It's Not the End of the World

by Judy Blume

Karen Newman has decided she’ll never get married. Just look at her parents. All they do is fight. And now Karen’s dad has moved out of the house and he and her mom are talking about divorce. Her older brother has locked himself away in his room, her little sister is a mess, and she can’t bring herself to talk about any of it with her best friend. She’s never felt so alone. Yet in spite of everything Karen is sure she can set things right again if only she can get her parents together in the same room. Or will her fantasy backfire?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Divorce, Coming Of Age

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, making up stories inside her head. She has spent her adult years in many places doing the same thing, only now she writes her stories down on paper. Adults as well as children will recognize such Blume titles as: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Blubber; Just as Long as We're Together; and the five book series about the irrepressible Fudge. She has also written three novels for adults, Summer Sisters; Smart Women; and Wifey, all of them New York Times bestsellers. More than 80 million copies of her books have been sold, and her work has been translated into thirty-one languages. She receives thousands of letters a year from readers of all ages who share their feelings and concerns with her.
Judy received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year the American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Other recognitions include the Library of Congress Living Legends Award and the 2004 National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
She is the founder and trustee of The Kids Fund, a charitable and educational foundation. She serves on the boards of the Author's Guild; the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators; the Key West Literary Seminar; and the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Judy is a longtime advocate of intellectual freedom. Finding herself at the center of an organized book banning campaign in the 1980's she began to reach out to other writers, as well as teachers and librarians, who were under fire. Since then, she has worked tirelessly with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read. She is the editor of Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers.
Judy has completed a series of four chapter books -- The Pain & the Great One -- illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist James Stevenson. She has co-written and produced a film adaptation of her book Tiger Eyes, and is currently writing a new novel.
Judy and her husband George Cooper live on islands up and down the east coast. They have three grown children and one grandchild.

Reviews

[Julie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there's a better novel for middle grade readers on the topic of divorce, I've never found it.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid Judy Blume book! She does handle the topic of divorce well, and this still feels very relevant, even if a few specific details may no longer apply, such as certain divorce laws. Engaging, thoughtful and wonderfully relatable.

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was first published in 1972. I can't believe how well it has aged. I believe the actions of the family: parents, children, extended relatives, etc. is very similar to the reactions that still happen today. I love how Judy Blume writes about really tough and difficult topics for older children. I still recommend her books to others :)


"Karen couldn't tell Mrs. Singer why she had to have her Viking diorama out of the sixthgrade showcase. She felt like yelling, To keep my parents from getting divorced. But she couldn't say it, and the whole class was looking at her anyway.
Karen's world was ending. Her father had moved out of the house weeks before; now he was going to Las Vegas to get divorced and her mother was pleased! She had only a few days to get the two of them together in the same room. Maybe, if she could, they would just forget about the divorce. Then the Newman family could be its old self again -- maybe. But Karen knew something she didn't know last winter: that sometimes people who shouldn't be apart are impossible together.
So she felt like yelling at Mrs. Singer. And then Mrs. Singer did a surprising thing...."

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure why I read this to my son, considering his father and I are NOT divorced and not planning on getting one. But I think any book on any unfamiliar topic is a worthwhile endeavor. I honestly wish I’d read this book when I was 13, when my own parents were getting a divorce. Some of the MC, Karen’s, thoughts and feelings mirrored my own. I don’t know how Judy Blume did it, knowing exactly what kids that age are thinking and feeling in any given situation. It’s an uncanny gift. In many ways this was more a book for me, than my son. We still have to talk about it a little.

It kind of ends abruptly, but that’s kind of how life is. Things don’t get wrapped up ina cute little bow, so that they make sense. And nothing was resolved in this book.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I read (or rather reread) Judy Blume's 1972 novel It's Not the End of the World on my Kindle, I am going to be posting my review with this here older book cover (for this was how I first experienced It's Not the End of the World in 1982). And yes indeed, while It's not the End of the World is not my absolute favourite Judy Blume novel by any stretch of the imagination (as I do believe that both Forever and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret likely would take that coveted prize), It's not the End of the World does remain amongst my most treasured and pleasurable reading experiences of my teenager-hood, mostly solidly and gladly appreciated because of its realism and brutally honest no holds barred depiction and description of divorce and how it in particular impacts and can devastate children (both young and not so young). As indeed, even though Karen Newman's experiences in It's Not the End of the World with her parents' divorce are actually not in any manner my own and personal experiences, schoolmates, friends whose parents had in fact divorced (or were in the process of doing so) told me that basically It's Not the End of the World is not only a pretty spot-on and honest portrayal of a marriage and a family totally disintegrating and falling apart, but also and furthermore and just like Judy Blume what writes, that while certainly and definitely devastating and horrible, divorce and a broken home are sadly often just a true and unavoidable fact of modern life and therefore also not like the book title so clearly states the so-called end of the world (even though of course it might well and indeed feel and seem like that especially for and to children, and particularly if like in It's Not the End of the World, the parents are immature and sometimes even profoundly more childish, annoying and selfish than their poor offspring could likely ever manage to be). Four very much solidly shining stars and glowingly, highly recommended, and yes, the only minor little caveat that I do leave with regard to It's Not the End of the World is that the novel is simply and mostly a tableau of the Newman family falling apart and how Karen, her older brother and younger sister are (and mostly negatively) affected (read upset and distressed) by their parents' divorcing (and selfish childishness) and basically no longer able to even be in the same room together without fighting, screaming, wildly throwing objects etc., that Judy Blume has not in any way meant for It's Not the End of the World to be a guidebook or a divorce self-help tome, but simply that It's Not the End of the Word presents a realistic depiction and account of extreme family dysfunction, and yes, that it is usually the children who end up suffering and being the most negatively impacted by divorce but also have no input and no actual voices (that they basically often do come last).

And also, and finally, with regard to 2023 and how KAREN as a name has unfortunately and disgustingly (at least in my opinion) become synonymous especially online with regard to nasty and in particular for some reason female entitlement (in an often exceedingly and extremely sexist manner), I guess I should point out that Karen Newman as a characters does not at all reflect this and that in 1972 and also in the 1982 (when I originally read It's Not the End of the World), there was absolutely nothing problematic about the main protagonist's name (and that there also really should not be today).

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Fudge and the other tremendously fun characters Judy Blume has created, but I have to say that it's really her books like It's Not the End of the World that have most captured my admiration and attention. When Judy Blume writes a book like It's Not the End of the World, taking on serious issues that affect families to their very core, it feels as if she's writing about something that really has happened. Her text is mostly unadorned by long use of descriptive phrase and other flowery elements; she takes us right into the heart of some very emotional, painful situations, and never blinks while doing so. There are other authors who are good at writing this type of book, but I've never seen one that can match Judy Blume for her frankness and startling willingness to show situations that might be worse, at times, even than the norm for the issue being faced.

Most kid's books about divorce tend to be about families that are generally quite amicable; you might even wonder why the parents are getting a divorce at all, since they appear to get along so well. I think the main reasons for this gentle portrayal of divorcing couples are #1: To make sure not to frighten young readers in addressing an uncomfortable topic, and #2: To let kids who are reading the book feel some assurance about their own situation should their parents be contemplating separation. Yet the family drawn up by Judy Blume in It's Not the End of the World is not at all like the literary stereotype. The reader can easily see that Karen's parents can hardly stand to be around each other anymore. They rarely come into contact in the pages of the book, but there's a definite tenseness in the air when they do, and that heightens the emotions of the entire story.

We are also given the opportunity to clearly see the emotional perspectives of both the parents and children in this book. When Amy, Karen's younger sister, worries that maybe their mother will eventually leave the family, too, it's hard to argue against her logic: Her father loved their mother once, and they were family, but now he doesn't love her anymore. What will happen if their mother stops loving them, the same way that their father stopped loving her? It's hard to tell children that biology doesn't matter in families while at the same time saying that husbands and wives can stop loving each other, but the connection between parent and child is, for some reason, forever.

Then again, as Karen refuses to give up on her parents' marriage and she schemes to get them together to talk, when they do actually meet up together it is painfully obvious that they probably should end their marriage. Their situation has become dangerously volatile over time, and to stay together for the kids would almost certainly eventually have resulted in some kind of domestic violence incident, or multiple incidents. It's a sad, emotionally powerful realization to come to through Karen's eyes, as her world is tilting on its axis and spinning crazily around her, and she has no way to know how or where she will come to a stop. Even here, though, Judy Blume gives out no artificial happiness or sudden epiphanies; Karen just tries to step into her strange new life and keep moving forward, trudging through the sadness and shame that she feels because of her situation and hoping, just hoping, that eventually things will get better and her family might again begin to feel somewhat whole.

It's Not the End of the World is a remarkable accomplishment by an author renowned for not shying away from difficult topics. Some parents might be cautious about allowing their kids to read the book due to the emotionally charged scenes throughout the story, but it is a finely built novel that should give a great amount of new insight on the topic of divorce to any reader, whether or not he or she has had personal experience with the situation.

I would give three and a half stars to It's Not the end of the World.

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I remember from this book:

1. Karen had a desk made from someone else's old dining room hutch.

2. She took a bubble bath with a girl.

3. The tone is similar to the movie "The Secret Lives of Girls"

4. The diorama has glitter and sparkles that had to be vacuumed up when the thing was smashed into bits and tossed on the carpet.

5. They go to Hojo's and have to eat their bad food while hearing some equally upsetting news.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m clearing out my bookshelves, and this book is one of a handful that have been sent packing.

When you’re clearing out your fridge you can chuck everything into a soup or casserole to use it all up and avoid waste, but you can’t really do that when you’re decluttering your library, unfortunately. Though maybe that explains some of Gertrude Stein’s word salads, just stale books taking up space that she decided to chop and toss together at random.

Waste is usually inevitable, and it can be hard to get over the guilt of evicting unread books. At least old food smells bad, making the question of whether to eat it or throw it out clear-cut. If only book lovers had such easy justifications at hand when staring down those books they keep pretending they’re going to read “someday.” Knowledge may be non-perishable, but the reality is that most books have a shelf life … and then a shelf death. I guess Marie Kondo would have us thank them for their service before releasing them out into the universe to go spark joy elsewhere.

This is about Karen, who’s in sixth grade and whose parents are getting divorced. For her, it is the end of the world. As always with Judy Blume, you read it and think, yep, that’s exactly how kids think and talk. Reading it reminded me of what it feels like to be a kid and completely unable to control the things going on around me. It’s hard to put a happy spin on some things, but at least books can make you feel less alone.

Still having Judy Blume with us, as well as the 104-year-old (!!!) Beverly Cleary, makes me feel like maybe children’s authors really are immortal, which of course they are.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve year old Karen is shocked when she learns her parents are getting divorced. She hopes she can persuade them to stay together, but it may be more difficult than she imagined. Karen is an endearing heroine, her family are all quite interesting and I must admit that, like her, I hoped her parents could be reconciled. I was sorry to think of a mostly likeable family breaking up. But I hope the Divorce Book was a help to her. Sorry about the Viking Diorama though. The book ending left me wanting to know more about how things turned out for her.

[Joel Tunnah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably impossible to underestimate how groundbreaking (or boundary pushing) this novel was in the YA category in 1972. Blume tackles divorce and several other tough concepts head on, without any sugar coating. Kids are hit and slapped, there's threatened spousal abuse, flying dishes, there's puberty stuff, not to mention the divorce itself. As a middle grade novel, even today it might challenge many parents comfort zone.

What I liked:
I'm glad they didn't update the text, I liked the 1970s prices etc and overall feel. We really did have an "extension" telephone in the kitchen, and spent a lot of time on it calling friends every night. Going out to eat at a restaurant was a big deal!
The plain straightforward writing style, and a lot of the minimalist dialog and details work well. Also bold choice of topic. The somewhat abrupt ending didn't bother me.

What I didn't like:
There is way too much exposition by the first person narrator, Karen. And she narrates in the stilted manner of a young person writing a letter to a relative... no contractions, very formal. It's really a shame that 1st person narration is used for so much YA and middle grade fiction. It's so limiting, and difficult to keep from slipping into long boring monologues.
Overall, I felt like not enough happened, and I had a tough time getting to know any of these characters very well. There was also a surprising lack of reaction to events by the children, all things considered.
It's interesting that Blume herself got divorced only a couple years after writing this book.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is adorable. I love Karen, the first-person narrator, and I like that the book is about family. There are some other characters and friendships, but for the most part, the characters are Karen’s parents, siblings, aunt, and uncle. Karen is cute and has a distinct personality. The book is focused on the separation of Karen’s parents, who fight all the time, and how it affects the three children. I love the movement of the story and how Karen grows over the course of the novel. It’s a very simple story, but I think it could still help young children whose parents are separating to have someone to relate to and to understand what’s going on. It was published in the 70s, so there are some things that are outdated, but the story and the characters still feel very current and realistic. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a simple book about a human occurrence or to adults who are going through a separation and want to know how their children feel about it or to children whose parents are separating and don’t have anyone to talk to about it.

[Jenn O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I am beyond the Judy Blume years, I still think she writes well for at that time, young adults, now tweens. It is simple, straightforward, what is happening to me in this weird time of my life language.

Mom found this book at a garage sale. It was one I had not read, so she picked it up for me. The copyright page says the book was originally written in 1972, and although the story itself (divorce) is still relevant, the setting is certainly showing its age.

The main character talked about wearing a chain belt and one of the other girls in the book talks about ordering a book and how expensive it was … $7.95! (I think most paperbacks are running close to that now.) It makes me wonder … if I go back and reread all the Judy Blume books I read as a child, would they also be showing their age? And does that make me nostalgic … or just really old?

One thing that really struck me, was at one point, the mother gets angry at one of her children, the book talks about her reaching across the table and slapping the child before they storm out of the room. In 1972, that was not a surprising occurrence, but if you read that today, you would immediately gravitate towards a child abuse scenario.

I thought this book brought up a lot of good questions that I am sure children of divorce must ask themselves all the time. Reading this from an adult perspective, you can see where the children acting out and yelling are a direct result of what they see from their parents.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember I didn’t like It’s Not The End Of The World when I first read it decades ago. I suppose it was because I couldn’t identify with Karen Newman’s dilemma of coping with her parent’s divorce. Re-reading it as an adult I think I didn’t like it because it’s a nothing burger of a novel.

The novel is beyond basic in its plot: Karen’s parents are getting divorced. Over the course of the novel Karen, her baby sister Amy, and her older brother Jeff act out in different ways as they cope with the news—culminating with Jeff running away for four days.

Karen believes if she can get her parents together again in the same room that all will be well but her friend, Val—also a product of divorced parents, tries to convince her differently with the help of her book, The Boys And Girls Book About Divorce. This book offers up beyond bizarre unsubstantiated nuggets of information like: “If your mother never says bad things about your father it’s because she thinks that it’s better for you not to know about your father’s faults. She may think you can only love a person who is perfect.” Or: “Fathers who live close by but do not visit and fathers who live far away and hardly ever call or write either do not love their children at all, or they love them very little.” I looked up this book and it’s actually real! Talk about a needle scratch.

It’s Not The End Of The World is not one of Blume’s best efforts. Worth a read if you’re a diehard Judy Blume fan but it doesn’t deliver in the same way some of her more popular efforts do.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprised at the mediocre ratings...almost all of Blume's teenager novels deal with realistic situations in a competent manner, which is one of many reasons why her books shine. Here it's the painful subject of divorce. Not a long book but by the time it's over you you feel like you're emotionally ready for it to be done. I was irritated by something, though --- what is with the small cliffhanger at the end?Details like that are what drive me batty.

Spoilers in next paragraph -

And, even though I know it's a divorce and Blume is wanting the reader to be neutral here on them both being at fault, I just don't think I can agree with the possibility of that change at the very end, I don't think it's right for the mother to do. There's three kids involved and little reason to move to another state and limit their time with the father so much just because she feels like she wants a change of scenery. Moving from one house is enough, at least stay in the same state for a few more years. Just seems the right thing to do, but whatever.

/Spoilers end

Overall it's a well-written story, even if it's not an enjoyable experience. I felt highly for all three of the children, especially Jeff and of course Karen. I thought Blume made it realistic without unneccessary drama. There were enough problems arising to keep it interesting, and enough slow spurts to keep it introspective.

[Sunday · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in 1972. You wouldn't know except for the missing cell phones. These young teens and parents do not text or twitter. Yet this book about a family that experiences the turmoil of the parents' divorce is still relevant, still fresh and will still move you as a reader/listener. Karen, the main character, middle child, 12 years old - reasons her way through the different family members' responses to this experience, trying to make sense of what was happening. The scenes between the father and mother - clearly not in love anymore - are heart wrenching not only for Karen, but for the reader/listener.

Judy Blume's book is timeless.

I listened to this on audio read by Becca Battoe - she did a great job reading from Karen's perspective.

[Frederick Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for kids going through a divorce, even if a few of the details date the book. Karen Newman is perfectly drawn, and her brother Jeff is just right as well. I love it that their mother is far from perfect, smashing figurines on the floor, putting her head down on her plate to cry and getting gravy in her hair. Typical Judy Blume, an unsentimental snapshot of a marriage breaking up, from the kids' point of view. Good reading for all ages.

[Manashwi Karki · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about the book is, it is realistic. It doesn't give hopes of surreal future, nor has the touch of fairy tales to it. Its what we experience in our lives - failures, disappointment, that feeling when even though we try so hard for something, sometimes we don't succeed. And eventually, we'll learn to live with it. It's rare, and I appreciate it in a book, in a writer.

[Molly Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so deeply sad, maybe Blume’s saddest since Tiger Eyes or Here’s to You Rachel Robinson. But that’s not a bad thing! Judy nails the internal workings, fears, and wishful thinking of a child of divorce. She did such a good job it’s something I wish I read when my parents got divorced in my 20s. I wish it was a little longer so I could see what happens to the family but the brevity makes it so real. Thanks again Judy

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite JB, but I imagine it is/was a good resource for youth having to deal with their parents going through a divorce. It’s believable that many kids believe they can get their parents back together. Alas, another “real life” reality check from Judy Blume.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute!! What divorce looks and feels like to a child........

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It amazes me how Judy Blume can write as an 11 year old girl. It's as if I'm reading a diary I wrote at that age. She's one of the best!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters are well written and have lots of depth. However, I was disappointed by the end.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads 2019 Summer Reading Challenge
11. Past love: Reread a book you loved when you were younger

I have a very distinct memory of this being my third least-favorite book* by Judy Blume back when I was a kid in the 1970s, and now that I've re-read it as an adult I understand why -- because it's the most emotionally raw and conflict-driven book of Blume's career, and the one that most often takes the adults' viewpoint of things and leaves the kids of the story to just basically flounder around helpless and confused. And that's because the story is about divorce, which in the '70s became an epidemic in a way it never had before, and had all of us kids back then terrified at all times about the possibility of our parents splitting up, since it was seemingly happening to all our friends on a monthly basis.

As an adult I now realize that this book is actually brilliant, precisely because Blume's main point here is that the falling-out of love is a complex, multilayered process that can only be truly understood by an adult in the first place, the kind of person who is complex enough to join their life together with a stranger to begin with, and so understand the push/pull emotions that come with learning that that life together is fated to not work out, yet with detritus from that attempt like a house and kids that make it nearly impossible to affect a clean separation. But for kids, whose only sense of love they've so far experienced is the unconditional kind for blood relatives, people they are genetically connected to and aren't going away anytime soon, the complexities of romantic love are way beyond their pre-puberty capabilities, and so have no other choice but to react to divorce with a mixture of horror and confusion, utterly not equipped to understand why their mom and dad can no longer get along, or why the kid can't manipulate them back together, in the way for example they can manipulate their little sister into giving them their dessert.

One of the observations I've had about re-reading all of Blume's '70s novels this year is just how little the parents' own emotions or opinions factor into most of these stories, a sort of ground-level kids' view of the world which I suspect is what makes them so perpetually popular with kids. But It's Not The End of the World is quite thoroughly and deliberately written from the parents' point of view -- or what I mean is that it's primarily about the emotions of the parents, even though those emotions are seen from the point of view of their adolescent daughter -- which makes this a tough read for kids unless they happen to be going through the same thing and need something to commiserate with. And so this regard, it puts this book thoroughly in the pile of "minor" single-issue novels Blume wrote throughout the '70s precisely for this purpose, including the scoliosis drama Deenie, the bullying cautionary tale Blubber, and more. Although as an adult I loved it much more than I was capable of as a kid, it should be kept in mind before recommending it to a kid yourself.

[*For what it's worth, my second least-favorite Blume book as a kid was Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself, because it was just so hard for me to connect to (it's a historical drama set in the 1940s, about a Jewish girl from New York whose family moves to Miami); while my least favorite of all of them was Iggie's House, both because it concerned a topic I had never dealt with in my own life (an all-white subdivision gets its first black family, and all hell breaks loose), and because it's Blume's 1970 literary debut and I just distinctly remember it being not written very well, too obvious and plodding in its social commentary. I haven't taken on either of these books yet in my adult re-reading of Blume's books this summer, so I'm going to be very interested to see what I think of them now at middle-age.]

[Maggie Ollmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response
I thought the book, It’s Not the End of the World, was good. The story was relatable for me. My parents are divorced, so I was able to relate to Karen and her siblings. The divorce went over better for my parents though. I thought it was good Karen was able to make a good friend with someone she could talk to about what was going on in her life.

Plot
Karen’s parents were fighting, about almost everything. The mom, Ellie, got mad at the dad, Bill, for not being around. When tall the fighting had started Karen's brother, Jeff, thought they would get a divorce. Karen would not believe that her parents would do something like that. Amy, the youngest sister, was unsure of what was going on with her parents. Once the parents agreed to divorce, Bill moved out, and the kids were unhappy. Karen and Amy had the hardest time with their dad gone. Karen was upset and shut out her best friend. When the kids would go visit their dad, Karen met someone. This person was Val. Val helped Karen get through the divorce. After some time, Jeff got mad at his mom and ran away. Everyone was worried about him. He was missing for almost a week. Once Jeff was found, thier parents followed through with the divorce.

Characterization
Karen
Karen was a happy twelve year old. Her life had changed once her parents told her about the divorce. Debbie was Karen’s best friend and she used to tell her everything, but she was embarrassed to talk about the divorce. Karen closed herself off to Debbie and told her nothing. Karen was thankful for her friendship with Val. Val helped Karen get through the hard times of the divorce and was someone new that Karen could talk to.

Setting
The book, It’s Not the End of the World, takes place in modern time in a small town. The book never stated exactly where the book took place. From the context of the book, I could tell it took place in a small town. The setting is important because a lot of American families go through similar situations in modern times. Since it was in a small town, everyone knew others business.

Theme
The theme that is shown in this book, is there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Karen and her siblings thought things were not going so well in life, but they got through it. When Jeff ran away it was a scary time, but the family got through it. When bad things happen, people just have to get through it, things always get better.

Recommendation
I would tell boys and girls who are in eighth grade and up. So children may be able to relate to this book because their family is going through a similar situation and it may give them hope. Others may just find this another good book to read. If they like books by Judy Blume, that would be another reason to give this book a try.

[Carmen Liffengren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

It's Not the End of the World was a Judy Blume novel I returned to many times as a kid. I was surprised out how some details had stayed with me over the decades (like the fact that Karen's favorite ice cream flavor is coffee) and where some things didn't quite match up with my memory. I'm sure I related to Karen's desperation to keep her family from fracturing despite knowing that her parents were heading inevitably for divorce. I was surprised that this was such a short novel. It sure didn't feel short in my memories. It was definitely an interesting experience to a take a peek back at my childhood reading.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book for middle grade kids about divorce. I never read this one when I was younger, but lately I've been into Judy Blume and either re-reading her children's novels, or catching the ones I missed. My parents did divorce when I was 16, so this book absolutely resonated with me. I got choked up at the part when Karen tries to come up with alternate theories as to what is happening (Daddy has to sell the furniture store!); I did the same thing in the weeks leading up to my parents' split, sensing that something was wrong but not knowing what. So many of the details are spot on; you'd be hard pressed to find another book that represents a breaking up family so well.

My only complaint is the same one I always have with Blume: I wish she would go further, dig deeper. The book just sort of drops off with the end of the school year, but the changes in Karen's life are really just beginning. I suppose she stopped at a decent point, but having been there myself, and having had several peers growing up who went through this, I know there's more upset in store for our heroine. It would have been nice to see her follow that through, or maybe write a sequel.

Okay, I lied, I have one more complaint, though this one is specific to this book. What's the deal with the teacher? I kept waiting to find out why she'd become "a witch" after getting married. Was her husband that awful? Did she know that before she married him? Was it one of those "he totally changed the second we said 'I do'" situations? Or did she catch him cheating on her just weeks into the marriage? There's a whole novel in that character's backstory. Maybe one for us adults.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow I really missed out on something not reading any Judy Blume at 11 lol. So charming!

[Jennifer Margulis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen is in sixth grade. She rates her day in the journal at night. Lately her days have been getting bad grades.

Her parents are fighting nonstop. The nasty things they say to each other, in front of their three children (Karen has an older brother and a younger sister) are devastating. They just can't get along anymore. Karen's father moves out and her parents announce they are getting divorced.

It feels like the end of the world. Karen tries desperately to devise a way to get her parents back together. Her parents are not interested in or capable of working things out. Her mother was only 20 when she got married, is tired of being criticized and berated by her father, needs to get a job, and is thinking about going back to school.

The book is set at a time when divorce was much less common than it is today. I cringed when I was reading it. A short, matter-of-fact narrative, there is so much pain contained in these pages: Karen's parents are cruel to each other; Karen's aunt is totally unsupportive of her sister's decision to get divorced; Karen's brother is angry and emotionally distant; Karen's teacher is unkind; and all three children are hurt by the divorce and lash out at their mom and at each other. A realistic portrayal of how American families behave behind closed doors, perhaps, but one that is very hard to read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my very favourite Blume stories that I’m currently on a deep reminiscent binge about. This was a subject close to my heart as a child, and I thought at the time the story was so good that I read it again immediately after finishing it for the first time.

I have some memories of different parts of the book, for some reason unlocked in my memory is a part about drinking three cups of pineapple juice, and another separate scene about being at a diner when her brother wanders off.

This is one of the defining books I enjoyed growing up. I would love to read it again.

[Bevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually found this book kinda annoying. The way the MC (who's name I don't even know) talked made me hope like hell I didn't talk like that at her age.

But, I bet if I was younger, and going through divorce, this would have helped me.
I just think I need to stay away from Judy Blume books mindless they are specifically for adults.