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Feb 28, 2010

Erin rated it:

I first read this book in kindergarten. After getting into an argument with the PTA lady running the school book fair about whether or not I could buy the book (I thought she was trying to imply that I couldn't read it, which I found insulting) - an argument that was ultimately settled by a call home to my mom - I brought the book home and read it all on a Friday night. Up past my bedtime, I snuck downstairs, where my parents were entertaining friends, and announced that I had a question about More...

12 comments like (75 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2008

Tiphany rated it:

Oh, how I do miss the 1970 edition of this book. Somehow the cute little cover girl of the new edition, what with the sparkling eyes and her head in the clouds, doesn't express the loneliness and contemplative nature of Miss M. in the same way the little girl with lank brown hair and brown knee socks did. And how else can one completely alarm and overwhelm a modern 10-year-old about the mysteries of the pubescent female body without the mention of the belt?

When I first read the boo More...

3 comments like (18 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2007

John rated it:

I read this book again very recently as part of a program in which volunteers help teach childen and adults who have difficulty with reading and comprehension to read for understanding and ulimately enjoyment.

The girl I was reading with was very moved by the book. I guess, I had taken it for granted. Blume clearly knows her audience and speaks to them. As a young, fat boy, I read Blubber and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (along with 1001 Arabian Nights) over and over under th More...

2 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Snarky's rated it:

I read this book while living in Greece and listening to Kasey Casem's top forty. I remember that "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was the number one song and I also remember Casey telling the story of Bonnie Tyler's vocal dramedy and comeback. What does it have to do with this book? Um, not much.

I was about ten, aleady had boobs and a period (both of which I wanted to jettison). I found the book amusing because I could relate to the religious power struggle that plagued our p More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2009

Kristina rated it:

Isn't it pathetic that as a girl, once you learn about periods, you just can't wait to get one, and then for the rest of your life, you just wish the effers would go away? Except of course, the periods that show up JUST when you need them to- like when one is perhaps a few days late and not super confident in her decision-making skills during the last month. Those periods are probably even better than the satisfaction of that very first one.

1 comment like (28 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

anique rated it:

Every Saturday growing up, my mother would drop me off at the public library and wouldn't come back for several hours. Instead of dwelling on the problem of abandonment, I got lost in the stacks and one day found this book. I remember loving it and rooting for and identifying with the main character--a girl trying to reach out, needing only someone to listen to her as she tries to figure out what the hell is going on.

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2010

Bethany rated it:

It's difficult for me to assign ratings to books like this. It's a solid book for pre-teen girls. I must've read it a long time ago, because I totally remember the "I must, I must, I must increase my bust!" business, but I read it again recently, in the interest of being well-informed about the "classics" in children's literature.

Margaret's family is Jewish, she hasn't yet decided, and she's just, you know. She's just trying to grow up, in a new town, with ne More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Crystal rated it:

This is the ultimate book that every female, whatever her age, should read AT LEAST once! It's the charming story of 12 year old Margaret who learns what entering into womanhood is about. It's everything, we as females, go through from a young girl through the awkwardness of puberty. IT will make you smile and giggle. I've read this book no less than 200 times...really. My copy is so worn the pages are falling out and the binding is completely shot. Judy Blume knows how to write them!!!

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2010

melissa rated it:

I was prohibited from reading Judy Blume books. My parents said so. So, beginning in the seventh grade, I secretly checked them out from the school library and hid in my room and read them instead of doing homework. Ahhh, clandestine reading. This was the first that I read and, though not my favorite Judy Blume, definitely something I wouldn't mind taking a crack at now. I wonder if it would be as good reading it now that my parents don't care?

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2008

Bethany rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2010

lita rated it:

Margareth kebingungan. Guru baru di sekolahnya memberi tugas untuk menuliskan rencana apa yang akan ia lakukan di hari raya nanti. Margareth bingung, karena sejak kecil ia tidak pernah merasakan perayaan hari besar agama di rumah. Ayahnya Yahudi, sementara ibunya penganut Kristen. Margareth tidak tahu agama apa yang ia anut...

Cerita dalam buku ini telah mengajarkanku bagaimana memaknai agama yang ada di dunia, dan bagaimana aku menghargai para penganutnya. Kurang lebih, aku punya pen More...

16 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2010

Sondang rated it:

I bought this book when I was in my elementary school. I remembered asking my dad to give me the money to buy this, after I saw the review in Bobo.
I loooove the story back then, and I guess I still do –but I couldn’t find the book at Gramedia these days, since I lost mine to a friend-
The story is about nine (or ten? Or twelve?) years old Margareth, who had three best friends and a big brother who has a cute friend.
The story is about Margareth’s days and all her wishes as an ac More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2010

Amelia rated it:

I found it unrealistic the way they all were dying to start their period...please! I was gratefully the last of my friends to start and was pissed off even then!

Being raised "nothing" like Margaret, with a "religious" grandmother, I could identify with her searching nature regarding God however. Like Margaret, I never had that "feeling" or any sort of religious experience when attending any sort of church or synagogue, but that personal relationship is More...

7 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

meg rated it:

so i re-read this a couple of years ago, and i still loved it just as much. but they revised little bits in the text to update it! so weird. all that stuff about her getting her period? all the references to the BELT etc. are now gone. i remember that confusing me even back in the day (aka the 80s), but it's still odd to me to edit stuff like that. but they also slapped a new hideous live action preteen girl cover treatment on it too, so why stop there?!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2010

Jodie rated it:

I remember LOVING this book when I first read it as a younger teen. I want to read it again, since the only part of it I can truly remember is "I must, I must, I must increase my bust!" haha... - I remember thinking why would any girl want to increase the size of her bust? I hated my boobs, they were bigger than all my friends & I was a tomboy! oh, the agony!

I definitely need to get this from the library & read it again.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 23, 2007

Carolyn Heinze rated it:

Re-read this recently for the hell of it and was once again swept away by Blume's talent for capturing the adolescent spirit (god, how awful puberty was). Unfortunately, the newer addition featured some technical updates (women will know what I mean), and I see why they did this, however I think girls today would be well served to learn how clunky feminine hygiene products were back when Margaret first hit the shelves.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Camille rated it:

This book is often considered a "rite of passage" book for young girls -- a must read, both for those who are about to go through puberty and for those who have been. The story itself dives through a lot of serious topics that kids are often left out of in the discussion process. Parts of the story were so silly I found myself giggling. Overall, though, Blume captures the confusion and complexity of growing older.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2009

Victoria rated it:

Another period-fest from Judy Blume. This time centered around Margaret, an 11-year old who is questioning her relationship with God. She wants to believe in him, but doesn't know where to find him. I love the religious open-mindedness of this book, which probably was quite rare when the book was written in 1970. It could stand to be a little longer to explore some of the themes more, but I loved the general angst and simplicity. The unrealistic part for me is how excited the girls seem to be to More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 18, 2010

Hope added it

I recently unearthed a copy of one of my childhood favorites. I like books with the cover they had on them when *I* read them. Mine was purple with a drawn Margaret in an ugly orange dress. I wonder if updated versions of this book forego the sanitary napkin belts business? I'll have to check at a bookstore.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2008

Paige rated it:

I've read all of this series several times, each, and also count myself lucky to have experienced the Beverly Cleary Ramona Quimby books, and countless others. I read so many books as a kid that my mother had to donate many large garbage bags full of books several times a year to the local hospital and other organizations. Best part of childhood, really. What I like especially about the Judy Blume books is that it deals with feelings, which are not easy things to manage in the vulnerable pre- More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2011

Lizzie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 12, 2011

K.D. rated it:

During the final round in the 2011 Miss Universe pageant, Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup was asked this question:

”Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person you love? Why or why not?”

Supsup answered:

”If I had to change my religious beliefs, I will not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is GOD who created me. And I have my faith and my principles. And these what make makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God too. Than

More...

18 comments like (17 people liked it)

Jul 14, 2011

Tina rated it:

Original post at One More Page

I think my mom bought this book because God is in the title. If I were only getting this now, I'd buy it for the same reasons, which goes to show how I am such my mother's daughter. :)

I read this just as I was about to turn thirteen, I think. From the very start of the book, I liked Margaret. It's so easy to relate to her. She's a very normal kid with a normal family who has typical questions about growing up. She's feeling changes in her bod More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Nov 17, 2007

Jessica rated it:

This book made no sense to me (no, I didn't read it en español, that was just the best cover). I thought the characters were totally crazy, and couldn't relate at all to their bizarre obsessions and behavior. I could not for the life of me figure out why anyone in her right mind would look forward to bleeding out of her private parts, let alone what was so desirable about wearing a bra, or growing breasts in the first place, let along pubic hair (ew!). Later on, sadly, I would become all too fam More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jan 17, 2008

Jessica rated it:

This was the coming of age touchstone for my generation of girls growing up in the 70s (with that iconic purple cover showing Margaret and her hair), and coming across it in the library recently, I was thrilled and a little amazed to see how well it holds up. The highly-publicized tweaks to make self-adhesive the menstrual pads with belts didn't bother me at all, and no doubt makes it more immediate for a contemporary audience, where they might have viewed it as a relic. Blume captures perfectly More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 14, 2011

Hope rated it:

Its 1 of the best BOOKS i ever read in class with my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

to:everybody

from:hope

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 29, 2008

Jessica rated it:

I was not allowed to read Judy Blume as a kid, so of course I read any one of them I could find and hide from my mom. This is a fun one, one of the quintessential girl-growing-up books, and yet I had a bit of a hard time with it. You see, unlike just about every other girl (according to a number of books I read in the 1980's with young girl protagonists), I wasn't waiting with bated breath to get my period. Nope. Not interested. So books that revolved around finding out what that was like, More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2007

Jennifer rated it:

I honestly believe in my heart that every American woman from about age 25-35 read this book around the same age I did. Either one of her friends told her about it, the school nurse gave it to her, or her mom bought it and said it would explain things.

This book is occassionally banned by school districts due to its discussion of female puberty and religion. I don't remember it being especially new when I was the age of the characters (Blume sets many of her novels in Princeton, and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 04, 2008

Katie rated it:

I just read this article about judy blume (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jht...) and it reminded me how much i loved this book. I don't think I read Forever, or if I do, I don't remember, but I do remember that having read this book is pretty much all that made getting my period, which seemed like the most embarrassing thing in the world (my dad congratulated me on being a woman and i still remember the awkward feeling. in fact, i know exactly where i was standing), ok enough that it was More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 16, 2009

Jean rated it:

This is the first time that I have read this book and found it to be hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny. Although it was written in 1970, I'm sure that pre-teens can still relate to the situations in this book.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

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