It's Not the End of the World by Blume, Judy (June 3, 2011) Paperback

Karen Newmans sixth grade year seems to be crumbling before her eyes. After witnessing her parents always fighting and her teacher becoming angry after her marriage she decides she will never marry. Although she was delighted to be placed in Mrs. Singers classroom, her hopes were shattered when she

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discovered that the teacher got married the summer before and has turned into a "witch." Her parents only communicate by arguing and fighting over every situation and every conversation they have. Eventually, her father moves out of the family's house; when he announces his plans to go to Las Vegas to file for divorce, her mother is very happy. Karen's brother Jeff runs away after he finds out the news which causes her father to stay home and look for him. Karen tries many different things to stop her parents from getting divorced and keep the family togther. She even sends anniversary cards from one parent to the other. Karen rates the days in her diary and only rarely does the day get an A+. The end of the book keeps the reader opptomisic even though the parents do not get back together.

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This book tells the story of a young girl named Karen. Her parents cannot stand each other and Karen feels that her teacher doesn't like her. The book reveals how Karen deals with all of the issues going on around her.

This book is about a girl with divorced parents, or soon to be divorced parents, feels like it is the end of the world. By the end of the book, Karen accepts the fact that her parents would get a divorce. This book is filled with sad and interesting parts.Karen tries her best to get her parents

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back together, but most of her plans didnt work out the way she wanted it to.

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One night after dinner, Karen figures out her father is not coming home and her brother Jeff tells her their parents are getting a divorce. Nothing seems to be going right at home or school. Karen needs to figure out a way to get her parents back together and quick.

This book is not slow at all, it jumps right into things. It's fun and kept me wanting to read it all the time. It would be especially intersting to kids with divorced parents.
4Q, 4P; Cover Art: Okay.
This book is best for Elementry, Middle and Highschoolers.
It was selected due to a love for the

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author, Judy Blume.
Grade (of reveiwer): 9th
(BA-AHS-NC)

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In It's Not the End of the World, Judy Blume presents the story of Karen, a normal girl whose parents have just announced their divorce. Blume's books are always topical, of course--there's the scoliosis book, the race relations book, the divorce book--but it's not really their after-school special

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qualities that distinguish them from other children's books of their era. Instead, what makes Blume's stories so special is their honesty, both in the true-to-life details and in their voice. Karen's narration is incredibly accurate-feeling; she has the attention span, interests, and focus of a real twelve year old. Having read Blume's books for adult readers, I know that this is not because of any lack of maturity or ability on the author's part, but rather (I think) a desire to communicate with young people honestly about life, on their level. Although her books can sometimes feel dated--references to nudists and cocktail waitresses pepper the pages of It's Not the End of the World, they never fail to feel relevant.

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VOYA Ratings: 4Q, 3P

Sometimes things just don't work out. Sometimes things need to break apart so they can be put back together in a new and better way. Sometimes, as painful as the truth may be, two people who once were happy together just can't stay together anymore.

Such things are difficult even

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for adults to accept but for young Karen they are nearly impossible. As she watches her parents fights escalate into divorce she can not comprehend a world without her family being together as she has always known it. She struggles to forestall an uncertain future, using anniversary cards, feigned illness, and every other trick she can think of in her schemes designed to make her parents stay together. She worries for herself as her hold upon the familiar world begins to loosen and it transforms into something else.

A powerful and emotional book that tackles the uneasy subject of divorce as experienced by the children who are caught in the middle. All the fears, all the uncertainties in these situations are here and ring with a true and authentic quality that breaks the heart. A subtle and quiet work of excellence by Judy Blume.

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This realistic fiction chapter book is about a girl named Karen whos parents are getting a divorce because they cannot stand to be in the same room. Karen is very upset and does everything she can to keep them together; however, her efforts don't work and they end up getting a divorce because they

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are so unhappy together. Karen then realizes that her parents were never going to get back together
no matter what she did to try to keep them together. She moved on with her life and and learned that life does not always turn out like you want or expect.

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Still relevant, still timeless. I think. Re-reading this as an adult nothing jumped out at me as anachronistic.

My parents never went through a divorce, so I can't speak to the accuracy of Karen's POV, but I do know that as a kid it gave me insight into what my friends might be going through;

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hopefully it stopped me from sticking my foot in my mouth (as much).

Odd what you remember: Karen meets a new friend, Val, who reads the New York Times every Sunday cover to cover. That was the most memorable part of the book for me - that and Val's foot shaped rug.

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I read this book when it came out in 1972, I was 11 at the time and a massive reader then as now. My progressive in reading went from Dr Seuss, to Frances Lattimore and Carolyn Haywood, to Beverly Cleary and last but not least Judy Blume.

I had no memory of this book at all, after all 44 years is a

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long time. I was surprized to see the word bastard in a kid's book, then it struck that that is the reason so many of Judy's books are on the banned books list.

I loved it - I probably enjoyed it now as an adult then when I was a kid, because now I can relate to what an 11 year old feels and does while not being that age, seeing it thru older eyes.

I know her books are very controversial as teenagers are having sex in Forever and many parents even today would not support their kids reading a book on this subject, let alone doing it, so she will always come up against the religious and their banning of books from their own households.

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