When I first read this book, I was probably in Middle School. I remember finding it at our school library and was first attracted to it because it was a Dell Yearling book. I lhad received a box set of Yearling books and was hooked.
However, I quickly learned that this particular book was very different from the others I’ve read in the past. The plot was “contemporary” and it actually dealt with what I felt were “grown-up” topics on growing up.
Naturally, when the movie, under Lionsgate Productions, came out this year, I decided to watch it. And my reactions back then and now were no different when they showed the (in)famous “We must, we must, we must increase our b _ _ _!” scene. I cringed when I saw the scene and relived the emabarassment I felt when I was reading that part of the book way back when.
But the one thing that got me curious was the emphasis on religion in the movie, which, for some reason, I couldn’t remember from the book. That led me to trek to my local library to see if I can borrow the book for a quick reread.
This I have to say about the movie: The screenwriters were able to stick to the book’s original story unlike many Hollywood rewrites. So, in that sense, I appreciated the movie more after my reread. The book did discuss Margaret Ann Simon’s confusion as to which religious group to join and she did go through that year-long research by participating in various church and synagogue services as seen in the movie. As a grown-up, I am seeing the book in a different light.
The book begins with Margaret’s inner conversation with God lamenting the fact that she now has to move to New Jersey and live far away from her paternal grandmother, who lives in New York. She questions the decision, and she implores God’s help hoping that it will not be “too horrible.” As the story progresses, she starts getting concerned about her impending womanhood, which still seems to elude her. She questions why God had not allowed her to reach this important milestone yet, and would, in typical child-like fashion, barter for things to happen in exchange for good behavior. She also asks God for direction: Should she become Jewish or Christian? And in typical God fashion, He was silent. As we know on hindsight, there are things He leaves for us to choose.
Now that I am reading the same story through my adult eyes, I realize there’s a lot more breadth and depth to this seemingly cute story of pre-pubescent girls getting ready for the next stage of their lives. That plotline is juxtaposed to Margaret’s wondering about who she is and where she belongs. The story reveals a little later that her father is Jewish, while her mother is Christian and that her maternal grandparents had disowned her mother for marrying outside the faith. It is a heavy topic for a book that is geared towards children.
As Margaret “experiments” and figures out which church she belongs to, without the help of her parents who do not want to pressure her into any religion, Margaret keeps up her internal conversation with God. She bemoans the fact that after participating in Rosh Hashanah with her Jewish grandmother and after enjoying the music from the choir in a Christmas eve mass with the Methodists, she still “didn’t feel anything special.”
She elaborates, “I’m more confused than ever. I’m trying hard to understand but I wish you’d help me a little. If only you could give me a hint, God,” beseeches Margaret. “Which religion should I be? Sometimes I wish I’d been born one way or the other.” Here, Margaret is inadvertently seeking guidance, a clue, or a sign as to which way to go. She realizes that making decisions can be hard and would rather not have to make that choice herself.
This prayer of hers is the same cry for help that she probably would have asked from her parents if only they were open to giving it to her. A child without the faith grounding her makes her feel unsure and makes her feel like she is “nothing”–a smiliar statement repeated several times in the book. When asked what religion she belongs to, her reply is “I am nothing,” and when confronted by her maternal grandparents on her religious beliefs, her own parents reply for her, “She is nothing.”
Not many people realize this but being grounded in faith is actually very important. It helps establish one’s identity; it forms the values that the child grows up with in determining what’s good and bad. Although there are plenty of “good” atheists, like Margaret, as one grows in self-awareness and starts questioning ideas and concepts one never had to before, it shows that a spiritual awakening is taking place to help us better understand our relationship with God. As Margaret is physically waiting to be a woman, she is also waiting for and seeking answers on her faith.
Another argument that can be made as to why we cannot just have this one-on-one relationship with God is the communal aspect of faith. It is supported and buoyed by a community of like-minded individuals in a shared tradition of beliefs and values. Margaret tries very hard to see which church she should eventually become a part of, only to be very disappointed in the end. Without the foundational support that could have been provided by her first community of faith (which would be her family), she flits from one to another, longing to belong.
As a book that is aimed at the preteen crowd, I feel that this book is appropriate with regards to the way it deals with the anticipation in physical changes in a growing young woman. It is the type of questions and issues one may have but may be too embarrassed to ask outright. It is a sex education that is not about sex but the changes in one’s body and what its effects are. It is about having that first innocent crush without the hormones that go with it. And, like for many teenagers, it is a book about wanting to belong, whether it is with a peer group or with an organized religion. Whether one agrees with the latter or not, it is a good wondering to have as we all struggle to find our place in this earthly life.
The Mama Travels 
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