by Judy Blume
Recommended by Catherynne M. Valente and Clara Jeffery
Recommended by public sources
Amazon availability
Reads like a candid, preteen diary: plain, chatty voice and small scenes about friendship, crushes, bras, and the messy questions that arrive before adolescence. Useful as a window into the interior life of an almost-twelve-year-old—good for remembering awkwardness and for readers who prefer plainspoken honesty over plot twists. Limiting elements: some passages repeat the same anxieties, and modern readers may find the social setting and slang mildly dated. No hands-on exercises—this is character-driven, not prescriptive.
This summary and audience guidance are AI-generated from the book's description and its recommendation history, last updated June 2026. Recommendations, quotes and sources elsewhere on this page come from published material and are not generated.
Margaret Simon, almost twelve, likes long hair, tuna fish, the smell of rain, and things that are pink. She?s just moved from New York City to Farbook, New Jersey, and is anxious to fit in with her new friends?Nancy, Gretchen, and Janie. When they form a secret club to talk about private subjects like boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Ma...
Difficulty:hard
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View available editions on AmazonWhy recommended
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in Young Adult, Teen & Young Adult, and Adult.
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
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Consider The Giver by Lois Lowry. Recommended by 6 sources.
“Lois Lowry uses spare, plain prose to center a single conceit: a supposedly ideal community that controls emotion and memory. The story follows twelve-year-old Jonas as small revelations accumulate into a sharp ethical dilemma, which makes the book useful for conversation and classroom discussion. Its limitation is emotional restraint and deliberate vagueness—many details and characters stay underdefined—so readers who want rich sensory worldbuilding or a tidy conclusion may feel unsatisfied.”
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
