Judy All the Way

Are you there God? It’s me Margaret
Freckle Juice
Tiger Eyes
Written by Judy Blume

Extremely popular among the pre-teens and teenagers, Judy Blume is one of the most popular writers for children.

The reason for her popularity is easily because the themes of her novels usually deal with the experiences children face in teenage years – new relationships, growing up, sibling rivalry, coping with peer pressure, divorce, and many other issues. All her books have one thing in common – they tackle issues that are very important to teenagers.

Her books are meant for children in the age group of seven to 15 years. Here are short reviews of three of her books that I have enjoyed tremendously in my teenage years.

Are you there God? It’s me Margaret

Margaret is a 11-year-old girl who moves to a new town with her parents. No sooner does she move, than she realises that all the girls in her neighbourhood are smarter than her. They know all about boys and growing up. Margaret desperately wants to fit into their gang but doesn’t know how to.

Unlike many of us who write diaries, Margaret talks to God about her feelings. She shares a very special relationship with God and tells him all her secrets. It is interesting to see how she holds a conversation with the Almighty.

One day, as Margaret looks at her body in the mirror, she tells God-

An excerpt from the book:

Are you there, God? It’s me Margaret. I hate to remind you, God…I mean, I know you are busy. But it’s already December and I’m not growing. At least I don’t see any real difference. Isn’t it time, God? Don’t you think I have waited patiently? Please help me.”

How will Margaret ever catch up?

That is what the rest of the story is about.

Freckle Juice

Andrew, a second grader, is desperate to get freckles. Nicky has them all over his face, neck and back. Andrew thinks that if he too, has freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck is dirty or not.

One day, Andrew gathers the courage to ask Nicky about his freckles when Sharon, overhears the conversation and offers her secret recipe for getting freckles, to Andrew – for just 50 cents.

Now, to Andrew, that is a lot of money but he decides to pay and buy freckle juice. At home, when everyone is away, he mixes all the ingredients mentioned and drinks it. Will freckle juice help Andrew?

Tiger Eyes

After the murder of her father, Davey is shattered. She was very close to him and now she feels terribly alone. To overcome the trauma of her father’s death, Davey and her family go to spend some time with their relatives in New Mexico.

Inspite of being far away from her home, Davey is unable to get over the tragedy. The horror of that night lingers on in her mind. She is scared. Nothing seems to interest her until the day she meets a stranger called Wolf…

About the Author
Judy Blume has written 19 novels for young people and they have been translated into 16 languages.

536 words | 5 minutes
Readability: Grade 6 (11-12 year old children)
Based on Flesch–Kincaid readability scores

Filed under: book reviews
Tags: #tigers