When she is 11 years old, Margaret Simon's family moves from New York City to the New Jersey suburbs. Her mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, but Margaret was raised without an affiliation to either faith. She frequently prays to God, beginning her prayers with, "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret."
Margaret feels uncomfortable with her lack of religious affiliation. For a school assignment, she studies religious beliefs, hoping to resolve her faith-based issues. Her study includes attending different places of worship to learn about religious practices. Her Jewish grandmother, Sylvia Simon, takes Margaret to Rosh Hashanah services and hopes her granddaughter will embrace Judaism.
Margaret befriends Nancy, a neighbor who is the same age. Nancy seems confident and knowledgeable about many subjects, including sex. Nancy, Margaret, and their friends Gretchen and Janie form a secret club called the Pre-Teen Sensations. The Pre-Teen Sensations discuss boys, brassieres and menstruation. The girls anxiously await their first period, preparing by buying belted sanitary napkins.[a] They also perform exercises to increase their bust sizes while chanting: "We must, we must, we must increase our bust!"
Gretchen has her first menstrual period, which causes Margaret to worry that she is abnormal because she has not started menstruating. Margaret envies her classmate, Laura Danker, who started menstruating and wears a brassiere. According to Nancy, Laura dates an older boy. The Pre-Teen Sensations gossip about Laura letting boys touch her breasts. Margaret feels guilty when she learns that Laura is a devout Catholic and is hurt by the rumors. Margaret is attracted to a popular boy in her class named Philip Leroy. They kiss while playing "two minutes in the closet" during a party. Nancy lies to the Pre-Teen Sensations that she had her first menstrual period when away on vacation. Margaret discovers the truth when they are at a restaurant, and Nancy gets her actual first menstrual period.
Margaret's family plans to spend the spring vacation with Sylvia in Florida. The day before the family's vacation, Margaret's conservative Christian grandparents, Mary and Paul Hutchins, visit. Because they disapprove of their daughter's interfaith marriage, Mary and Paul have been estranged from Margaret's mother for fourteen years. Margaret's mother cancels the Florida vacation, saying that "it's not the end of the world" and that they can always go to Florida another time. Margaret is upset but tries to be polite to her grandparents. When her grandparents mention religion, a heated argument ensues, during which Margaret angrily declares that she does not need religion or God.
Margaret then stops talking to God. By the end of her school project, she still has not resolved her religious identity. However, she has learned about herself and has become more comfortable with her lack of affiliation. On the last day of school, Margaret gets her first menstrual period. Relieved, she resumes her relationship with God, saying, "I know you're there God. I know you wouldn't have missed this for anything! Thank you, God. Thanks an awful lot...."
