Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret book and movie

I can't count how many times I've read this book. I honestly have some lines and scenes memorized to the point where it feels like they're mine, not something I read. I read it hundreds of times as a kid and a few times as an adult. This time, I wanted to read it after watching the movie. I felt like the movie stayed true to the book, but wanted to check that theory.

Read as a kid over and over: Clearly I loved it or I wouldn't have re-read it so often, because I always brought home a stack of books from the library and could have picked anything. I had my own copy too (pretty sure it fell apart years ago), with what I think is still the best cover for the book:

Re-read September 2016: Another book I read a lot as a kid and wanted to re-read for Banned Books Week. This one also seemed a little flat, but I still loved it and think kids these days would still love it, even though it’s pretty dated. 

Re-read December 2019: I’m re-reading my Judy Blume books because I’m taking her Masterclass and she references them sometimes. She was one of my favorite authors as a child so I vividly remember most of her books and storylines, but it’s always fun to revisit old favorites. I apparently lost my childhood copy of Margaret, so the one I own now is an updated one. I remember the pads with hooks and a belt, so it was nice to read this newer version where she simply peeled off the paper and stuck the pad to her underpants. It’s the small things! I loved reading about how things “used to be”, but I do think that updating the books will make them more appealing to young readers and will give this type of book staying power.

Re-read 9/23/2025: I read this countless times as a kid and several times as an adult and always love it. Blume effortlessly captures the tween voice. I re-read it this time because I’d just watched the movie and thought it stayed pretty true to the book, but wanted to check myself. It really did! I think it’s one of the best book-to-movie I’ve seen. 

***

Basically every scene from the book is in the movie, which makes me love it. I understand sometimes you need to take liberties to make a book work as a movie, but I love that this one didn't. Margaret's "speaking" to God felt a bit over-acted in places though; I preferred it when it was a voiceover of her conversation instead of watching her say it in real-time. All the actors were perfectly cast. 

I wonder if the mom being more of a character searching for fulfillment was a nod to the realization that most people watching this movie were probably the mother's age, remembering how this book changed their lives when they were preteens, so they wanted it to be interesting on that level, too? The mother's painting is mentioned in the book, and the father definitely has a background role in both, so I feel like it wasn't much of a change to bring the mother a bit more to the forefront. And it was Rachel McAdams so who could complain?

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

This was recommended to me (by Josh Denslow - read Magic Can't Save Us!) after I reviewed the Winston Breen series, which involves figuring out puzzles to solve a larger mystery.

I liked the layers of mystery to this book: who was the “wrong” person, who was Barney Northrup really, who was the murderer, then the other mysteries that came up throughout the story.

The storytelling style definitely seems dated, but in a good way. It made me think of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which is one of my favorite children’s mysteries. 

It was a little difficult for me to keep all the characters and backstories straight, so I sometimes had to flip back and forth to feel like I was keeping up and could try to solve the mystery along with the heirs. I think the flash forwards at the end were pretty cool, showing how things turned out for everyone involved. 

The best part is that my son is currently reading it in school so we can talk about it and I can test my own knowledge of the book with his quizzes, ha!

Books featuring Characters with Disabilities

After posting the MG/YA round-up, I was sure I'd find twice that many adult books on my "Read" shelf... But I didn't. So if you have recommendations, PLEASE share! I think there are some I've read but overlooked, because two were late additions after I saw them mentioned in an article I used for research.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.

I loved this book. Eleanor’s frankness had so much humor to me, and it made me think of how we talk and act in daily life and how much of it is unnecessary. I do understand much of it was supposed to be sad, but it really hit me in the right way and I enjoyed it so much. Already feeling nostalgic for it, so it will probably be one I re-read every few years.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

I read this book so often in high school, college, and up to my mid-twenties, when I also saw the movie. I haven't read it in awhile, so maybe it's time to revisit. I remember loving it because it seems so simple on the surface, but when you read it more purposely, you really get to know the characters and feel for all they've been through. I think George and Lennie have a really powerful relationship that really makes this stand out in terms of characters with disabilities.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. 

Read this book. Seriously, you must read it. I don't want to give this book the short end of the stick when it comes to writing a review, but I don't actually think there's much that can be said about it. Or, more accurately, there's so much that can be said about it, once you encounter someone else who has read it. I think it's best to open the cover knowing as little as possible about the subject matter. Let yourself go in with no expectations and be overcome with the characters and the story. One of those books where you read it as quickly as you can, savoring the prose while needing to know what happens, though you don't actually want to reach the end.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

This was required reading in high school and I remember worrying that it would be the most boring thing I'd ever read. But I immediately loved the unique storytelling approach and was so invested in Charlie's progress. This is another I haven't read since my mid-twenties that I now want to revist and see how it holds up and if it still impacts me as being so profound.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. 

I loved the matter of fact writing style of this book. It was a bit chick-lit, but it was interesting and, like I said, I liked the voice. I thought the ending was forced and a little hokey, more like a romantic comedy movie than a book, and it made me not interested enough to read the sequels.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. 

A book I've been wanting to read for a long time. Working with adults with disabilities, I love the chance to get inside their heads and see how they function best. This book has a nice little mystery and some drama, and it was very well done. I loved that we got to see how Christopher works best when relating to math and patterns; he's very systematic. A great book I'd recommend and read again.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. 

Ok, let me start with my rave review of the book in general. I read it in my 20s even though I saw the movie several times as a kid because my dad loved it. Therefore I loved it. But when I read the book, it was like a totally different world. Lee has this style of writing that is so Southern, but so...not. I can't describe how she makes you feel like you're in the South without depending on the dialect. You can feel the slow pace and the dusty roads, you can hear the neighbors gossiping on the porch and lowering their voices to whispers as you walk by. She accomplishes all this and more without employing an excessive amount of y'alls, ya hears, ain'ts, and other Southern phrases that are often overused to try and set the scene.

And the characters, wow. I fell head over heels for Atticus. So smart and reserved, a good father, an honest man. Jem is a really realistic pre-teen boy, if I remember my brother at that age. Scout is the typical tomboy, trying to hold on to her brother as long as she can, if I remember me at that age. Scout reminds me of Ramona Quimby, and for a long time I wanted to be each of them. Good role models.

I think it also says something about the characters and the writing (as much as the power of the story itself) that I could read it and still feel the punch in certain scenes, still cry in certain scenes, still get my hopes up, even though I already knew what was going to happen. This is a novel where the fun is in reading it, not knowing it. It's timeless.

Anyway, I always thought of Boo Radley as something as a loner, but these articles made me see him in a different light:

• The Uncanny Return of Boo Radley: Disability, Dramaturgy, and Reception
• Why Your Next Favorite Fictional Protagonist Might Be on the Autism Spectrum

The Single Feather by Ruth F. Hunt. 

Rachel is a thirty year old woman who uses a wheelchair, and after escaping from a heavily-guarded home, she lives independently in a new town in England. To try and get her old life back, she joins a local art group and makes friends with some of the locals. The story is really compelling, and I was very drawn in to find out what happened in Rachel’s past as her disability was caused by an accident, and she doesn’t reveal much about the home she escaped from. The ebook I read had a lot of punctuation errors, especially with quotation marks, which occasionally took me out of the story, but overall it’s a great book.

Share your recommendations in the comments! Because of course I already posted the MG/YA round-up before realizing I had books reviewed on Goodreads but not my blog, so I didn't include them. You can see all the books I've shelved as involving disabilites on my profile. They include fiction, nonfiction, and all audience age levels.

I used to work in a learning center for adults with disabilities, and when I left to study library science, I held library programs for them, which you can read about here. You can also check out all posts with a disabilities tag.

2017 Reading Challenges

In 2017 I plan to read more of those books that you’re “supposed” to read in your life. One I read a long time ago and want to re-read. A few are books that I’ve really wanted to read and always say I will, but put it off in favor of any other book that catches my eye. Some are books that never sounded that good to me, but are such staples that I feel like I need to give in and read them, for the sake of being a bookworm and librarian.

I plan to read one classic a month, which still gives me plenty of reading time for whatever books catch my eye on the shelves.

The Classics Challenge books are:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I pulled this list from here, so once I complete this challenge, I will have read 24 out of the 30 books. I’ll leave those last 6 to tackle in 2018…

- - -

I also want to read more diverse books. I am going to make conscious choices with every book I read in 2017, but will read a baseline of 12 diverse books, which again is one a month, minimum. I picked books from We Need Diverse Books’ end of the year booklist.

The Diverse Challenge books are:

Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough

Nest by Esther Ehrlich

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth

Since You Asked by Maurene Goo

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

Show and Prove by Sofia Quintero

The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae

When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez

Are you undertaking any reading challenges for 2017? Do you have any book recommendations I should add to my list, or feedback on the titles I chose?

Petrifying Parodies

Last year I reviewed Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex as one of my three favorite Halloween books (see the video HERE). This year I was browsing the library shelves when I found The Runaway Mummy, also by Michael Rex! These books were published in 2008 and 2009 resepctively, so I'm a bit late to the party, but they're such fun reads! My son and I had a good time reading the original stories first (as we do a few times throughout the year), and then read the petrifying parodies in October.

Goodnight Goon is a parody of Goodnight Moon, with a little monster boy saying goodnight to various creepy things around his tomb. I'm not a big fan of the original Goodnight Moon (I know, gasp! What kind of mother am I, etc) but I do like this version with monsters and creepy crawlies added in. I really like that Michael Rex has made the illustrations look classic, like they could have been the original illustrations.

The Runaway Mummy is by far my favorite. I love The Runaway Bunny in its original form, so I was really looking forward to the spooky adaptation. A boy mummy is trying to leave his mummy behind by changing into a sea serpent, gargoyle, and more, but his mummy always changes into something else to be near him. This one has a really great twist ending that made me chuckle, making it my favorite of the parodies.

These are fun books to read for Halloween because kids can compare them to the originals, if they already know them. If not - read them aloud and then compare and contrast! Activities like saying goodnight to everything in your child's room can be easily adapted to go along with Goodnight Goon, and thinking of spooky things to turn into with your child is a fun way to continue the story of The Runaway Mummy.

Banned Book: Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are is a classic, and one book that I really love, despite the hype. I haven't seen the movie even though it was pretty hyped up, and sometimes when people rave about how amazing the book is, I roll my eyes (sorry!), but then I read it again and have to admit it's really good. It's unique and innovative for the time when it was originally published, and has great imagination behind it. And the illustrations, of course, are gorgeous. It's a timeless story, and I can't picture a time when people would NOT read it to their kids.

Except those people who tried to ban it, of course. This book was banned because of its dark and disturbing nature, but also because Max being sent to bed without dinner was seen as abuse.

ABUSE.

Don't get me started on overprotective parents these days, but... really?

Banned Book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

I have my old picture book copy of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, but a friend gave my son this cute board book version so I wanted to showcase it! This book is a classic regardless of what format you read it.

This is probably one of the silliest reasons for banning a book... A Texas state Board of Education member mixed up this Bill Martin with another Bill Martin - one who wrote the adult book Ethical Marxism: the Categorical Imperative of Liberation.

Kids, this just proves that you gotta do your research!

Banned Book: Charlotte's Web

Fern is a young girl who speaks out against her father trying to kill the runt of a litter of pigs. Since she makes such a passionate point, Fern’s father lets her keep the pig as a pet. At least for a little while… When it’s time for Fern to sell her pig, whom she named Wilbur, she sends him to her uncle’s farm down the road, so she can still see him. Fern visits the barn often, and becomes friends with the animals, who can talk. Charlotte, a wise spider, comes out of the woodwork (no pun intended) to save Wilbur’s life when the farmer is thinking of making bacon.

I read this book as a kid and loved it, as well as the cartoon movie adaptation. I re-read it over the summer in my book club for adults with disabilities. I remembered the general story, but forgot a lot of the details, as well as the writing style, which I think adds a lot to the story. The book club seemed to enjoy the book as well.

This book was banned because “talking animals were seen as an insult to God.” Yes. Really.

Banned Book: The Giving Tree

Can you tell this is my childhood copy of The Giving Tree?

This is another one of those picture books I was shocked to see banned. What could possibly be "wrong" with such a sweet classic like The Giving Tree?

Some people think the book is sexist, because the boy is always taking from the female tree without giving anything back.

Oh...kay...

It also "criminalized the foresting agency". Really? It's a picture book! I know a lot of picture books have deeper themes and can really resonate with you, but I never would have thought that about this book!

Hatchet

Plot Summary
Brian Robeson is flying on a small plane to visit his father in Canada. This is his first time visiting his dad since his parents split up, and Brian hates that he knows why his mom wanted to divorce. He's battling with himself over whether he should tell his dad that secret when the pilot of his plane has a heart attack. The pilot had just shown Brian how to steer the plane, but of course that isn’t enough to ensure Brian gets to his father safely. He radios in for help, but is left on his own to try and land the plane. After crashing, Brian is wounded but still alive. He is left in the Canadian wilderness to forage for provisions and build a shelter, not knowing how long he’ll be on his own before he’s found.

Critical Analysis
Hatchet is a really interesting story that will draw in a lot of teen readers; who doesn’t secretly love the idea of trying to make it on their own? The book is a little slow to start, with too much time spent with Brian and the pilot in the loud cockpit and not much story being developed. The flashbacks to Brian learning his mother’s secret were also a little tough to follow. They were spaced from the action of the story, but might be more accessible for reluctant readers if they were their own chapters with the timing clearly noted as a flashback.
     Learning how to survive alongside Brian makes for an adventurous read, but a lot of the writing seems a bit too poetic to keep the attention of reluctant readers. Paulsen employs a lot of repetition which makes the story sound nice, but the fragments make it a little hard to follow the story, and teens who aren’t avid readers will likely get frustrated. This is unfortunate, because the book could be edited down to be very concise and readable for different reading levels. Even so, it could still be a suitable book for middle grade children, especially if they are more advanced readers. The book doesn’t have explicit language or scenes; though Brian does learn to survive by killing fish and small animals, the visuals aren’t gruesome.
     This book deserves to be a young adult classic because the struggle is timeless: being stranded in the wild with nothing to help you except your own skills. Even with today’s plethora of technology, teens could equate being in Brian’s shoes to being without their phone! Books that have such a timeless theme will always be relevant for readers.

Related Activities
Teens are very dependent on technology these days, which can be great! It’s a necessary skill in most job fields, and it’s easy to create images, videos, and audio files on a variety of devices. When Hatchet was written, Brian didn’t have any of today’s technology—and even if he did, it probably wouldn’t have worked in such an isolated location.
     Host a “Survival” program for teens. Assign each patron or small groups a task, like: how to collect rainwater and make it safe to drink; how to identify poisonous berries and plants; how to start a fire. The possibilities are endless! Give teens time to research their subject, either in the stacks or online. Give time for the solutions to be shared. Then, have everyone turn in (or off) their device. Pass out good old fashioned paper maps, and give each teen a route to trace. Start in your city and send them to the other side of the country, or to a little-known city hidden in the middle of your state. See how well teens do when they have to read a map themselves, without the help of Google or MapQuest! Whoever makes it to their destination first (and on real roads!) wins a prize!

Related Resources
What if Brian hadn’t been rescued at the end of Hatchet? Feel free to use your imagination, but Gary Paulsen wrote his version of what might happen in the alternate ending called Brian’s Winter. There are three more books documenting Brian’s struggle to live in the “normal” world and his return to the wild. Read them all:
     Paulsen, Gary. Brian’s Winter. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 1996. Print.
     Paulsen, Gary. The River. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 1991. Print.
     Paulsen, Gary. Brian’s Return. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 1999. Print.
     Paulsen, Gary. Brian’s Hunt. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2003. Print.

My Side of the Mountain is a novel of survival written in 1959. Readers who liked Hatchet and its follow-up books would love the My Side of the Mountain trilogy!
     George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain Trilogy (My Side of the Mountain / On the
          Far Side of the Mountain / Frightful’s Mountain). New York: Dutton Books for Young
          Readers, 2000. Print.

Professional Review
Reutter, Vicki. “Hatchet (Book).” School Library Journal 50.5 (2004): 64. EBSCOhost. Web.
     6 June 2015.

Read it for yourself!
Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1987. Print.

The Outsiders

Plot Summary
Ponyboy’s parents died in a car crash, and now he lives with his older brothers Darrel and Sodapop. The boys are in a gang of Greasers, letting their hair grow long and picking fights with the clean-cut Socs (short for Socials). The fights get violent, and Johnny, the smallest Greaser, gets swept up in the moment as he tries to keep a Soc from drowning Ponyboy. The two youngest Greasers get scared of the consequences and run away, starting a domino effect of events that will affect the whole gang.

Personal Response
This is one of those books that all my friends had to read in high school, and I never did. Never had to, I mean - not that I skipped the assignment. And I’ll admit to skipping out on required reading! (Hemingway, I’m looking at you.) I heard a lot about this book, and it’s been referenced in everything pop culture, but I never read it. And honestly, now that I have… it wasn’t necessary to understand the references. The story was simple and has been redone and updated over time. It’s a simple story, and yes, it’s cool that the author, a girl!, wrote it when she was very young, but that’s been done throughout time, too.
     To be fair, it isn’t a BAD book. I read it all the way through, fairly quickly, and when I was done, I was done. Maybe that was some of the issue with me - I love when books, characters, or their problems stick with you. And that didn’t happen here. If I had read it in high school, I might be more attached to it. But at this point, I’m just glad to have read it and marked it off the list of books I “should” read.

Connections & Activities
Many of S.E. Hinton’s characters make appearances in other books. That Was Then, This Is Now is an epilogue to The Outsiders, set one year later. Tex in turn shows the adult lives of several characters from That Was Then, This Is Now.

Read it for yourself!
Hinton, S.E. 1967. The Outsiders. New York: Speak. ISBN 9780142407332