Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days: An Almost Completely Honest Account of What Happened to Our Family When Our ... Came to Live with Us for Three Months

by Judith Viorst

A whimsical account of the multi-generational frenzy that ensued when the author's son's family temporarily moved into her home describes how her compulsively ordered environment was thrown into turmoil by a whirlwind of young grandchild dynamics. 75,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Parenting, Biography Memoir, Family, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Judith Viorst is an American writer, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher. She is known for her humorous observational poetry and for her children's literature. This includes The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (about the death of a pet) and the Alexander series of short picture books, which includes Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972), which has sold over two million copies.
Viorst is a 1952 graduate of the Newark College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. In 1968, she signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In the latter part of the 1970s, after two decades of writing for children and adults, Viorst turned to the study of Freudian psychology. In 1981, she became a research graduate at Washington Psychoanalytic Institute after six years of study.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the author's account of what happened when her son, daughter-in-law and three grand children move in with her and husband for three months. I experienced the author's account of her family as disappointing to say the least. The author/grandmother seemed arrogant, snobbish, neurotic, controlling and self-centered. A neat freak who allows order and possessions to trump feelings for husband,children and grand-children. There is little to nothing said about her husband's involvement in parenting, grand-parenting or his relationship to children or household chores. She seems to presume that it is only her or the woman of the house who can be responsible for parenting, housekeeping, cooking, decorating etc. As matriarch she is supreme. In the last 10 pages Grandma describes her contacts with other grandmothers who have had similar experience. However, these grandmothers describe it as an enjoyable event. Only then does author/grandma seem to develop some insight into some of her personality quirks. She evens states that she needs to work on putting relationships before possessions. Better late than never.Redeeming factors: It's only 117 pages. Perhaps the author was trying to be humorous and I missed it. Read at your own risk.
P.S. After writing this review I read other reviews. Most gave it 3-4 stars. Interestingly, after scrolling through about 50 reviews I noticed I was the only male who read the book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are no new revelations here, no observations that have not been made by previous witty biographers. There are no disappointments either. This book was exactly what I expected it to be. As touted by its description and reviews, Alexander is a rather tongue-in-cheek light-hearted romp in which Viorst chronicles her 90 day "adventure" housing her grown son and his family. Because Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is one of my all-time favorite children's books it tickled me to read about the REAL Alexander, all grown up. Not a grandmother (or even a mother!) myself, I still had no difficulty relating to and commiserating with Viorst's trials, tribulations, and triumphs.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short fun book. If you remember the children's books about Alexander (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and others), well this is Alexander all grown up and forced to move back to his childhood home with his wife and three young children while their home is being remodeled. His mother used his childhood as the model for many of her fictional books. She now relates the real life story of replacing quiet dinners using her flowered china plates and Mozart playing in the background, with noisy dinners, sippy cups, spills, strollers, roller skates, a total lack of privacy and a total disregard for the stainability of velvet, and all the love that goes along with the experience. The story is told with abundant doses of both humor and love. It was fun!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet, light read. It was fun to catch up on the grown up Alexander, who has to be one of my favorite characters ever (immortalized by his mother in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day as well as one or two other books for kids). This is emphatically NOT for kids (a fair amount of swearing and adult musings on relationships that would bore kids to tears), but it is an interesting look at the ties that bind.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved her children's book about Alexander, this is a story about Judith Viorst real-life family and their time living together under the same roof. It is funny and so real.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a grandparent for grandparents, it's the sort of book you pack around in your bag for those odd minutes you find yourself waiting -- in the car, at an appointment, for a timer beep.

The author shares the plans, process, and recovery of a family (which includes a son, daughter-in-law, baby, toddler, and six year old) sharing her home for three months.

I am very different from her so would not share many of her issues. However, I found some value in seeing a different approach than I would make. Her wrap-up chapters where she has interviewed others do look at a variety of styles.

I wondered if the author was more like my paternal grandmother. I could appreciate her in a different (better?) way having read this account.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No-Good Very Bad Day" is one of my favorite childhood books of all time. I was extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity to catch up with Alexander in mid-life.

The book offered more of an opportunity to hear Viorst whine about how intolerable life was with three small children. Not to undersell the experience-no one doubts it was difficult. Children, even well behaved ones, are bound to be disruptive to a home of two senior citizens. Olivia, the single granddaughter of the bunch, sounds like a charachter, but there was far more about disturbances of the peace than anything else.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot - there were some real laugh-out-loud moments, and lots of things that most people can relate to. The one quibble I had was not with the story or the writing, but with the perspective of the author (and perhaps her family as well), namely that there is less (a lot less) value placed on a mom who does not also have a career. She seemed to suggest without actually saying it directly that the highest level of respect for mothers should (and does) go to those who "successfully" balance wife/motherhood and career. I found that position a little disconcerting, though overall I still enjoyed the story.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a fun, light-hearted look at what it's like for parents when their adult children move back in and bring a family with them. The author admits that she is controlling, but trying to do better. It shines some light on the difference in child rearing between the two generations. She also discusses how others she talked to dealt with it.

An overall enjoyable experience, but I can't say I really learned a whole lot. Just popcorn for the brain. But after what I've been reading lately, I needed some fluff.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Viorst, the author of Alexander's Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day recounts what happens when Alexander his family move in for 3 months while their house is remodeled.

While I'm sure her emotions were accurately portrayed, she complained an awful lot. I can't use my flowered dinner plates. I had to remove all my knick-knacks. No more fresh flowers. There were happy moments, too, but overall I wasn't a huge fan of this one despite my love for the original Alexander book.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what might be called a chapter book for adults: it's easy to read, consistently interesting and short! Judith Viorst describes how life changed when her son, Alexander, and his wife and three children moved in with them for three months. Among the descriptions of her own situation, are various examples of intergenerational family living from her friends and neighbors, some lovely, some horrible. Well worth the read, as Judith Viorst's books always are.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I read this book in, say, 25 years when I have grandkids, I'd be a tad more sympathetic to her plight of trying to keep her velvet couches safe from kid spit and peanut butter. But right now, raising two small children, I have no sympathy for a grandmother complaining that her grandkids are wrecking her house.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book as it was read by Laural Merlington. Despite (maybe because of) the fact that I don't have children, I could identify with Viorst's life changes as her adult child and his family come to live in her house for 90 days. This book is touched with light humor, but is primarily a reflection of multi-generation household living and family relationships.

[Bela · Rating 2 out of 5]

thought it would have more substance

[Britt, Book Habitue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this a mere 8 days after moving into our new house, having spent the last 6 months living with my parents.... Hilarious.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and funny. I'm so glad I discovered Judith Viorst. I loved this quick read with the exception of her fairly forceful thoughts on how to parent, which clearly come from a few generations back.

[Cheryl W. Bullard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to rate this as a 3.5. Viorst shares a sometimes humorous account of the time when her youngest grown son and his family of five lived with she and her husband. This book appealed to me as a grandmother, thus probably being part of the target audience. Perhaps young adults with families who temporarily move in with their parents would also relate. The first part of the book is humorous and entertaining. However, as the book progressed, Virost focused more on her philosophy of childrearing and less on funny mishaps. I didn’t mind that her views were sometimes different than mine, but by the last third of the book, I longed for more humor and less commentary.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the account of when the author's son, his wife and and his family of three little ones lived with the author and her husband for three months. It is funny, honest, and revealing. Judith Viorst is forced to face her personal issues of tidiness and order in dealing with the small children again. Keep in mind this is told by a humourist.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from the library by mistake, thinking it was her other book about Alexander and his horrible day. It is the story of the 3 months her son Alexander and his wife and 3 young children lived with them while their house was being renovating. Being a grandmother myself I really related to some of her comments. This lady has a wonderful sense of family and humor.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike many books this one is written by an older lady sharing her observations about her children and grandchildren. I appreciated her sense of humor and the way she shared her feelings about being from an older generation. I think so many books in this genre are from the 30/40 crowd. It was nice to get a different perspective.

[Sharon Falduto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book about grown-up Alexander (of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day), his wife, and his three children living with their parents, Judith and Milton, while their house is being renovated. It's a thin little memoir; a snapshot into one summer of this family's life, cute, not earth-shattering, but fun.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of excellent insights on relationship dynamics between adult children & families, and their parents still married to each other or not. (with and without siblings' families), living in close proximity to each other.
Very short but very dense with gems of wisdom about how families interact.

[Runa]

Like, no offense to this person who wrote childhood classics that mean the world to me, but like......you can't justify away child abuse by brushing off reader reactions preemptively. That's where she lost me.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a reasonably entertaining account of how the two families coped when Viorst’s son, his wife, and their three children came to stay with the grandparents for three months while their home was being remodelled.

[Andrea Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book! As a mom of adult and near adult children and a grandma, this book hit the spot of info and insight for this new phase of my life.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
I was expecting more humor, I suppose. It's a quick read, and probably more entertaining for those raising families, or the grand-parents.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked her Alexander series when I was a kid, and this book was a wonderful update of her family.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet funny and nostalgic

[Jill Hallenbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this lady's writing in Reader's Digest I think. Lovely sentiments

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute read and very quick read for grandmas, who have had the opportunity to spend extended time living with grandchildren. The joys and the challenges! We aren’t alone♥️