It's Not the End of the World

It's Not the End of the World
1st edition
Author(s)	Judy Blume
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Young adult novel
Publisher	Bradbury
Publication date	1972
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	176 pp
ISBN	0-689-84293-7
OCLC Number	49038737

It's Not the End of the World is a young adult novel written by Judy Blume, published in 1972.

The lead character of the story is a 12-year-old girl named Karen Newman. Karen is the middle child in her family and is unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for her) not her parents' favorite. She has an older brother named Jeff (age 14; her mother's favorite) and a kid sister named Amy (age 6; her father's favorite).

Plot summary

Karen's world seems to be crumbling before her eyes. She is led to believe that marriage only causes heartache and pain, and so she decides that she will never marry. Just before she entered sixth grade, she was overjoyed that she was placed in the class of a very nice teacher that she desperately wanted to have; her hopes were shattered when she discovered that the teacher got married the summer before and has turned into a "witch." Her parents act like they do not love each other anymore; the only way that they communicate is by arguing and fighting over every possible situation. 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 about his father going to Las Vegas. Their father stays home to find Jeff, so the father is unable to go to Las Vegas. Karen tries every possible way to stop the divorce from happening, including sending anniversary cards and feigning illness. Karen grades the days in her diary and only rarely does the day get an A+. At the end there is the possibility that things might be getting better even though she does not succeed in getting her parents to remarry. Next, Karen's older brother Jeff has a fight with his mother in a restaurant and runs away. Everyone including the police get involved, but after a little while Jeff comes back on his own. Then to make things worse Karen's mother announces that they are moving. Karen tries to see things in a better way and tries to make the best of things and finally has a B+ day.

Characters

• Karen — the protagonist.
• Debbie — Karen's best friend. She is described as pretty. She is a funny, delightful person and is good at making monkey faces. She has a crush on Karen's brother Jeff although he shows no interest in her.
• Eleanor "Ellie" Newman — Karen's mother.
• William "Bill" Newman — Karen's father.
• Gary Owens — The boy Karen had a crush on until he goes to Texas. Although not mentioned, Karen thinks he likes her best friend, Debbie.
• Mrs. Singer — Karen's teacher. She is described by Karen as being really nice last year but after she got married, she became a witch.
• Jeff — Karen's older brother. He's fourteen and is described as handsome. He is interested in girls and weightlifting. He is liked by Debbie and teases her in a playful manner. Near the end of the book, he runs away from home, but comes back.
• Amy — Karen's younger sister, six years old, described as being rather plain-faced, who likes making up riddles.
• Valerie — a new friend of Karen whose parents are divorced and knows all about it (according to herself).
• Mary Louise — a girlfriend of Jeff's, kind of chubby
• Garfa — Karen's grandfather
• Petey Mansfield — Jeff's best friend
• Uncle Dan — Aunt Ruth's husband
• Aunt Ruth — Mrs. Newman's sister
• Mew — Karen's cat

External links

• Judy Blume's website