History YMMV / AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret

* {{Tearjerker}}: In the movie, Margaret was unfamiliar with her mother's family history, so Barbara sits her down and tells her for the first time about being disowned by her own parents, which is clearly a very difficult topic. Even after fourteen years it brings tears to her eyes. Margaret is horrified and tries to comfort her.

** Mr. Benedict gawking over an elementary schooler was weird in the 1960s--and the 1970s when the book was released--but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how [[YoungerThanTheyLook much older they appear to look]], would be allowed to teach anymore, especially when doing so their ''first year'' as a teacher. However, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a [[KnowNothingKnowItAll reliable source of information]]. This element is removed from the film adaptation, most likely to avoid arguments over whether Nancy's claims are true and thus whether Mr. Benedict is trustworthy.

** Mr. Benedict gawking over an elementary schooler was weird in the 1960s--and the 1970s when the book was released--but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how [[YoungerThanTheyLook much older they appear to look]], would be allowed to teach anymore, especially when doing so their ''first year'' as a teacher. Although technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a [[KnowNothingKnowItAll fountain of veracity]]. This element is removed from the film adaptation, most likely to avoid arguments over whether Nancy's claims are true and thus whether Mr. Benedict is trustworthy.

** Mr. Benedict gawking over an elementary schooler was weird in the 1960s--and the 1970s when the book was released--but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how [[YoungerThanTheyLook much older they appear to look]], would be allowed to teach anymore, especially when doing so their ''first year'' as a teacher. Although technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a [[KnowNothingKnowItAll fountain of veracity]]. (This element is removed from the film adaptation, most likely to avoid arguments over whether Nancy's claims are true and thus whether Mr. Benedict is trustworthy.)

* {{Anvilicious}}: Margaret's maternal grandparents (especially her maternal grandmother) are [[TheFundamentalist fanatical Christians]] who became estranged with their daughter because she married a Jewish man. It's implied that they are visiting Margaret's family more to convert Margaret and reconvert her mother rather than reconciling with them, and barely acknowledge Herb.

* {{Narm}}: To some, the idea of the sixth-graders acting like [[HormoneAddledTeenager Hormone-Addled Teenagers]].

** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1960s, more Americans were devout and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In her letter to Mr. Benedict, Margaret writes than she hasn't "tried to be a Buddhist or a "Moslim"(sic) because I don't know anyone of that religion." These days, Margaret's parents choosing to raise her in a secular environment and being in a mixed marriage wouldn't be seen as surprising -- it's steadily becoming the norm in a lot of areas.

* {{Narm}}: To some, the idea of the sixth-graders acting like {{HormoneAddledTeenager}}s.

* {{Narm}}: To some, the idea of the sixth-graders acting like [[HormoneAddledTeenager Hormone-Addled Teenagers]].

** Mr. Benedict gawking over an elementary schooler was weird in the 1960s--and the 1970s when the book was released--but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how YoungerThanTheyLook they are, would be allowed to teach anymore, especially when doing so their first year as a teacher. Although, technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a [[KnowNothingKnowItAll fountain of veracity]]. (This element is removed from the film adaptation, most likely to avoid arguments over whether Nancy's claims are true and thus whether Mr. Benedict is trustworthy.)

** The FreeRangeChildren nature of the characters can be a bit jarring. New Yorkers are far less likely to let 11-year-olds go cross-state alone than they were in the early '70s.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Margaret's maternal grandparents (especially her maternal grandmother) are [[TheFundamentalist fanatical Christians]] who became estranged with their daughter because she married a Jewish man. It's implied that they are visiting Margaret's family more to convert Margaret and her mother rather than reconciling with them, and barely acknowledge Herb.

* {{Narm}}: To some, the idea of a sixth-grader acting like a HormoneAddledTeenager.
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: It would probably be seen as a very tame book by today's standards, but the frank and open depictions of puberty (although common for Creator/JudyBlume books) were seen as controversial and perhaps even obscene in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] when the book was published.
* {{Squick}}: Laura at one point complains about males staring at her breasts. Preteens and young teenagers (and indeed, Laura and Margaret themselves) are likely too young to realize the full implications of this. ''Adults'', however...

** Mr. Benedict gawking over a middle schooler was weird in the 1970s, but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how YoungerThanTheyLook they are, would be allowed to teach anymore. Although, technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a fountain of veracity. (This element is removed from the film adaptation, most likely to avoid arguments over whether Nancy's claims are true and thus whether Mr. Benedict is trustworthy.)

** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1970s, more Americans were devout and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In her letter to Mr. Benedict, Margaret writes than she hasn't "tried to be a Buddhist or a Muslim(sic) because I don't know anyone of that religion". These days, Margaret's parents choosing to raise her in a secular environment wouldn't be seen as surprising -- it's steadily becoming the norm in a lot of areas.

** With more and more people in America becoming more relaxed about their religious views, or even deciding they don't have any at all, as well as mixed-faith families becoming more mainstream, Margaret's parents' decision to not have either parent convert, and instead each keep their own faith (albeit casually), while raising their daughter without any religion, with the intent of letting her decide for herself when gets older, is seen as a very sensible and open-minded way to go. Similarly, Margaret's exploration of different religions to try and figure out which one suits her best, before ultimately deciding she doesn't need to belong to any specific faith to have a relationship with God, is a much more common sentiment today -- how many people have you heard describe themselves as "spiritual, but not religious"?

** Norman. He's a genuinely nice (if a bit nerdy and awkward) guy who has a very sweet crush on Margaret, but she wants nothing to do with him, partially because he's so unpopular (she ''is'' a preteen girl, after all).
** Laura Danker, who deals with boys bothering her over her breast size and the other girls envying her, which leads to nasty gossip about her being a slut. She is just an average 12 year old who attends mass and confession regularly.
** Margaret's mother Barbara, who gets added emphasis in the film. She is still clearly carrying quite a lot of pain from being [[IHaveNoSon disowned by her parents]] and is civil but not close with her mother-in-law. Of course she hopes her parents have changed and unfortunately that hope for reconciliation backfires. Despite this, she's a very kind woman doing her best in challenging circumstances. Perhaps too kind -- volunteering for the PTO saddles her with the mind-bogglingly tedious task of cutting out hundreds, maybe thousands of fabric stars, and then she's asked to double her output and [[ExtremeDoormat agrees]] despite clearly longing to put that time and effort into more creative outlets.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Margaret was intended to be an awkward but relatable girl caught up in wanting to be grown up, but it's also easy to view Margaret as a mild VillainProtagonist and the book as a (sympathetic) portrayal of an AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse due to ValuesDissonance.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: {{Unintentionally|Unsympathetic}} done due to ValuesDissonance. Margaret was intended to be an awkward but relatable girl caught up in wanting to be grown up, but it's also easy to view Margaret as a mild VillainProtagonist and the book as a (sympathetic) portrayal of an AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse.
* {{Anvilicious}}: Margaret's maternal grandparents (especially her maternal grandmother) are [[TheFundamentalist fanatical Christians]] who became estranged with their daughter because she married a Jewish man. It's implied that they are visiting Margaret's family more to convert Margaret and her mother rather than reconciling with them, and pretends that Herb doesn't exist.

* {{Squick}}: Laura at one point complains about males staring at her breasts. Middle schoolers (and indeed, Laura and Margaret themselves) are likely too young to realize the full implications of this. ''Adults'', however...

** Margaret's mother Barbara, who gets added emphasis in the film. She is still clearly carrying quite a lot of pain from being [[IHaveNoSon disowned by her parents]] and is civil but not close with her mother-in-law. Of course she hopes her parents have changed and unfortunately that hope for reconciliation backfires. Despite this, she's a very kind woman doing her best in challenging circumstances. Perhaps too kind - volunteering for the PTO saddles her with the mind-bogglingly tedious task of cutting out hundreds, maybe thousands of fabric stars, and then she's asked to double her output and [[ExtremeDoormat agrees]] despite clearly longing to put that time and effort into more creative outlets.

** Mr. Benedict gawking over a middle schooler was weird in the 1970s, but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how YoungerThanTheyLook they are, would be allowed to teach anymore. Although, technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a fountain of veracity. (This element is removed from the film adaptation, most likely to avoid arguments over whether Nancy's claims are true and thus whether Mr. Benedict is trustworthy).

** Mr. Benedict gawking over a middle schooler was weird in the 1970s, but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how YoungerThanTheyLook they are, would be allowed to teach anymore. Although, technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a fountain of veracity. (This element is removed from the film adaptation, most likely to avoid arguments over whether Nancy's claims are true and thus whether Mr. Benedict is trustworthy.)

** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1970s, more Americans were devout and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In her letter to Mr. Benedict, Margaret writes than she hasn't "tried to be a Buddhist or a Muslim(sic) because I don't know anyone of that religion." These days, Margaret's parents choosing to raise her in a secular environment wouldn't be seen as surprising -- it's steadily becoming the norm in a lot of areas.

* {{Squick}}: Laura at one point complains about males staring at her breasts. The target audience (and indeed, Laura and Margaret themselves) are likely too young to realize the full implications of this. ''Adults'', however...

* {{Anvilicious}}: Margaret's maternal grandparents (especially her maternal grandmother) are [[TheFundamentalist fanatical Christians]].

** Mr. Benedict gawking over a middle schooler was weird in the 1970s, but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year-olds, no matter how YoungerThanTheyLook they are, would be allowed to teach anymore. Although, technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking -- it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a fountain of veracity.

** Mr. Benedict gawking over a middle schooler was weird in the 1970s, but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year olds, no matter how YoungerThanTheyLook they are, would be allowed to teach anymore. Although, technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking - it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a fountain of veracity.
** The FreeRangeChildren nature of the characters can be a bit jarring. New Yorkers are far less likely to let 11 year olds go cross-state alone than they were in the early '70s.
** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1970s more Americans were devout and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In her letter to Mr. Benedict, Margaret writes than she hasn’t “tried to be a Buddhist or a Muslim(sic) because I don’t know anyone of that religion.” These days, Margaret's parents choosing to raise her in a secular environment wouldn't be seen as surprising -- it's steadily becoming the norm in a lot of areas.

** With more and more people in America becoming more relaxed about their religious views, or even deciding they don't have any at all, as well as mixed-faith families becoming more mainstream, Margaret's parents' decision to not have either parent convert, and instead each keep their own faith (albeit casually), while raising their daughter without any religion, with the intent of letting her decide for herself when gets older, is seen as a very sensible and open-minded way to go. Similarly, Margaret's exploration of different religions to try and figure out which one suits her best, before ultimately deciding she doesn't need to belong to any specific faith to have a relationship with God, is a much more common sentiment today. (How many people have you heard describe themselves as "spiritual, but not religious"?)

** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1970s more Americans were devout and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In her letter to Mr. Benedict, Margaret writes than she hasn’t “tried to be a Buddhist or a Moslem(sic) because I don’t know anyone of that religion.” These days, Margaret's parents choosing to raise her in a secular environment wouldn't be seen as surprising -- it's steadily becoming the norm in a lot of areas.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** Laura is not a bad person for having large breasts, nor does that trait imply anything about her sexual history. It's just something about her that she can't help, and people should not be treating her badly or creepily leering at her over it. This would be important enough if she were a grown woman, but she's only a young girl.
** Children, especially young girls, should have an open and honest conversation about their bodies and should be free from shame.
** As Moose put it, you should get the facts about people rather than make or rely on assumptions about them.
** People worship differently, that is okay. Some people believe in God and don't worship at a house of worship, that's okay as well. What isn't okay is to treat other people, especially your family, like pariahs because of such differences.
** Margaret's family. In her parent's case, one may want to impose clear boundaries with a relative that may overstep them or that trying to gain their approval, no matter how much, can be disappointing and a waste of time. Also as Margaret knows regarding her grandparents, when deciding to be close to someone or keep them in your life, you need to decide if the good outweighs the irritating (or heartbreaking), like the way her maternal grandparents' love for her is conditional (in contrast to her paternal grandmother who may ''want'' her to be Jewish, but dotes on and loves her fiercely completely apart from this).

** Margaret's family. In her parent's case, one may want to impose clear boundaries with a relative that may overstep them or that trying to gain their approval, no matter how much, can be disappointing and a waste of time. Also as Margaret knows regarding her grandparents, when deciding to be close to someone or keep them in your life, you need to decide if the good outweighs the irritating (or heartbreaking), like the way hermaternal grandparents' love for her is conditional (in contrast to her paternal grandmother who may ''want'' her to be Jewish, but dotes on and loves her fiercely completely apart from this).

** Margaret's family. In her parent's case, one may want to impose clear boundaries with a relative that may overstep them or that trying to gain their approval, no matter how much, can be disappointing and a waste of time. Also as Margaret knows regarding her grandparents, when deciding to be close to someone or keep them in your life, you need to decide if the good outweighs the irritating (or heartbreaking), like her maternal grandparents' love for her is conditional in contrast to her paternal grandmother who may want her to be Jewish but dotes and loves her fiercely.

* {{Squick}}: Laura at one point complains about male teachers staring at her breasts. The target audience (and indeed, Laura and Margaret themselves) are likely too young to realize the full implications of this. ''Adults'', however...

** People worship differently, that is ok. Some people believe in God and don't worship at a house of worship, that's okay as well. What isn't okay is to treat other people, especially your family, like pariahs because of such differences.

** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1970s more Americans were devout and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism. In her letter to Mr. Benedict, Margaret writes than she hasn’t “tried to be a Buddhist or a Moslem(sic) because I don’t know anyone of that religion.”

** Laura is not a bad person for having large breasts. It's just something about her that she can't help, and people should not be treating her badly or creepily leering at her over it. This would be important enough if she were a grown woman, but she's only a young girl.

** Mr. Benedict gawking over a middle schooler was weird in the 1970s, but the characters never think to tell anyone about this. There's no way a teacher who's obviously attracted to 11-year olds, no matter how YoungerThanTheyLook they are, would be allowed to teach anymore.
*** Although, technically, Margaret admits that she's never seen him gawking - it's just another story that Nancy gossips about with her posse, and Nancy isn't exactly a fountain of veracity.

** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1970s more Americans were devout and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism.
*** In her letter to Mr. Benedict, Margaret writes than she hasn’t “tried to be a Buddhist or a Moslem(sic) because I don’t know anyone of that religion.”

** The characters views on religion, while not that rare in America, come off as dated. In the 1970s more Americans were devote and there wasn't much knowledge about religions other than Christianity and Judaism.