Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.: Chapter 18 Summary & Analysis

Margaret turns 12 on March eighth. She sniffs her armpits but still doesn’t smell—but since she’s 12 now, she figures she’d better use deodorant anyway. She uses Mom’s and heads for the kitchen. Margaret tells Mom she used her deodorant, but Mom laughs and promises to get Margaret her own. Margaret gets a 100-dollar savings bond and three new sweaters from Grandma, as well as a plane ticket to Florida. At school, Mr. Benedict shakes Margaret’s hand. Nancy, Janie, and Gretchen buy Margaret a record, and Nancy also gives Margaret a special card. Margaret figures Nancy is still afraid Margaret will spill her secret.

Then, in the afternoon, Mr. Benedict announces that they’re going to spend three weeks working on group projects on different countries—and he’s already put together the groups. Margaret is distraught, especially when she learns she’s in a group with Norman Fishbein, Philip Leroy, and Laura Danker. Mr. Benedict asks everyone to rearrange their desks so they’re sitting with their groups. Margaret is thrilled to work with Philip—until he sings a rude birthday song to her and pinches her so she grows an inch, insisting she needs the height. Margaret decides that Nancy and Philip deserve each other.

What’s even worse, though, is that Margaret faces Laura Danker. Margaret hates Laura for being mature and beautiful, and because the boys stare at her. Laura also knows she’s normal and Margaret doesn’t know anything about herself. Margaret decides she hates Mr. Benedict for putting her in a group with Norman. So Margaret’s birthday starts out amazing, but ends up horrible. She can’t wait for her upcoming visit to Florida.