Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Kelly Fremon Craig adapts Judy Blume's 1970 novel with a focus on the quiet anxiety of growing up. The film centers on Margaret Simon, an eleven-year-old girl whose life shifts dramatically when her family moves from New York City to the suburbs of Westfield, New Jersey. This transition isolates Margaret from her friends and forces her to navigate a new school where she feels like an outsider among popular peers.

Beyond the social friction, the story tracks two parallel struggles: the physical changes of puberty and a spiritual search for identity. Raised by a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Margaret has never been baptized or confirmed in either faith. She writes letters to God seeking answers about her body and her place in the world, creating a narrative anchor that balances humor with genuine vulnerability. [edit]

Margaret Simon lives a busy life in New York City until her parents decide to move the family to Westfield, New Jersey. The relocation disrupts her routine and leaves her feeling isolated in a neighborhood where everyone seems to know each other except her. At her new middle school, she struggles to fit in with the popular girls who appear confident and established. Her sense of alienation deepens as she notices her friends developing physically while she remains unchanged. This biological uncertainty becomes a source of intense anxiety, especially since menstruation is a topic whispered about but rarely discussed openly at school.

Her spiritual confusion runs parallel to her physical concerns. Because her father is Jewish and her mother is Christian, Margaret has not been initiated into either religion. When she attends a church service with her mother, she realizes she does not belong to any specific faith community. This lack of affiliation creates a profound sense of loneliness during holidays when others celebrate traditions she feels excluded from. She begins writing direct questions to God about her identity and her body, treating these letters as a private diary for guidance.

Margaret forms a tentative friendship with Nancy Wheeler, another girl struggling with insecurities. They bond over their shared feelings of being on the outside, but the dynamic shifts when Nancy starts dating a boy named Moose Freed. This introduces complexities of romance and jealousy that Margaret must navigate. Her parents also face their own challenges. Her mother, Barbara, balances her career as a writer with motherhood, often struggling to communicate effectively about the topics Margaret needs most. Her father, Herbert, tries to bridge the gap between his practical nature and his daughter's emotional needs, while his mother, Sylvia, offers a warm but sometimes overbearing presence.

As the school year progresses, Margaret faces various social hurdles including a humiliating bra-fitting incident and tense encounters with boys she likes. She learns that adults have their own struggles and regrets, which humanizes them but highlights the generational gap in understanding. The tension builds as Margaret approaches the end of the year carrying the weight of unanswered prayers and unexplained bodily changes. She grapples with the fear that she will never fit in or feel ready for the woman she is becoming. The story captures the agonizing wait for maturity and the universal desire to be seen and understood.[edit]