Are You There God? was written in 1970, and people are still trying to get rid of it. That takes a special kind of book. Sometimes people say it should be read only past the age of 13, or even 15, but by then it’s not as much use. This is a book for and about pre-teen girls, and it’s a good one.
This book is about two things: puberty and religion. Unsurprisingly, these are also the reasons it is so frequently challenged. The thing about this book is that it says both these topics are really just about fitting in. Margaret wants her period because all her friends are getting theirs. Margaret wants to be either Christian or Jewish so she can join the Y or the Jewish Community Center. This is something so many kids go through, including myself, and it’s great to have a character I really relate to. Not many books for kids deal with the topic of faith and trying to find your own religion, and a lot of kids books choose to dance around the topic of puberty.
One of the main criticisms I see of this book is that Margaret is just not a good role model. She and her friends are too obsessed with growing up, puberty, and boys. This isn’t entirely unfair. The story ends with Margaret overjoyed about getting her period. There’s not much resolution, but then, there’s not much resolution in growing up. Margaret also changes as a person over the course of the story. She learns that lying to make yourself look better (or others worse) isn’t a good thing, and that people who may look grown up aren’t necessarily “mature.” She’s a messy and realistic character, and that’s what makes her so great!
I say this as someone who is currently going through American sex ed: it is very clinical. That’s not entirely a bad thing; it’s a scientific topic and should be treated as such. But it’s a much more up-close and personal topic than, say, earth science. I will never see the Earth’s core. I am surrounded by puberty. When a kid has a question, if it is outside the scope of what the teacher’s been given, they won’t get an answer. Are You There, God?, though it gives few concrete answers, at least lets kids know that they aren’t alone, and that questions are a natural and constant part of being alive.
All in all, Are You There, God? is a pillar of the middle-grade genre, and shouldn’t be kept out of schools and libraries. It’s held up for over half a century, and kids love it. Putting it in a kid’s arms won’t turn them into an atheist or a sex-obsessed pre-teen. If they read it and have questions, answer them and don’t discourage them. The worst thing that can come of this book is children feeling they can’t be curious about these topics, and that’s not a product of this book but of the adults around them.