Blurb:
‘No one wants to ride the divorce express. Especially not Phoebe. It means she has to leave her New York City apartment and her boyfriend every Sunday night to spend the week in the country with her dad.
It means she has to start at a new school, make new friends and watch her father go on dates. Now neither place feels like home. And then her mother makes an announcement. Can Phoebe cope with anymore changes?’
First Read:
I can’t remember when I first read 'The Divorce Express'; it was one of the books I returned to repeatedly between the ages of 11 and 13 searching for self-help tips and answers, with its relevant theme displayed prominently in the title. ‘The Divorce Express’ started my love affair with Paula Danziger, I'm pretty sure I was given it because all signs in my parents relationship pointed towards me getting a permanent seat on this literary bus. So many presents have an ulterior motive when you're a kid. Characters in books were always going through a similar stage in life as you, so you could learn vicariously through their mistakes. Even computer games always had a not-so-subtle educational agenda: ‘Adventure! Through the Human Body’, ‘Treasure Hunt! With the Egyptian Pharaohs’, ‘Fun! With maths’.
Ten or so years since I first read this, can it possibly still have anything to say to twenty year old me about divorce, bus journeys and talking to 'airhead' parents? And will Phoebe make new friends and find a new boyfriend before the end of it? (I really hope so, I seem to remember a lot of the plot revolving around a will she/won't she type situation with a guy named Dave, or Dean or something.)
The ReRead:
Well I completely imagined any relationship drama with Dave. He is the sweetest, most unrealistic 15 year old boy ever. He charmingly asks her out, and then they are fine. There is no Dean. There is a Duane though but we don’t like him. (Duane becomes Phoebe’s evil stepdad by the end of the book. We really don’t like Duane.)
Life Lessons Learned:
1. Divorce comes in all shapes and sizes but tends to always suck for the kids. (Revelation Danziger, thanks.)
2. Friends are good. Boyfriends are also good. Having both is the best.
3. Crisis on public transport always brings people together and results in free pie.
4. ‘If you take the letters in the word DIVORCES and rearrange them, they spell DISCOVER.’!*
5. Most importantly of all, the word airhead has re-entered my life.
(*Sarcasm.)
3. Crisis on public transport always brings people together and results in free pie.
4. ‘If you take the letters in the word DIVORCES and rearrange them, they spell DISCOVER.’!*
5. Most importantly of all, the word airhead has re-entered my life.
(*Sarcasm.)
Tween to Twenty Relevance Rating:
Not as much happened as I remembered and at times it felt like a highly idealised image of divorce. Plus Phoebe's kinda annoying so I can honestly only give this a TTRR of 4/10 sorry The Divorce Express. Hopefully the other Paula Danziger books I remember transforming my tweenage life won't disappoint...Keep rereading!
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