It's Not the End of the World

This book was witten in the early 70s, back when there were no cell phones and divorce laws were different. But, everything the family goes through holds true to today because feelings are timeless. Karen Newman, the main character of the book is in sixth grade when her parents separate, and eventually divorce. She goes through a whole range of emotions from anger to sadness and hate to love, high hopes and hopelessness, as most families experience during a divorce. She also desperately wants to do whatever she can to get her parents back together. Being so true to life, at least for me, is what makes this book so good. Karen is a very believable character, as well as the conflicts in this book. Judy Blume wasn't afraid to show how strong the emotions can get, even to the point of parents acting no better than a two year old. I would like to think that divorced parents can all be calm, and make things good for their children. But, knowing first hand from my own parents, I know that it's just not always so. Karen's brother Jeff is also very true-to-life to me, and seems like a very real 14-year old boy. I don't want to give away anything more about the book, so suffice to say I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to young and older alike. It would help anyone who has or who is going through divorce, as well as anyone who would like to read a story about a character who prevails.

Divorce. its the end of the world. At least that is what Karen thinks when he parents gets a divorce. Now Karen is trying to get them to talk face to face so they can realize that a divorce was a bad thing. Won't they? I like the book because it explains to people the divorce isn't the end of the world, and it is exciting also, and I think that everybody should read it so read this book if you want to laugh.

Now in my late twenties, I read this book when I was entering fourth grade and I liked very much reading it. Although my parents are still together, there are children, even as adults, dealing with divorce. Karen Newman, the main character of the book, is coping with the unexpected events that are going on during her parents separation. She meets another girl that lives in the same building as her father whose parents are divorced. However, her reaction to her parents' breakup is much different from Karen's. She already knew from an early age that her father's role in her life was a small part. She accepts her mother being a single parent and going back out into the dating scene. Karen eventually gets through and comes to the conclusion that her parents aren't getting back. This is an interesting read not only for children, but for adults as well.

This book was very good, but I felt like crying as I read it. It's about a girl named Karen whos parents can't stand to be in the same room togher. They get devorced and Karen hates it. She wont stop at nothing to get them back togher. She sends them a Happy Aniversary card in the mail, Invites them both over to show them her viking diorama. In the end her brother runs away and Karen's parents get in such a big fight that it seems that they want to kill each other! Karen then relizes that they wont get back togher and gets on with her life getting used to the fact that her parents are devorced and theres nothing she can do about it. This book was excellent and would recieve 10 stars from me although it was sad and made me want to cry.