growing up – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

A while back Marshmallow reviewed Blubber by Judy Blume. Today she reviews another classic by Blume: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, first published in 1970. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, let us start at the beginning. Who do you think would appreciate this book?

Marshmallow: I think girls who are approaching adolescence and may have some concerns about growing up might find this book relatable. Also if you liked other books by Judy Blume, I think you would definitely like this too.

S: That is a good start. Okay, more specifically, tell us now about the plot.

M: Margaret is this girl who just moved to New Jersey. And she is starting a new school and she makes a new friend named Nancy Wheeler —

S: This Nancy Wheeler?

M: Yeah, no. Not the Nancy from Stranger Things. Though she is also a girl who is living in a suburb with her family and wants to fit in and so on.

S: Okay, so let us get back to Margaret.

M: Yes, so Margaret’s dad was raised Jewish and her mom was raised Christian, but their families did not approve so they eloped and did not dictate a religion on their daughter. And when she lived in New York, nobody seemed to be perplexed by this, but here in her new school, her friends seem to want her to choose to belong to one or the other community.

S: And she is talking to God all through the book, right? Which God is this one?

M: Well, it is definitely a personal God, and Margaret shares her concerns, fears, hopes, and desires with Him. but through the book, we see her not making a specific choice. Her new teacher, Mr. Benedict, wants each student in her sixth grade class to pick a topic that is personally important to them and spend time that whole year to research it. Margaret chooses religion, hoping that through the year, she will try to figure out whether she should be Christian or Jewish. Remember both her grandparents are religious, but the Christian ones, her maternal grandparents cut off their relationship with them. Margaret does have a close relationship with her father’s mother, Sylvia, who encourages her to explore her Jewish heritage.

S: So the book is partially about Margaret exploring religion. But it is also a lot about growing up, right?

M: Right. Margaret’s new friends are obsessed with their growing bodies, and wearing bras, and boys, and so on, and Margaret does not yet feel like she is that interested in any of these things, but she wants to fit in, and so she ends up sharing their obsessions. Which was kind of weird to me, actually, because this is not quite how the girls in my school have been acting.

S: But maybe some of the girls in your school, too, might be interested in these kinds of things. Not all bunnies are like you and your friends, Marshmallow.

M: Well, I did not mean to sound like I am all so much more mature…

S: You are a pretty mature young bunny. But when I was growing up, there were a lot of girls like Nancy and her friends, and I feel like a lot of girls must have sympathized with the characters of the book for this book to have become such an iconic book.

M: Yes. It might also be that they felt like they should act like Nancy but they were actually feeling like Margaret who is not quite there. And eventually she does start obsessing about similar things.

S: The desire to fit in is often very strong. Especially among teens and tweens, but more generally it seems to be pretty common.

M: Yes.

Marshmallow is reading Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. — Marshmallow is reading *Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret* by Judy Blume.

S: So this book was iconic, but it was also banned in many places. Did you know that?

M: Yes, I did. It talks about menstruation and so on, which some people claimed were not appropriate. But also it talks about religion and how it is okay if you do not pick between Christianity or Judaism, and how there might be other ways to finding spirituality in your life. This probably came across as anti-religion to some very religious folks.

S: Well, maybe today we are a bit more open-minded about these things. And the United States is a lot more diverse today in terms of people’s religious affiliations.

M: Yes, Margaret said, for example, that she was not considering Islam or Buddhism because she did not know anyone from those religions.

S: But there are people from a few other religions in your class, right?

M: Yep.

S: So we have come a long way from the 70s in that regard.

M: I hope so!

S: Okay, did you like Margaret as a character?

M: She is okay, she is very genuine, and kind of bland, she does not have a very big and sharp personality, and maybe that is intentional because the reader can fill in the gaps and more easily identify with her.

S: That makes sense to me.

M: There is also a girl in the school who has already grown up in terms of her body, and all the other people think she is sticking out. They make up rumors about her, they gossip about her, and they are pretty mean.

S: That is not good.

M: I think they are jealous. And I don’t think the girl does anything to deserve it.

S: Middle school can be a cruel place.

M: Well, they are in sixth grade but I guess that is middle school in some places.

S: Yep. So we got a hold of this book because there is a new movie about it. Do you think we should see it?

M: Yes. The trailer looks fun. Can we put a link to it here?

S: Sure, let us embed it right now:

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023) Official Trailer, from YouTube.

S: Do the characters look the way you visualized them?

M: Not quite, but I think they are close enough.

S: So we should try and watch it then. Okay, how would you rate this book?

M: I’d rate it 95%.

S: Sounds good. And what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap things up?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing book reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret* by Judy Blume 95%.

Marshmallow reviews The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

Marshmallow has been reading S. E. Hinton’s classic novel The Outsiders, first published in 1967. Today she shares some of her thoughts on the book with the blog readers. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, can you introduce us to this book?

Marshmallow: If you like books about belonging, growing up, and facing challenges as a young person, you might like this book.

S: That’s a good start. So now let us move into the book. Can you tell us a bit about the plot?

M: There are two gangs, or maybe groups of friends, who hang out and occasionally clash, sometimes pretty violently. They call these things rumbles, they are basically fights.

S: Okay, so two groups. Made up of young people, and our main characters belong to one or the other. What are the names of the two groups?

M: One of them is made up of richer kids and they are called the Soc, short for “social”. The other group has poorer kids in it, and they are called the greasers, because they put grease in their hair. Mostly boys but there are girls that hang out with one or the other group.

S: Okay, that gives us a good idea of the setting. So tell us now about what happens in the book.

M: The main character is this boy named Ponyboy. And that is his real name. And his middle brother’s name is Sodapop.

S: Those are some creative names!

M: I know, right? The oldest brother has a much more typical name, Darrel, but people call him Darry.

S: Alright.

M: So these three boys’ parents are dead. And the oldest brother Darry is taking care of the younger ones. Ponyboy is the youngest of the greasers. The other greasers are Steve, Johnny, Dally, Two-Bit, and I think that is mainly it.

S: Okay.

M: One day Ponyboy, Dally, and Johnny go to the movies and meet two Soc girls named Cherry and Marcia. Dally is rude to the girls, but Ponyboy and Johnny become closer to them. Then some Soc boys come and there is some trouble. Eventually, another day, there is a fight, and Johnny ends up killing one of the Soc boys while trying to save Ponyboy from getting hurt. So Johnny and Ponyboy run away and hide, with the help of Dally, who has gotten into trouble with the law before.

S: That sounds kind of big, killing someone. These are still only kids, aren’t they?

M: Well, they are more or less. Ponyboy is 14 and Johnny is 16.

S: Alright, then what happens?

M: Well, I cannot tell you everything, but there is a big fire, and the boys try to help save some children who have been trapped in the fire, so they become heroes of some sort, but Johnny still has killed someone, so he needs to be punished. But he is also pretty injured during the fire. So I will stop here because we are already talking about stuff way into the book.

S: Alright, that makes total sense. We already got the gist of the story I think.

Marshmallow is reading The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. — Marshmallow is reading *The Outsiders* by S. E. Hinton.

S: So you began reading this book because your class is reading it at school, right?

M: Yep. We are still reading and discussing it in class.

S: We read it at school, too, I think, but it was many many years ago. I do not remember the story very well. I also did not remember the author’s name.

M: Well, she is using only initials. It is because she was very young when she wrote the book, and they thought a book by a young woman who is a total unknown would not sell. There is an interview with the author at the back of the copy of the book I read where she says this.

S: I did not remember that at all, but the Wikipedia article about the book says that she was only 15 when she started writing the story and was 18 when it was published. That is pretty young!

M: Yes, it is impressive.

S: And maybe that really was the right thing to do, because the book did get really famous and they made a movie of it, too.

M: I know! In fact we are going to watch it at school. Can we put the trailer of the movie here?

S: Sure. Here it is:

The Outsiders (1983) Official Trailer, from YouTube.

S: I remember that we did watch this movie in class too, and it was all very exciting. A lot of the actors became really famous after this.

M: I’m excited to watch it too.

S: So maybe we should slowly wrap this up. Before that, would you mind telling me what you thought of the characters?

M: I thought they were good. Ponyboy narrates the story, and you get to really empathize with him. He does smoke a lot though. Still he is very thoughtful and cares about people.

S: Anything else?

M: I thought the book did a good job of pointing towards social economic inequalities. The rich kids all also have problems with their families and such, but when the poor kids get into trouble, their lives get so much more difficult. And these kinds of differences make it harder for people to empathize with others. Ponyboy thinks that he and the greasers are all outsiders and nobody else, none of the Socs, can ever understand their lives. And he does have a point, I think.

S: But after some of the events of the book, he realizes that Socs are also human, according to the book description in one of the versions of the book.

M: Yes, I guess so. But the class differences still remain, and that is also there till the end. The consequences are so much tougher for the greasers.

S: Thank you for this review Marshmallow. I think I might want to revisit this book, or at least the movie! You always rate the books you review. So what would you rate this one?

M: I’d rate it 100%.

S: Sounds like it! Okay, and to wrap up, what do you want to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing book reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Outsiders* by S. E. Hinton 100%.

Marshmallow reviews You Know, Sex by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth

Marshmallow is reading about growing up and this week she wanted to talk about a recent book she read about puberty, growing up, and sex written for young people who are around her age: You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Marshmallow reviews You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth. — Marshmallow reviews *You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things* by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth.

Sprinkles: First of all, as we begin this review, I want to thank you for reading this book, Marshmallow. After reviewing a collection of books about where babies come from, I had intended to write a post about a handful of books about puberty next. And one of the books I chose was this one, a huge, 432-page tome written in graphic novel form. But when I began to read it, I realized that my personal discomfort with the form (due to my poor eyesight) would mean I would probably not be able to give it its full due. So thank you for helping me out and checking the book out on your own.

Marshmallow: Well, that’s alright, Sprinkles. It was an interesting read.

S: That’s good to know. Can you tell us a bit about the specifics of the book?

M: Sure. You already said it is big, and has 432 pages. And you said it is written as a graphic novel.

S: The two who wrote this book also were the writer and the illustrator of What Makes A Baby?, one of the books I read for that review of books about where babies come from. And the pictures have the exact same style.

M: Yes, there are people with many different skin colors, like orange and purple and green and blue, and many different shapes and sizes.

S: Does that work well?

M: Yes, it is interesting. I think the people all look quite unique.

S: Well, I guess that makes the book more realistic, right? We are all quite different from one another.

M: Yes.

S: So tell us more about the book.

M: There are eleven chapters. They are titled: What is Sex? Bodies, Gender, Puberty, Feelings, Consent, Talking, Relationships, Reproduction, Touching, and Safety.

S: So the book covers a lot of ground.

M: Yup. It is also very contemporary.

S: What do you mean by that?

M: It has some ideas which I think are contemporary. They talk about gender identity and sexual orientation, transgender and non-binary people, and people having relationships with multiple partners.

S: The last one does not sound too contemporary to me. Polygamy and polyamory have been around for a long time. They have not always been accepted or legal though. I guess the authors are trying to teach the reader to be open minded about different arrangements.

M: I am not sure all readers would be too open to all of these ideas at this point.

S: I agree with that. Actually I too find some of these ideas challenging, especially polygamy. Though rabbits are typically not monogamous, according to Wikipedia, “scientific studies classify the human mating system as primarily monogamous, with the cultural practice of polygamy in the minority”. In any case, it is good to learn about how different people can relate with others.

M: Well, the book does not talk so much about polygamy as polyamory. But yes, it is good to learn about these different things.

Marshmallow is reading You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth. — Marshmallow is reading *You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things* by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth.

S: They also talk about the changes a young bunny goes through in puberty, and more generally about biology and mechanics of sexual reproduction, right?

M: Well, yes. There are also very vivid depictions of things. They make an effort to show all kinds of things, so that the reader does not end up assuming that a body part has to look in one specific way. And they show people doing all kinds of different things together or alone.

S: I did look through the pages a lot, too, and I’d say there really are a lot of illustrations that some parents may not be comfortable with.

M: The self-discovery and self-exploration parts might also be kind of touchy topics for some folks, I’d imagine.

S: I did see a section on pornography, and that too is a very challenging topic. Perhaps grownup bunnies should read this book together with their young ones when they feel like the conversations about the various themes and issues that come up will be constructive.

M: I’d agree with that.

S: What were some of the other topics in the book? What topics did you find were most important?

M: They talk a lot about relationships, and I thought it was useful to learn about that. They talk about consent and power in relationships, and sometimes how people talk about being with people as a competition.

S: Yes, I did see that page about how sometimes people talk about “scoring” and the book instead encourages young people to think about “trust, respect, justice, joy, and choice”.

M: Yes, I did find those parts useful. All in all, it is an interesting and useful book, but I think grownups should probably check it out before sharing with their little ones.

S: Agreed. So what would you tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing book bunny reviews!

Marshmallow appreciated reading You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth, and she thinks all growing bunnies should read a book along these lines; she also suggests grownups check it out before sharing with their little ones. — Marshmallow appreciated reading *You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things* by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth, and she thinks all growing bunnies should read a book along these lines; she also suggests grownups check it out before sharing with their little ones.

Marshmallow reviews Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Marshmallow found a copy of a Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations, in her classroom library and decided to check it out. Just like many other novels by Dickens, Great Expectations was first published as a serial, weekly from 1860 to 1861, and then came out as a single three-volume book in 1861. Below Marshmallow shares her thoughts on this classic.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books that are set in past time periods or if you enjoy coming-of-age stories, and if you are up for a really long read, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Philip Pirrip (nicknamed Pip) is an orphan in the mid-early 19th century in Kent, England. His parents are dead but his much older sister (Georgiana Maria, though she is always referred to as Mrs. Joe) takes care of him. Unfortunately, she disciplines him very harshly, which was the norm back then. She is married to a blacksmith, Joe Gargery, who is kind and whom Pip views as a father figure. The story starts when Pip is around seven and he is visiting the graves of his parents and other siblings. There he unexpectedly meets an escaped convict who threatens to kill him unless he brings food and tools. Pip does so, but then soldiers arrive and ask Joe to mend some shackles. Pip comes with the soldiers and they find the convict fighting with another convict. The first one says that he stole the things that he ordered Pip to steal.

After this bizarre event, the narration moves on and we skip ahead a few years. In a couple years, a rich elderly woman is looking for a young boy to come visit her. Pip is chosen and so he starts going to her house every now and then. This woman is Miss Havisham who has an adopted daughter named Estella. Miss Havisham is a strange woman: she was supposed to be married, but when her fiancé left her at the altar, she froze everything where it was. She was still wearing her wedding dress and the clocks were all stopped to the time she learned she was abandoned. Miss Havisham raised Estella to be her revenge on the male part of the human species. Estella was raised to be heartless and break mens’ hearts. And Pip was to be her first victim. Pip falls in love with Estelle, leading to a great heartbreak throughout Pip’s life.

Many years later, when Pip has been training to be a blacksmith, like Joe, he is given money to allow him to become a gentleman and he travels to London. It is presumed that Miss Havisham was the one who gave him the money. Pip’s life transforms many times into different things. This book follows his life through most of it from a young age to his older years.

Marshmallow is reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. — Marshmallow is reading *Great Expectations* by Charles Dickens.

Marshmallow’s Review: Great Expectations is a highly regarded book by the famous author Charles Dickens. I found it fascinating. I thought it was remarkable how it covered almost the entire life of one person. I also appreciated that there were so many twists and turns. I honestly did not expect what happened at the end.

However, I would say that it is very difficult to read since it was written in a different time period where people wrote differently. Secondly, it is very complicated because there are so many characters and so many things happen to them at different times. I understood most of the book when I read it, but I missed some things because of the confusing language. I had to go back and reread and think things through a bit.

All in all I am glad to have read Great Expectations. It was my first Dickens book, and it is amazing to me that he wrote it and published it weekly first. It is such a big project! And there are so many things to keep track of because it is Pip’s entire life!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Great Expectations* by Charles Dickens 95%.