So God made a fighter." "God said, 'I need a family man. A man who would laugh and then sigh and then reply with smiling eyes when his daughter says she wants to spend her life doing what dad does.' ...

The God Margaret confides in is nondenominational; as a preteen, she has agency and choice. This 53-year-old story is landing in theaters squarely in the middle of today’s culture wars.

But first, she tapped her burgundy nails on the cover of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” resting an index finger gently on Margaret’s face. “That’s such a good one,” she said.