![\"Light](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Are-You-There-God.jpg?resize=232%2C300&ssl=1\")
By Judy Bume\nDelacorte Press, \u00a92012
\nASIN: B007I5QMK2
\nKindle File Size: 1515KB
\nPaperback: 177 pages\n
<\/p>By Judy Bume
\nDelacorte Press, \u00a92012
\nASIN: B007I5QMK2
\nKindle File Size: 1515KB
\nPaperback: 177 pages\n
What a wonderful little book! While it seems simplistic, perhaps written for a middle-grade reader, Margaret\u2019s story is deeper than it first appears. Its themes of puberty, menstruation and sexuality, and the exploration of religion have prompted bans in many circles, including the very elementary school attended by the author\u2019s children.<\/p>\n
This book is really for cisgender girls, who will know the angst that comes from their first period, worrying about kissing boys (or girls), and wondering if you\u2019ll ever fill out your bra. It boggles my mind why any organization could or would ban a book that would help a young girl understand what her body is going through, and how other girls handle the emotions involved, especially after reading it. All Margaret\u2019s angst, worrying that because she wasn\u2019t \u201cbig\u201d up top and she wasn\u2019t the first one to start her cycles\u2014it seems that story would be comforting and\/or reassuring to other girls facing the same issues. It\u2019s always reassuring to know, when going through something new, you aren\u2019t the only one to have felt this way.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s more than that. Margaret\u2019s family is one of mixed faiths, or rather *no* faith. Her father is from a Jewish family, while her mother is from a Christian family. Both families want Margaret to join *their* faith, but Margaret isn\u2019t having any of it. She is going to find out for herself what faith she is, and there will be no rushing it. That doesn\u2019t mean she isn\u2019t spiritual. Far from it. Margaret talks to god all the time, like god is standing right there, or maybe breathing on the other end of a phone line. And when she doesn\u2019t find god in any of the churches or temples she visits, she tells god flat out \u2013 \u201cI didn\u2019t feel you at all. Not the way when I talk to you at night. Why God? Why do I only feel you when I\u2019m alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
I found this innocent honesty in the search for god endearing. It also struck a chord in me, since I talk to god the same way, as if she\u2019s sitting next to me. When asked, I will say I\u2019m Wiccan. But in truth, I don\u2019t think I fit into any specific religious box. Like Margaret, I still feel closest to god when I am alone.<\/p>\n
Are You There God is a deceptively deep exploration of growth and learning, and while it is written from the perspective of an 11-year-old girl, its truths are relevant to those of all ages. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Judy Bume Delacorte Press, \u00a92012 ASIN: B007I5QMK2 Kindle File Size: 1515KB Paperback: 177 pages What a wonderful little book! While it seems simplistic, perhaps written for a middle-grade reader, Margaret\u2019s story is deeper than it first appears. Its themes of puberty, menstruation and sexuality, and the exploration of religion have prompted bans in many…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-1k1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6668,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/looking-for-alaska\/","url_meta":{"origin":5085,"position":0},"title":"Looking for Alaska","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By John Green \u00a9 August 14, 2008 File size: 5.1 MB 227 pages ISBN-13: 978-1101434208 Looking for Alaska is a captivating tale of a junior high school boy who goes away to boarding school in search of the Great Perhaps\u2014something to break him out of the soul-sucking boredom that is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A plume of white smoke rises against a black background from the bottom center of the cover and curls into whorls at the top edge. 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