12-year-old Margaret Simon is finally getting her shot at the big screen, and Judy Blume fans are rejoicing.After decades of rejecting film offers, Judy Blume has finally granted the rights to turn her hit novelAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,about a young girl going through puberty,into a movie. The author settled onEdge of Seventeenwriter Kelly Fremon Craig, who will also be directing the film.Fremon Craig, who wrote and made her directorial debut with the 2017 Hailee Steinfeld movie, toldDeadlinethat she had received Blume’s seal of approval, thanks to that movie.“I got the greatest email from Judy where she said if someone were to make a film of one of her books, she hoped it would have the same tone and feeling thatThe Edge of Seventeenhad,” Fremon Craig said. “It’s maybe the greatest compliment I’ve ever gotten, because she has always been a North star for me as a writer. What’s helpful is that everybody who reads it sees themselves in it. I read it in the late ’80s, and didn’t know it was written in 1970. She captured something universal and timeless enough that it transcends all that. What I’m going to need is a great 12-year-old actress to play Margaret.”WATCH: This Non-Profit Is Helping Disadvantaged Schools, One Library At A TimeFirst released in 1970, the book struck a cord with young girls all over the country who fiercely connected with Margaret and her struggles of growing older. The book opened a discussion about what girls go through when they start nearing puberty, from getting their first period to the first few crushes on boys.“It is this right of passage for women and girls,” Fremon Craig told Deadline. “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.”

12-year-old Margaret Simon is finally getting her shot at the big screen, and Judy Blume fans are rejoicing.

After decades of rejecting film offers, Judy Blume has finally granted the rights to turn her hit novelAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,about a young girl going through puberty,into a movie. The author settled onEdge of Seventeenwriter Kelly Fremon Craig, who will also be directing the film.

Fremon Craig, who wrote and made her directorial debut with the 2017 Hailee Steinfeld movie, toldDeadlinethat she had received Blume’s seal of approval, thanks to that movie.

“I got the greatest email from Judy where she said if someone were to make a film of one of her books, she hoped it would have the same tone and feeling thatThe Edge of Seventeenhad,” Fremon Craig said. “It’s maybe the greatest compliment I’ve ever gotten, because she has always been a North star for me as a writer. What’s helpful is that everybody who reads it sees themselves in it. I read it in the late ’80s, and didn’t know it was written in 1970. She captured something universal and timeless enough that it transcends all that. What I’m going to need is a great 12-year-old actress to play Margaret.”

WATCH: This Non-Profit Is Helping Disadvantaged Schools, One Library At A Time

First released in 1970, the book struck a cord with young girls all over the country who fiercely connected with Margaret and her struggles of growing older. The book opened a discussion about what girls go through when they start nearing puberty, from getting their first period to the first few crushes on boys.

“It is this right of passage for women and girls,” Fremon Craig told Deadline. “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.”

source: people.com