God, Bras, and Shoes

“My parents don’t know I actually talk to God. I mean, if I told them they’d think I was some kind of religious fanatic or something. So I keep it very private. I can talk to him without moving my lips if I have to. My mother says God is a nice idea. He belongs to everybody.”

-         - from Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume

“Brandon T. comes to school in those shoes. He says he’s the fastest runner now, not me. I was always the fastest before those shoes came along.”

-        -  from Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones

Coming of age is a trying time for adolescents of any age, race, or religion. For Margaret and Jeremy, I read the evidence with recollection of similar struggles in my youth. Although I too struggled to fit in and avoid being the target of mockery, I certainly followed my own path that prevented me from experiencing the same pressures as Margaret and Jeremy.

Let’s take Jeremy’s example in Those Shoes. Jeremy craves the black high tops with white stripes that all the other boys in his class gradually get and show off in the halls. Jeremy and his grandmother search the stores and thrift shops until they find a reasonably priced pair. Even though the shoes are too small for Jeremy, he buys them anyways. In the end, Jeremy ends up anonymously giving the shoes to a boy in his class who wears shoes that are taped together and in bad condition.

I can relate to Jeremy’s desire to fit in and ride the surf of status quo within his classroom hierarchy. However, I learned at an early age that this was not an easy feat for the weird, nerdy girl that I was. My father used to refer to me as “unique”, and I proudly wore the moniker as one who rows upstream with glee. Despite my seemingly content manner of oddities and idiosyncrasies, I still longed somewhat to be a part of the groups in school that did follow the fads. I never wore ripped jeans or got chunky highlights in my hair or wore the grown-up underwear ahead of my time, but inside I still felt the pressure to conform.

Similarly, Margaret felt much pressure to conform and be “normal”. In her group of girls this meant wearing bras too soon, wishing for their periods, liking the same boys, and increasing their bust. In these areas, I was all too happy to wait. I never had much inclination for growing up early or even on time. I preferred more of a Peter Pan mindset when it came to my adolescence. Margaret had a lot on her plate with moving to a new neighborhood in New Jersey, grandparents vying for her to follow two different religions, and girl friends who insisted on normalcy and maturing. Throughout all this, Margaret confidentially confides in God through brief prayers that always begin with “are you there God? It’s me, Margaret”. 

I can see how the book gained a saucy reputation among parents and educators. The content of the story involves parts of growing up that guardians of preteens would rather not face. However, I believe it is vital that adolescents, preteens, and teens see themselves in the literature they are presented to read. The beliefs and hopes of Margaret are not different from most preteen girls, but they are skewed in their focus. We must allow preteens to explore such literature as long as we also take care to discuss the issues and themes openly with them.