History Literature / AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret

* BetaBitch: Margaret becomes one herself when she confronts Laura Danker at the library. The twist: she suddenly realizes she's been blindly following Nancy's lead in ostracizing/tormenting Laura and immediately feels bad for it.

* IHaveNoSon: Or I have no daughter, or I have no son in law. Part of the plot involves Margaret's grandparents on her mother's side disowning her mother because they are religious bigots and did not want her to marry Margaret's Jewish father. This is why Margaret is raised with no religion. They later express a desire to reconcile, though only with her, and not the father, whom they don't even mention in their letter and act as if doesn't exist when they come to visit. When they leave it's implied they still haven't fully reconciled with her yet.

* TheJoyOfX: '''Are You There, God? It's Me, X''' The originator of this variant.

* SlutShaming: Happens to the busty Laura Danker, the boys ogle her while the girls treat her as a pariah, especially Nancy who makes up rumors about the girl making out with Nancy's brother and his friend.

* [[HormoneAddledTeenager Hormone Addled Preteens]]: The book was written in 1970 when it was taboo to talk about puberty outside of health class, so at the time Margaret and her friends may have come off as one of these.

* [[JewishMother Jewish Grandmother]]: Margaret maternal grandmother, true to form, nags her son but dotes on Margaret.

''Are You There God? It's Me Margaret.'' is generally considered to be a YoungAdult novel and was written by JudyBlume in 1970. Because it has puberty and the questioning of religious faith as a large part of its subject matter, it was also subsequently banned from many school libraries and reading lists.

* NoPeriodsPeriod: The puberty exception. This is a major plot point of the book. Margaret and her friends are greatly looking forward to starting their periods and are frustrated that they haven't, to the point where [[spoiler: Nancy lies about getting hers]]. Margaret gets extremely upset as her two friends get theirs before she does. [[spoiler: She ends up being the next to last one to get hers]]. Also, [[spoiler: Nancy gets extremely upset when she does get hers for real]]. Educating girls about menstruation seems to have been an important part of the book: the newer editions have even been updated so that, instead of describing belts and such, Margaret now uses modern sanitary napkins(as even today, most doctors or mothers refrain from advising the use of tampons for very young girls).

* [[JewishMother Jewish Grandmother]]

* NoPeriodsPeriod: The puberty exception. This is a major plot point of the book. Margaret and her friends are greatly looking forward to starting their periods and are frustrated that they haven't, to the point where [[spoiler: Nancy lies about getting hers]]. Margaret gets extremely upset as her two friends get theirs before she does. [[spoiler: She ends up being the next to last one to get hers]]. Also, [[spoiler: Nancy gets extremely upset when she does get hers for real]].
** Educating girls about menstruation seems to have been an important part of the book: the newer editions have even been updated so that, instead of describing belts and such, Margaret now uses modern sanitary napkins.

* ComingOfAgeStory

** She's actually listed as an alternate name on the trope's page!

* TechnologyMarchesOn: Original editions of the book have Margret being instructed on how to wear a belt to hold her menstrual pad in place. These days said pads use a light adhesive to stick to underwear.

* BigBreastsBigDeal / BuxomIsBetter: The former is both a Type 1 and a Type 2 with Laura Danker, while the latter is both played straight and subverted. A major plot point is Margaret and other girls being frustrated at not having developed breasts yet and being jealous of Laura having already developed large breasts. However, she dislikes them because they get her made fun of and a lot of unwanted male attention.

It's the [[TheSixties the 1960s]] and [[NaiveEverygirl Margaret, the protagonist of this book]], is a sixth-grade girl who is struggling over the issue of faith. Her mother is a Christian and her father is Jewish, but up until that point she considered herself non-religious. She also deals with the issues of growing up and puberty, such as periods, liking boys, getting her first bra and being jealous of girls who grew breasts sooner, hence the book cover.

[[caption-width-right:182:No. [[ContemptibleCover This book is not]] [[CoversAlwaysLie some smutty romance novel]]. [[{{Lolicon}} You sicko.]]]]

* GreenEyedMonster: Prominent throughout the book. Margaret is continuosly jealous of various factors involved with puberty; Laura Denker having large breasts, her crush paying attention to other girls, and not getting her period before her friends.

* IHaveNoSon: Or I have no daughter, or I have no son in law. Part of the plot involves Margarat's grandparents on her mother's side disowning her mother because they are religious bigots and did not want her to marry Margaret's Jewish father. This is why Margaret is raised with no religion. They later express a desire to reconcile, though only with her, and not the father, whom they don't even mention in their letter and act as if doesn't exist when they come to visit. When they leave it's implied they still haven't fully reconciled with her yet.

''Are You There God? It's Me Margaret.'' is generally considered to be a [[YoungAdultAndChildrensLiterature Young-Adult]] novel and was written by JudyBlume in 1970. Because it has puberty and the questioning of religious faith as a large part of its subject matter, it was also subsequently banned from many school libraries and reading lists.

[[caption-width-right:182:No. [[ContemptibleCover This book is not]] [[CoversAlwaysLie some smutty romance novel]]. [[TokenLoli You sicko.]]]]

* MixedMarriage: This is why Margaret is brought up without a specific religion.

** Educating girls about menstruation seems to have been an important part of the book: the newer editions have even been updated so that, instead of describing belts and such, Margaret now uses modern sanitary napkins .

* NoPeriodsPeriod: The puberty exception. This is a major plot point of the book. Margaret and her friends are greatly looking forward to starting their periods and are frustrated that they haven't, to the point where [[spoiler: Nancy lies about getting hers]]. Margaret gets extremely upset as her two friends get theirs before she does. [[spoiler: she ends up being the next to last one to get hers]]. Also, [[spoiler: Nancy gets extremely upset when she does get hers for real]].