Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Judy Blume's classic tween novel gets a glorious, heartfelt adaptation that reminds us that every kid has a time in life where they feel like they're just not fitting in.

As a Gen-Xer, Judy Blume’s books were the rare ones that were not required reading but virtually every kid did. There were the unusual (at that time) novels that reflected children back to themselves as exactly as they were, rather than the glossed-over, sanitized versions we saw in most books and pop culture.

Zits, periods, bras, icky brothers, mean teachers, jealousy between friends, acrimony between parents and families — reading these books was like looking in the mirror, staring at yourself and all your flaws and gradually realizing that accepting them is maybe the most important part of growing up.

Strangely, other than a couple of TV movie adaptations, her books have rarely been turned into movies. (2012’s “Tiger Eyes,” based on one of her lesser-lauded novels, is a rare exception.) So I approached “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.”, based on possibly Blume’s most seminal work, with some trepidation.

My fears were all for naught. Writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”) and her cast have delivered a terrific, heartfelt film that reminds us that every single kid goes through a time in their life where they feel like they’re just not fitting in. Set in 1970 New Jersey, it’s a wonderful piece of nostalgia filmmaking that also has an immediacy for the challenges today’s tweens are going through.

Abby Ryder Fortson plays Margaret Simon, an almost-12-year-old who enjoys her life in New York City. Upon returning from summer camp right before the start of 6th grade, she’s shocked to learn that her family is moving to the Jersey suburbs, which will take her away from her friends and beloved, sassy grandma (Kathy Bates).

Her parents are pretty modern and hip — dad (Benny Safdie) has just gotten a promotion at work that necessitated the movie, and mom (Rachel McAdams) is able to give up her job as an art teacher and spend more time with Margaret.

Dad’s Jewish and mom is Christian, and Margaret has grown up without any formal religious tradition of her own. The title refers to her ongoing conversations with God as she works on a year-long school project, in her case to explore various religions and hopefully choose one for herself.

Margaret finds herself almost instantly bonding with three others girls, who form their own secret club where they promise to share everything, from when they first get their period to kissing a boy.

Nancy Wheeler (Elle Graham) is the ringleader, a confident blonde who lives down the street and is notable for already have started to develop “up top.” Margaret hasn’t and starts to feel very self-conscious about it — helped in part by Nancy leading “exercises” to help them grow with the iconic chant, “We must! We must! We must increase our bust!”

Janie (Amari Alexis Price) is smart and Black (their school being somewhat idyllically integrated, both students and faculty), while Gretchen (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) is warm, bespectacled and gossipy. Margaret’s primary friendship is with Nancy, and part of the story’s evolution is Margaret’s growing realization that being part of the “in” crowd isn’t necessarily the healthiest place to be.

To wit: the foursome talk trash about Laura (Isol Young) because she’s the tallest kid in the class and already has the body of a 16-year-old. Rumors fly that Laura goes behind the A&P with some of the boys to do wicked things. (The 1970s version of that being “felt up.” Alas for our innocence.)

Boys are kind of on the side of the story, but have a disproportionate gravity upon the girls. Philip Leroy (Zack Brooks) is the dreamy one all the girls have been pining for since 2nd grade — and he knows it. He and Margaret have an encounter during a party where they have to spend two minutes alone in a closet, with Philip just bathing in his own smugness as the local Prince Charming.

(In all my life, I’ve met exactly one stupendously handsome male who wasn’t also a tremendous prick.)

Margaret personally is more interested in Moose Freed (Aidan Wojtak-Hissong), a curly-haired chap who’s constantly mowing lawns, shoveling snow and otherwise hustling for dough. But she hides her romantic feelings, partly because she’s scared but also because he’s not seen as cool by their classmates.

Echo Kellum plays Mr. Benedict, their earnest and well-meaning newbie teacher, and Simms May is Norman Fisher, the “weird” kid who Margaret seems to constantly getting paired up with for school projects and such.

Fortson brings wonderful authenticity and sensitivity to the role of Margaret. It’s not an easy part — Margaret has no strong personality traits on her own, and largely acts as a foil for the other, more colorful characters and the different influences on her. She’s really good as being identifiable and sympathetic, even when her character is not necessarily being her best self.

For me, McAdams is the film’s real standout as the mom. In many ways the movie is as much her story as Margaret’s, as she has some of her own things to go through — dealing with her estranged parents, balancing her pushy mother-in-law, the demands of the PTA leader (who happens to be Nancy’s mom), choosing a new couch and trying to be a good guide for her daughter even she’s not always feeling like a totally put-together woman herself.

“Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.” is simply one of the best family movies I’ve seen in a while. It’s primarily aimed at kids, who should take a lot away from it. But even those who are long past our initial awkward stage will watch this beautiful film, remember and reflect.