Judy Blume published Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret in 1970. It is an interesting representative of a particular period in time in which the suburban culture was emerging that was distinctly different from urban culture or rural culture.
The novel begins with Margaret and her family moving out of the city of New York and into the suburban community in New Jersey. As soon as she arrives, she encounters a neighbor girl whose attitude makes Margaret self conscious about her own development. Nancy, the neighbor girl, represents an attitude of girls on the cusp of puberty who dream of growing into sex objects.
This book has made the ALA's Top 100 most challenged book for over 20 years. Some may question this decision, especially in light of many recent publications that really do make this book seem tame, but there are aspects about this book that would have been a major departure from topics covered by other novels published around the same time. The topic of explicit awareness of female development might cause a few parents to raise an eyebrow. It also might interest some prepubescent boys who may not be mature enough to handle the content.
There is also a religious component to the novel, a conflict in Margaret stemming from her religious duality. Her mother is a Christian, though non-practicing. Her father is Jewish. Throughout the novel, Margaret discusses how she feels the need to have a regular dialogue with God and so does so secretly. This is interrupted by a confrontation between her parents and maternal grandparents. Margaret blames God for the fight and stops talking to him until the end of the novel when....well, I won't ruin it for you.
I would recommend reading this if you have a pre-teen daughter or you are a pre-teen yourself. If you are a boy, read The Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume which explores adolescence from the male point of view.
