Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

 

I found so much to love in Kelly Fremon Craig's screen adaptation of Judy Blume's classic YA novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970).

Though new directing, Craig masterfully stages Blume's naturalistic story of a pre-teen girl transplanted from New York City to a New Jersey suburb where she must contend not only with the usual adolescent trauma of boys and boobs but also the added thorny issues of faith and identity.

Under Craig's capable direction -- and with terrific performances from newcomer Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret and veterans Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates as Margaret's mother and grandmother, respectively -- Are You There charmed me with wit, warmth and wisdom. The story not only rings true, it peals like a cathedral bell. It is frank without being explicit; its lessons pointed without being strident.

My screening companion read Blum's book as a young teen, but I've never read it so I have no basis of comparison from page to screen. If the movie is a loyal adaptation of the novel, which is suggested by Judy Blume's producer role, then the banning of the work from high school libraries is even more unconscionable than it appears on first blush.

A story that challenges young people to be open and nonjudgmental, to question second-hand prejudice and search for their own truths seems to me worthy of inclusion in any library, on any recommended reading list for teens -- and their parents, frankly.