[Witnessing the awkward, then tender, reunions of her parents in "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself," Sally] feels the impact of their need for one another without fully understanding what it means. It's a reminder to all of us that there's a time when children know the facts of life without understanding them. Beyond that, the book is largely a chronicle of Sally's adjustment to a new life, of wishes and nervousness and fun, and the author's memories of the 1940's.
Interestingly, Mrs. Blume herself has become a much discussed subject of the sub-teen culture she writes about. Kids read her books with a blushing curiosity once reserved for certain words in the dictionary, parts of the Bible and naughty passages in Hemingway. They know they will find some frank discussion of prurient matters like breasts and menstruation. Some of her readers may also have read [Erica Jong's] "Fear of Flying," yet they reread "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." It's evident her appeal goes beyond sexual frankness: She must be conveying a certain emotional reality that children recognize as true. Portnoy may complain all he wants, but kids will go right on needing reassurance that there is a time of slow awakening, of normal curiosity and confusion about what they are learning and feeling. And this is soft at the core, not hard.
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