I am going to be honest; this was the hardest assignment I have ever been assigned by B4R! I have read so many books as a kid, a teenager, and now as a 40-something adult. Frank Zappa once said, “So many books, so little time!”
Okay, I’m stalling. My favorite book as a kid was Are You There, God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume because it was so mature. Sure, I had read plenty of Judy Blume’s books, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, the list goes on and on. Blume talked openly about sixth grade girls getting their periods for the first time, wearing bras, and going to boy/girl parties. All this, Margaret, Janie, Gretchen, and Nancy are going through together as friends because it was way too embarrassing to talk their mothers about such stuff! (I so identified with this when I was 11 and 12 years old!)
To be honest as much I love this book and would re-read it at any time; I always felt I had to hide it from my mom or anyone else who came in my room. I have found out a lot of people felt this way about Margaret because of the subject matter.
Looking back on the book, it did have some embarrassing subjects for a 12 year-old but now as a 40-something year old, I have great respect for Ms. Blume and her openness about such topics.
Thank you for letting me share.
By Andrea Bledsoe King