It's Not the End of the World
Judy Blume
 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 get 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.