Our childhood dreams are coming true.
- Judy Blume published Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret in 1970.
- For generations, the book has remained popular amongst young women.
- This is the first time Blume has signed over the book’s rights for a film.
Nearly 50 years after Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret was first published, author Judy Blume has finally agreed to sell the film rights to her iconic novel, Deadlinereports.
Producers James L. Brooks’ Gracie Films and Kelly Fremon Craig of the 2016 coming-of-age drama The Edge of Seventeen bought the rights to turn the book into a movie. A Hollywood movie studios is not yet tied to the project. Brooks and Fremon Craig reportedly plan to have a full screenplay before they sell it to a distributor.
Fremon Craig told Deadline, below, why she thinks the book has been so popular among young women for many generations.
“It’s rare for me to run into a woman or girl who hasn’t read it and every time I’ve mentioned it to a woman, they clutch their heart and let out this joyful gasp. There’s something so timely and full of truth and I remember for me that at that age, it felt like a life raft at a time when you’re lost and searching and unsure. This book comes along and tells you you’re not alone. Women remember where they were when they read it. I can’t think of another book you can say that about.”
Brooks said he got the idea to turn the book into a movie because his granddaughter had just read it, and the storyline still resonated with her.
“It definitely won’t feel like a period piece,” he said. “People have read at various stages and it felt present and immediate.”
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret explores the life of an 11-year-old girl named Margaret Simon who is in the sixth grade. She forms a secret club with three girl friends, in which they talk about adolescent issues many young women go through, including getting her first period, liking boys, and buying her first bra. In the book, Margaret also talks about exploring her faith after being brought up in a home with a Christian mother and Jewish father.