers are told exactly what Margaret is experiencing and thinking, leaving minimal room for inference regarding her immediate emotional state or the plot's progression. This directness aligns with the book's anchor score.
Symbolic density: 20 out of 100
The narrative primarily focuses on literal events and Margaret's direct experiences of puberty, friendship, and religious exploration. While objects like bras and periods are significant markers of her development, they function more as concrete plot points and social catalysts than as complex, multi-layered symbols requiring extensive interpretation. The text prioritizes straightforward depiction over allegorical depth, similar to 'Diary of a Young Girl'.
Ironic distance: 15 out of 100
The narrative maintains a very close, earnest perspective through Margaret's first-person voice, with little to no discernible gap between her stated thoughts and the author's implied meaning. The humor and emotional impact derive from Margaret's sincere, often naive, engagement with her world, rather than from an authorial critique or detached ironic stance. The reader is invited to empathize directly with her experiences, matching 'Diary of a Young Girl'.
Resolution withholding: 30 out of 100
While Margaret's overarching religious quest remains open-ended by the book's conclusion, the primary tension surrounding her physical development and social acceptance (specifically, getting her period) is definitively resolved. The narrative provides clear closure for Margaret's most pressing anxieties, offering a satisfying, if not fully comprehensive, sense of completion for the reader, slightly above a 'Beach Read' type ending.
Structural complexity: 28 out of 100
The book employs a consistently linear, chronological narrative structure, following Margaret's experiences from her move to New Jersey through her sixth-grade year. There are no shifts in point of view, complex flashbacks, or experimental narrative devices. The straightforward presentation ensures easy comprehension of the timeline and character perspectives, similar to 'Beach Read'.

How Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is regarded

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret holds a literary regard score of 64 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

Where Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret sits in Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism

Placed by a full reading of the text (54 passages), not from reputation. Each verdict quotes the passage that earned it. On the axis from myth to irony, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret scores 64 out of 100. A second mythos, irony, pulls at it with a weight of 0.12. About the map of stories.

Mode: Low Mimetic
I looked down at my underpants and I couldn’t believe it. There was blood on them. Not a lot—but enough.
Symbol: Formal
I counted eight brown, six black, three red, a yellow and a leopard before the rabbi finished.
Mythos: Comedy phase 3 (comedy iii)
I know you’re there God. I know you wouldn’t have missed this for anything! Thank you God. Thanks an awful lot.…
Genre: Novel + Confession
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. I just came home from church. I loved the choir—the songs were so beautiful. Still, I didn’t really feel you God.

Where the story of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret takes place

  • Farbrook, New Jersey, sixth-grade year, c. 1969-70 (1969 to 1970), the main setting
  • New York City visits: Lincoln Center, temple, Radio City (1969 to 1970)

7 things that are true of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, with the passage for each

  1. Margaret's parents moved the family from a New York apartment to Farbrook, New Jersey, at the start of the book.

    We moved on the Tuesday before Labor Day.

  2. Margaret's father cuts his finger on the new lawn mower, which takes eight stitches.

    it took eight stitches to sew up his finger.

  3. The club Nancy founds is called the Pre-Teen Sensations, and its members swear to wear bras.

    We’ll be the Four PTS’s.” “What’s it stand for?” Janie asked. Nancy tossed her hair around and smiled. “The Pre-Teen Sensations!”

  4. The club exercise chant is "We must—we must—we must increase our bust."

    We must—we must—we must increase our bust!”

  5. Margaret stuffs cotton balls into her bra for Norman Fishbein's party.

    I shoved three cotton balls into each side of my bra.

  6. Margaret buys a box of sanitary napkins and hides it in her bottom desk drawer.

    put it back in its box and hid it in my bottom desk drawer.

  7. Margaret writes her year-long project as a letter because she has nothing else to hand in.

    I have conducted a year-long experiment in religion.

Scenes in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret that Frye would name

18 sightings of Frye's terms in the text. The strongest:

Anagnorisis, untitled
I couldn’t believe it! Nancy, who knew everything! She’d lied to me about her period. She’d never had it before! A recognition scene reverses Margaret's picture of Nancy, the group's authority.
Alazon, untitled
“I’m growing already,” Nancy said, sticking her chest way out. “In a few years I’m going to look like one of those girls in Playboy.” Nancy as braggart who poses as an expert on sex and maturity.
Lyric, untitled
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. I’m in my new bedroom but I still have the same bed. The recurring italic prayer is overheard private utterance addressed upward.
Pharmakos, untitled
“You be smart and stay away from her. She’s got a bad reputation.” Laura Danker is scapegoated by the class because of her body.
Pharmakos, untitled
“I think it’s disgusting that you all pick on me because I’m big!” Laura said, sniffling. Laura names her scapegoat status directly.
Anagnorisis, untitled
That’s when it hit me that for all I knew Nancy made up that story about Laura. Margaret recognizes that the rumor about Laura was likely fabricated.

Books that share these scenes with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

About the author

Judy Blume