It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World

The Divorce Express #2

by Paula Danziger

What could be better? Rosie and Phoebe have been best friends since they met on the divorce express, shuttling between their parents on weekends.
Now Rosie's mom and Phoebe's dad have fallen in love and they're all moving in together. Rosie has always dreamed of having a real family, but having Phoebe as a sister and having Phoebe as a friend are two very different things.
And having an extra parent around isn't easy for anyone to get used to. It seemed like the perfect setup, but can their friendship survive in the same house?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Novels

132 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1985

About the author

Paula Danziger was an American children's author. She wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, for children's and young adult audiences. At the time of her death, all her books were still in print; they had been published in 53 countries and translated into 14 languages.

Reviews

[Rgreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this when I was 12. Still a good read. Likeable characters. Heartwrenching seeing the impact divorce has on young people.
G rated. Light romance. Racism dealt with.
A good book parents & children can read together & discuss.

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed it and thought it was very down-to-earth

[Novelesque Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

"Rosie and Phoebe have been best friends since they met on the Divorce Express, shuttling between their parents on weekends. So when Rosie's mom falls in love with Phoebe's dad, and they all move in together, it seems perfect. But Rosie soon learns that having Phoebe as a sister and having Phoebe as a friend are two very different things. And having an extra parent around isn't easy either. Rosie always thought that she and Phoebe would make great sisters. But can their friendship survive being in the same house?" (From Amazon)

I was a little obsessed as a child with divorce - and no my parents were not divorcing - I just wish they were. So these were a bit of how-to for me - lol. A great novel! I love Danziger's writing.

[Arshia Zehra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having a family doesn't mean that everything is going to be easy and all the family members will get long.It means that although you have problems you are willing to work them out in order to be a family.

Rosie learns this the hard way. Phoebe was a little self-centered but I feel bad for her. She had to go through so many changes in her life and adjusting is not easy.

Rosie had a lot of high expectations. She thought that all the families are like the perfect families that are shown in movies. Real life is not a movie. Families aren't perfect.

A really interesting and enjoyable book. :)

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in Jr. High During the early 90's my best friend at the time and I made our way through every single paperback the school library. At the time it felt like a pretty big accomplishment, we thought so anyway. While I made my way through m.e Kerr, Paul Zindle and Norma fox mazer, she sat beside me giggling at the exploits going on in the books of Paula Danzingler and Judy Blume... I'm sure there were lots of others. It's taken me over 20 years, but I finally picked up this book and it so transported me back to that time. I don't wish to be 13 again.. But I do miss the simplicity of teen books from the 80's and 90's.

[Sarah Markmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World by Paula Danziger is about two girls named Rosie and Phoebe have been very close friends for a long time. Rosie's mother and Phoebe's dad fall in love and end up moving in together. Though they were all a family now they began to realize that them being friends and them being sisters weren't necessarily the same thing. Overall I enjoyed reading this book, because it was interesting to see how the relationship between Rosie and Phoebe had altered throughout this book.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I'd known about this book when I was a kid because it would have been the only one about a mixed girl I'd ever encountered. Womp womp.

[noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

very cute and simple. a 60-minute read. nothing special, but not a bad way to spend an hour.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. The author really understands teens and pre-teens, as well as broken families.k

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phoebe's a bitch ):c

[Malaika Opany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not going to lie, I can’t remember what happened but it was alright.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Issue Book. Well written but not particularly engaging to the middle-aged person. It might just be me, though. There were bits that were clever and fun, but Phoebe didn't ring true to me at all in this installment. The whipsawing of emotions in adolescence, sure, I buy that. But the picking up and moving multiple times? I find that less creditable. And the dad's too saintly by half.

[Annalisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun for teenage girls.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have only a vague memory of reading THE DIVORCE EXPRESS, and I didn't remember these characters. Typical Danziger, which isn't ever a bad thing!

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average story about a girls mom marrying her best friends dad. Kind of Dull.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I like Rosie, but Phoebe becomes a serious grinch. Which okay life. But, kinda a drag.

[Mollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this books was quite good but I wouldn't rush to read it again or recommend it to others

[Emily]

I’m not sure how to rate this book. I didn’t realize it was a reissue from 1986 when I picked it up! It’s got a good storyline. Definitely YA themes - teenagers kissing and “making out” and references to sex and race - but it’s written like a middle grade novel. Short, easy to read, not very sophisticated writing, but deals with real teenage issues. It would be a great book for just the right audience - maybe later middle school reluctant readers.