Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Margaret Ann Simon is an 11-year-old girl and the main protagonist of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. At the novel’s beginning, Margaret moves from her apartment in Manhattan to Farbrook, New Jersey, with her mother and father. She has a good relationship with her parents but is exceptionally close to her paternal grandmother, Sylvia Simon. Throughout the novel, Margaret must deal with the implications of growing up, going through puberty, and struggling with her self-image and budding religious beliefs.

At the novel’s beginning, summer has ended, and Margaret has returned from summer camp to learn that she will be spending her sixth-grade year in an entirely different school. She quickly befriends some of the girls in her new neighborhood, but right away, Margaret feels the pressure to act more grown-up than she is. When her new friend Nancy tells her to start wearing a bra and keep a record of boys she likes, Margaret obeys, even though she doesn’t feel ready to grow up just yet. Before long, Margaret is overwhelmed with jealousy when the other girls in her friend group advance more quickly than she is when it comes to puberty. She tells God that she is “so jealous” when Nancy gets her period, and although she “hate[s] [her]self for being so jealous” (115), Margaret desperately longs to be normal, and she begs God to “let [her] be like everybody else” (116).