It was a literary achievement so great, in fact, that it eventually wound up on banned-book lists. The chapter book for young readers about sixth-grader Margaret Simon became the vintage equivalent of a viral sensation. “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret” showed up in that square, repressed environment, and it was groundbreaking. at that point was much more like The Lawrence Welk Show, only with fewer accordions. It’s set in the year that the book was published: 1970. If you didn’t live through that era, then you might have been misled enough by pop culture myths to assume that by 1970 the entire country had become, basically, Woodstock. The moviemakers made the wise decision not to update the story. Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in 'Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.' (Dana Hawley/Lionsgate) The film is far more faithful to Judy Blume’s iconic novel than I had dared to hope.

Relatable content plus decade-hopping can kind of do a number on you, I guess.īut never mind me and my wobbly ways: You should see the movie! It opens today, and it’s worth the half-century wait.

I also unearthed the diary into which I scribbled my observations when I was 11 years old, the same age as the title character. In other words, I’ve just re-read “ Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” and watched the new film version of the 53-year-old book. My head is spinning in the way it does when time folds in on itself, and I simultaneously feel like both the former confused-elementary-school-kid iteration of me and the current confused-adult edition. The author in the 1970s leans up against a car outside her childhood home in Virginia.

Am i normal yet book