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The Divorce Express #1
The Divorce Express
Fourteen-year-old Phoebe's divorced mom says she is going to marry a man Phoebe cannot abide, and Phoebe learns that adjusting to change has unforeseen rewards
148 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1982
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279 people want to read
About the author
Paula Danziger
116 books349 followersPaula 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
March 27, 2024
Paula Danzinger, speaks about Divorce from a Child’s point of view...
The sadness of living with ‘half a parent’, the trips made to and fro from one city to another on weekends or school holidays.
The unhappiness at realising that one of your parents now likes or is dating someone else, this someone whom you dislike or may not be good for you.
The utter sorrow that your Father or your Mother or both have ‘new’ families. Were you not enough of a family? Is it that they now like the new family better than the last one of which you were an integral part?
The endless questions...Is your Father or is your Mother going out with someone new? How does she look like?
Those gifts that most of the times you do not want, given to ease their conscience. You then learn to ‘get the best of a bad deal’ so you ask for things, expensive clothes, ‘why not you argue with yourself after all they abandoned me’.
You do foolish sometimes dangerous things just to get some attention from your Dad or Mum and the ‘new Dad’ or ‘new Mum’ will say ‘I always said she was endless trouble’.
Then you meet the sassiest boy, or a dangerous boy in the school who wears an earring and your Dad will say, ‘is that what we taught you’? And you wonder who the 'we' is, and when was the last time you met this ‘we’?
Oh yes, times are awful, but you do not know what to do...You try to make everyone around you happy and comfortable but there are too many people and frankly hardly anyone cares for you, they are too busy with their own lives...
The sadness of living with ‘half a parent’, the trips made to and fro from one city to another on weekends or school holidays.
The unhappiness at realising that one of your parents now likes or is dating someone else, this someone whom you dislike or may not be good for you.
The utter sorrow that your Father or your Mother or both have ‘new’ families. Were you not enough of a family? Is it that they now like the new family better than the last one of which you were an integral part?
The endless questions...Is your Father or is your Mother going out with someone new? How does she look like?
Those gifts that most of the times you do not want, given to ease their conscience. You then learn to ‘get the best of a bad deal’ so you ask for things, expensive clothes, ‘why not you argue with yourself after all they abandoned me’.
You do foolish sometimes dangerous things just to get some attention from your Dad or Mum and the ‘new Dad’ or ‘new Mum’ will say ‘I always said she was endless trouble’.
Then you meet the sassiest boy, or a dangerous boy in the school who wears an earring and your Dad will say, ‘is that what we taught you’? And you wonder who the 'we' is, and when was the last time you met this ‘we’?
Oh yes, times are awful, but you do not know what to do...You try to make everyone around you happy and comfortable but there are too many people and frankly hardly anyone cares for you, they are too busy with their own lives...
June 2, 2020
When Paula Danziger's The Divorce Express was published in 1982 (when I was sixteen years old), I was actually no longer all that much interested in her or to tell the truth and in fact in any specifically Middle Grade "problem" fiction anymore (and had naturally mostly graduated to considerably more involved and also more intellectually demanding and challenging young adult and indeed even specifically adult-themed and content reading fare). Therefore, I actually never did bother with The Divorce Express in 1982 and in fact only read it for the first time late last night.
And albeit that very many of Paula Danziger's middle grade children's novels have most definitely been personal favourites (both when I read them as a tween and when I was rereading them as an older adult to finally post my reviews), the same cannot unfortunately be said with regard to The Divorce Express (since yes indeed, my first time perusal has really and truly been both not all that satisfying and also and equally not really all relatable on a personal and emotional level either). But no, it is not in fact because my parents are not divorced that I cannot easily understand and commiserate with main protagonist Phoebe and the difficulties she has dealing with her parents' separation and her thereby totally changed family dynamics, but more so because I have found in The Divorce Express Paula Danziger's first person narration to be much too trivialising, that I have found Phoebe's voice removed and distant and Phoebe as a character also not someone with whom I could be friends and with whom I would even want to be friends (since to and for me, Phoebe's account of her life after her parents' divorce feels considerably too focussed on surface realities and not really all that interested in going a bit deeper and also, that while Phoebe rather constantly criticises her mother for being materialistic and calculating, she really is pretty well similar to her mother in many ways and rather with an annoying and frustrating sense of all encompassing entitlement).
Combined with the fact that in The Divorce Express both the secondary and even the primary characters are really and generally much too lacking in nuance and personality depth for my liking, while I have certainly found Phoebe's story engaging enough to point, I also am not at all able get even somewhat close to her and yes, actually to anyone within the pages of Paula Danziger's featured narrative, my reading experience with The Divorce Express has thus been decidedly lacklustre and even at times a bit massively annoying, and with enough of a resulting lessening of potential reading pleasure to only consider but two stars for The Divorce Express, and yes, to consider both Paula Danziger's content and her narration pretty problematically frustrating and as such also very majorly disappointing. Now I am still glad to have finally read and reviewed The Divorce Express, but my not all that positive and rewarding reading experience is certainly making me think twice about considering the sequel, as I do have the not so sneaking suspicion that It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World will more than likely present the same sets of reading issues I have encountered with The Divorce Express.
And albeit that very many of Paula Danziger's middle grade children's novels have most definitely been personal favourites (both when I read them as a tween and when I was rereading them as an older adult to finally post my reviews), the same cannot unfortunately be said with regard to The Divorce Express (since yes indeed, my first time perusal has really and truly been both not all that satisfying and also and equally not really all relatable on a personal and emotional level either). But no, it is not in fact because my parents are not divorced that I cannot easily understand and commiserate with main protagonist Phoebe and the difficulties she has dealing with her parents' separation and her thereby totally changed family dynamics, but more so because I have found in The Divorce Express Paula Danziger's first person narration to be much too trivialising, that I have found Phoebe's voice removed and distant and Phoebe as a character also not someone with whom I could be friends and with whom I would even want to be friends (since to and for me, Phoebe's account of her life after her parents' divorce feels considerably too focussed on surface realities and not really all that interested in going a bit deeper and also, that while Phoebe rather constantly criticises her mother for being materialistic and calculating, she really is pretty well similar to her mother in many ways and rather with an annoying and frustrating sense of all encompassing entitlement).
Combined with the fact that in The Divorce Express both the secondary and even the primary characters are really and generally much too lacking in nuance and personality depth for my liking, while I have certainly found Phoebe's story engaging enough to point, I also am not at all able get even somewhat close to her and yes, actually to anyone within the pages of Paula Danziger's featured narrative, my reading experience with The Divorce Express has thus been decidedly lacklustre and even at times a bit massively annoying, and with enough of a resulting lessening of potential reading pleasure to only consider but two stars for The Divorce Express, and yes, to consider both Paula Danziger's content and her narration pretty problematically frustrating and as such also very majorly disappointing. Now I am still glad to have finally read and reviewed The Divorce Express, but my not all that positive and rewarding reading experience is certainly making me think twice about considering the sequel, as I do have the not so sneaking suspicion that It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World will more than likely present the same sets of reading issues I have encountered with The Divorce Express.
June 17, 2010
Paula Danziger was one of my favorite writers when I was in my early high-school years, and she had a huge influence on my own voice as a writer. Something about the casual, conversational style mixed with the silly lives of teenagers and the willingness to deal with uncomfortable issues really appealed to me.
In this book, which I read five or six times in high school and which I re-read last week for the first time since, Phoebe has to deal with divorced parents who live in separate parts of New York. She rides with her friend Rosie from Woodstock to New York City every weekend on a bus dubbed The Divorce Express because of the number of joint-custody kids who make the commute. Phoebe adjusts to life in a new town, involving herself in a strike against the school cafeteria, a relationship with a popular boy in school, and a deepening friendship with her new best friend. Meanwhile, she has also to deal with the reality of her parents’ new dating relationships and her own shifting loyalties.
It’s a good, quick read, and I remember being quite moved by this story that also made me laugh aloud when I was a teen. I still enjoy the novel today, ‘though now I notice what I think are some bad decisions by the writer, mostly in the way she makes her narrator sort of sum up her feelings at the end of the book. It’s sort of like the poignant, thoughtful last minute of shows like ER, just in case the narrative itself isn’t memorable enough to resonate. It is perhaps a personal quibble, and I think young readers won’t mind it too much because that’s what they sort of expect from their stories. But you see? That’s my point. Good literature doesn’t have to wrap things up in a tidy “and this is what I’m learning” message near the end, and young readers are used to being addressed that way. A good story stands up on its own and trusts itself to connect with its readers, and that’s what often separates the greats from the merely good. Maniac Magee or Holes, anyone?
On the other hand, the character is believably introspective, so at least the introspection at the end isn’t out of character. I’m inclined to write the author a pass.
The Divorce Express is one of those books inextricably entwined in my memories of youth, like the music of Duran Duran, like the films of Anthony Michael Hall, and like the 1980s Los Angeles Raiders. Just thinking of the novels of Paula Danziger immediately takes me back. I’m looking forward to revisiting my other Danziger favorites.
In this book, which I read five or six times in high school and which I re-read last week for the first time since, Phoebe has to deal with divorced parents who live in separate parts of New York. She rides with her friend Rosie from Woodstock to New York City every weekend on a bus dubbed The Divorce Express because of the number of joint-custody kids who make the commute. Phoebe adjusts to life in a new town, involving herself in a strike against the school cafeteria, a relationship with a popular boy in school, and a deepening friendship with her new best friend. Meanwhile, she has also to deal with the reality of her parents’ new dating relationships and her own shifting loyalties.
It’s a good, quick read, and I remember being quite moved by this story that also made me laugh aloud when I was a teen. I still enjoy the novel today, ‘though now I notice what I think are some bad decisions by the writer, mostly in the way she makes her narrator sort of sum up her feelings at the end of the book. It’s sort of like the poignant, thoughtful last minute of shows like ER, just in case the narrative itself isn’t memorable enough to resonate. It is perhaps a personal quibble, and I think young readers won’t mind it too much because that’s what they sort of expect from their stories. But you see? That’s my point. Good literature doesn’t have to wrap things up in a tidy “and this is what I’m learning” message near the end, and young readers are used to being addressed that way. A good story stands up on its own and trusts itself to connect with its readers, and that’s what often separates the greats from the merely good. Maniac Magee or Holes, anyone?
On the other hand, the character is believably introspective, so at least the introspection at the end isn’t out of character. I’m inclined to write the author a pass.
The Divorce Express is one of those books inextricably entwined in my memories of youth, like the music of Duran Duran, like the films of Anthony Michael Hall, and like the 1980s Los Angeles Raiders. Just thinking of the novels of Paula Danziger immediately takes me back. I’m looking forward to revisiting my other Danziger favorites.
April 27, 2017
Feather barrettes and lavender unicorn sweatshirts, riding the bus to New York from Woodstock, staring at the center of someone's forehead instead of their eyes - that's what I remembered from reading this many times as a kid. I had forgotten, though, that like The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, Danziger devotes a plotline to teens organizing protests against school policies - in this case, it's about school lunches. I really like her stories focusing on students getting together to try to change something unfair.
Phoebe's parents divorce, and have split custody. When her dad moves from New York to Woodstock, she lives with him during the week and takes a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to her mom's on the weekends. Her dad is a hippie circa the early 1980s - lots of references to mung beans and granola cookies.
Phoebe's parents divorce, and have split custody. When her dad moves from New York to Woodstock, she lives with him during the week and takes a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to her mom's on the weekends. Her dad is a hippie circa the early 1980s - lots of references to mung beans and granola cookies.
May 20, 2012
This was okay. I'm glad I read it, but it's not going to be a favorite. The parts I liked were the puns and how evocative it was of my own adolescence. The parts I didn't like included the unrealistic relationships the parents have, the cardboard materialistic mom, and the fact that it's an Issue Book. I liked it well enough that I'm going to read the sequel next. 2.486 stars.
August 26, 2019
Charlie,,,finishing a book??? Its more likely than you think.
This novel was hilarious and I would have enjoyed it more as a younger kid. Loved it tho!
This novel was hilarious and I would have enjoyed it more as a younger kid. Loved it tho!
March 20, 2025
the first book i read — ironic really.
when i was younger i’d wake up early and sit and read until the rest of the house woke up. very relatable
when i was younger i’d wake up early and sit and read until the rest of the house woke up. very relatable
December 23, 2011
When I was a teen, I loved reading Paula Danziger's novels; she really knew how to get into the heads of her 13- and 14-year-old protagonists and I could easily relate to them. I first read this book when I was about 15 or 16, and loved it then. I related to Phoebe's dilemma of who to love when parents divorce and her first crush, David, as well as her BFF Rosie.
However, I had the opportunity to re-read this novel at the ripe old (?) age of 38, and am now a divorced mother of two. The novel has lost some of its sparkle, and perhaps that's due to my changed circumstances. Phoebe strikes me as wise beyond her years in this novel and she shows a very level head in situations that would have normal 14-year-olds whining about how unfair life is; however, she throws a tantrum when she discovers that her mother is remarrying.
Danziger might have a low opinion of men: the fathers in her other novels "Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?" and "The Pistachio Prescription" were ornery and nasty at times; but here, Phoebe's father is practically a saint: an eco-warrior who recycles as much as possible, paints, and saves woodland animals from traps. Phoebe's mother is a materialistic shrew, which I felt was a rather unfair characterization. She gets engaged to an insurance executive with kids older than Phoebe, and this obviously disconcerts Phoebe.
The tone of the book is city versus country life, and the hippie-esque Woodstock lifestyle is the clear winner here. She almost made me want to visit New York, but I'll save my money and make a pilgrimmage to Whole Foods Market instead, assuming I'll find the same level of smugness there that she imbues to her Woodstock-living characters.
This book is better than its inferior sequel, "It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World" (in which Phoebe becomes the villain for no apparent reason) but, for me, it's not quite the same.
However, I had the opportunity to re-read this novel at the ripe old (?) age of 38, and am now a divorced mother of two. The novel has lost some of its sparkle, and perhaps that's due to my changed circumstances. Phoebe strikes me as wise beyond her years in this novel and she shows a very level head in situations that would have normal 14-year-olds whining about how unfair life is; however, she throws a tantrum when she discovers that her mother is remarrying.
Danziger might have a low opinion of men: the fathers in her other novels "Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?" and "The Pistachio Prescription" were ornery and nasty at times; but here, Phoebe's father is practically a saint: an eco-warrior who recycles as much as possible, paints, and saves woodland animals from traps. Phoebe's mother is a materialistic shrew, which I felt was a rather unfair characterization. She gets engaged to an insurance executive with kids older than Phoebe, and this obviously disconcerts Phoebe.
The tone of the book is city versus country life, and the hippie-esque Woodstock lifestyle is the clear winner here. She almost made me want to visit New York, but I'll save my money and make a pilgrimmage to Whole Foods Market instead, assuming I'll find the same level of smugness there that she imbues to her Woodstock-living characters.
This book is better than its inferior sequel, "It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World" (in which Phoebe becomes the villain for no apparent reason) but, for me, it's not quite the same.
April 25, 2020
This was pretty good. The new cover I have was really good. I had no idea this was first published in the 80's until I read the introduction. And really, it only is evident in the use of payphones a lot. The human interactions still hold up pretty well. The issues it brings up with divorce are still very real. Worth the read, but not amazing.
May 19, 2019
The divorce express 3.5⭐️
“No one in the world should have to get out of bed at that hour except maybe people who do terrible things and deserve awful punishments”
Her parents are divorced and have shared custody of their daughter which is difficult for her but makes an entertaining story of her life and how she analyzed everything.
She has to pick sides. Well she doesnt have to but her mother moves on quickly and in my opinion is a jerk about it. She wants her own happiness but doesnt care that her daughter is in distress and miserable during the whole divorce.
Her father is trying to help everyone and stay occupied. While trying to help his daughter but also feeling lost as well.
This was really cute and had some great topics on divorce and moving on in a healthy manor.
“No one in the world should have to get out of bed at that hour except maybe people who do terrible things and deserve awful punishments”
Her parents are divorced and have shared custody of their daughter which is difficult for her but makes an entertaining story of her life and how she analyzed everything.
She has to pick sides. Well she doesnt have to but her mother moves on quickly and in my opinion is a jerk about it. She wants her own happiness but doesnt care that her daughter is in distress and miserable during the whole divorce.
Her father is trying to help everyone and stay occupied. While trying to help his daughter but also feeling lost as well.
This was really cute and had some great topics on divorce and moving on in a healthy manor.
January 30, 2017
Not a huge fan of this book. The author's writing style is not what I typically enjoy.
September 22, 2017
This was a decent story. I enjoyed reading it, but I do feel like it ended abruptly. I was looking for more then the way it ended.
March 27, 2023
Must be the millionth time I read this. Love these books.
February 9, 2009
Another great Danziger novel that deals with issues that are still pertinent 20 years later.
April 3, 2021
I started out the month of April by reading another Paula Danziger YA novel called THE DIVORCE EXPRESS, published in 1982. Danziger is really a great young adult writer. Though I didn't enjoy it as much as THE CATE AT MY GYMSUIT, this one still was pretty good. It reminded me of Judy Blume's novel I read last month called IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. Both books are about teens who struggle through their parent's divorce. Phoebe's parents are divorced. Her mother still lives in New York City, while her father, who now has custody of her during the week, lives out in the country. New school, new kids, new anxieties await Phoebe. Things get interesting when Phoebe starts hanging out with a girl named Rosie, whose parents are also divorced. The title refers to the children who have to ride the trains, and subways, and taxis and the time spent traveling between parents. As she gains a friendship with Rosie riding the divorce express, she finds that her mother is drifting farther away, seeing a new guy, etc. It's a very realistic, yet funny first-person novel that had me hooked the entire time. Unlike Blume, Danziger seems more like my kind of female writer. She's got this quirky wit about her that I admire, that's lacking with Blume. If you've never read Danziger, you're missing out. Her female narrators are strong and fully fleshed out young women. Sad that I'm finding her harder to find. Many of her books are sadly out of print. Apparently, she was big in the 80s, but I think her work speaks well today, too. They don't seem totally dated, other than the fact that there are no cellphones. Other than that, they're pretty modern in tone and style.
February 13, 2025
Ha. Well. When you have an eclectic means of collecting books, sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. This time it did!
The Divorce Express was a shot in the dark, not usually the kind of fiction I pursue, but turned out to be worth it. It also turned out to be intended, in all likelihood, for a younger reader. Thankfully, written back in the days when they didn’t just pump fantasy at those readers.
This also turns out to have been a posthumous rerelease, with an essay from the late Paula Danziger’s good friend explaining how much she meant to her. A lot of this sounds like another review I just wrote, but thankfully better results.
In fact, the only thing I really have to criticize, because it’s really good writing, is that for a book called Divorce Express we spend most of our time at one location, and the best we get for why is a metaphor concerning cafeteria food (I can’t relate; I had good food at elementary, middle and high school, plus both colleges I attended, so I guess I was just extremely lucky). It still feels like a cheat, and that the title is at best misleading. I mean, it’s still what our poor Phoebe obsesses about, but the imbalance is as narratively convenient as how easily everything else works out.
So it’s intended for younger readers. They’ve gotten worse.
The Divorce Express was a shot in the dark, not usually the kind of fiction I pursue, but turned out to be worth it. It also turned out to be intended, in all likelihood, for a younger reader. Thankfully, written back in the days when they didn’t just pump fantasy at those readers.
This also turns out to have been a posthumous rerelease, with an essay from the late Paula Danziger’s good friend explaining how much she meant to her. A lot of this sounds like another review I just wrote, but thankfully better results.
In fact, the only thing I really have to criticize, because it’s really good writing, is that for a book called Divorce Express we spend most of our time at one location, and the best we get for why is a metaphor concerning cafeteria food (I can’t relate; I had good food at elementary, middle and high school, plus both colleges I attended, so I guess I was just extremely lucky). It still feels like a cheat, and that the title is at best misleading. I mean, it’s still what our poor Phoebe obsesses about, but the imbalance is as narratively convenient as how easily everything else works out.
So it’s intended for younger readers. They’ve gotten worse.
October 19, 2021
Phoebe is a divorce vagabond spending the week in Woodstock with her Dad and weekends in New York City with her mother. She rides a bus called the 'Divorce Express' because of the number of children on it making similar trips.
How does a younger teenager deal with divorce? moving? losing friends? parental dating? remarriage?
Then there is the problem of school cafeteria food.
The book deals realistically with the problems not only of divorce for kids, but growing up and finding your own way. It is an older book so cell phones are not in the mix. The parents have adjustments to make too.
This is an easy book to read, involves the reader and passes too quickly.
How does a younger teenager deal with divorce? moving? losing friends? parental dating? remarriage?
Then there is the problem of school cafeteria food.
The book deals realistically with the problems not only of divorce for kids, but growing up and finding your own way. It is an older book so cell phones are not in the mix. The parents have adjustments to make too.
This is an easy book to read, involves the reader and passes too quickly.
Read
July 14, 2020I haven’t read this in forever! I think I was drawn to it originally back when due to my parents being divorced. I remember reading it a number of times. It felt so short breezing through it today! I would still recommend it, though it’s dated in some aspects—the smoking, the hippies, the 38-year-old parents of teens being old, not saying Native American. I think it caught Phoebe’s angst in a time when kids went back and forth, and had weekends with one parent. Also, we don’t really learn enough about Rosie’s family.
December 28, 2021
Went to Second Story Books and picked up a bunch of used books. Knew I needed this one for my collection. This was probably my first Paula Danziger and this and This Place has no Atmosphere hold a special place in my heart. Flew through it in one quick sitting because it's probably the 38th time I've read this book. It had been a while, but it is the definition of a comfort read. Some cute situations, and everything felt a little 'safe' but I like how Danziger tackled the difficult topic of divorce from a kid's perspective in a realistic way. One of my favorites still.
July 25, 2017
I liked this book for my text set because it shows a lot of aspects of divorce that my other texts had not hit on. Phoebe has to move away and join a new school; forcing her to readjust. She also has to get used to her parents dating others. Although the book's relationships portrayed may have been unrealistic at times, I still think this novel serves its purpose in my text set. I really think the students would enjoy the book.
January 12, 2021
This book went from super slow to too fast. It was a very simple read, which I enjoyed. The only part I didn't like was how the climax or issue that the main character deals with is in the very last 3 chapters and the ending just felt super rushed. However, I loved the description of scenery and how well you understood what the main character was going through.
November 23, 2017
Cute story. I can’t wait to read the companion novel. As a product of a divorced household, Phoebe’s story hit home somewhat. Filled with humor and real-life situations, this book had me laughing and crying at the same time.
Read
November 30, 2023I re-read Paula Danziger every so often and she never disappoints. Honestly I wish there could be more authors today like her and Judy Blume, Norma Klein et.al. A wonderful comfort book read while I heal from my sprained ankle.
February 6, 2025
Cute book, reading as an adult when having my own teens definitely set another perspective, I can't wait for them to read it and give me their opinion, although it's set in a different time, I'm sure they'll enjoy it and find some things they can relate to dealing with our current life.
September 13, 2017
Cute middle grade novel. A little more depth than I was expecting but extremely predictable. Good for a super fast, mindless read.
July 10, 2018
I loved this book! A real eye-opening , thought-provoking story.
July 31, 2020
4.5 stars
Loved the scene where Phoebe worries about the Lincoln Tunnel leaking. I always used to get super freaked out by all the condensation on the walls when I was a kid 😆
Loved the scene where Phoebe worries about the Lincoln Tunnel leaking. I always used to get super freaked out by all the condensation on the walls when I was a kid 😆
September 18, 2021
I love Paula Danzinger.
September 30, 2021
Re-read this book from my childhood. Reminded me why I enjoyed reading Paula Danziger as a youth.
April 29, 2024
Es lento, no hay mucha historia, refleja el divorcio desde la perspectiva del hijo muy bien pero no es más que eso, me ayudo con mis lecturas en inglés
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews