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sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day has always been one of my favorites books of all time, so I admit that I picked this book up for the title alone. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed. Viorst's wry humor works just as well in her writing for adults, including in this short little (128 tiny pages) tale about the summer when her Alexander, all grown-up, married, and with three children of his own, moves back in with his parents, while his house is being remodeled.
Viorst doesn't sugarcoat it when she talks about her fears for her velvet furniture or the safety of her all-too-breakable grandchildren, but she also doesn't hide the fact that she loves her family dearly.
The other refreshing thing is that, unlike a memoir where you want to unleash all the details of your situation, Viorst makes this more of a generalization about parents living with their grown children again. She shares details to illustrate her points, but some of them are from other families, and she never overshares, keeping this snappy little tome moving along at a brisk pace. A fun, quick read.
Viorst doesn't sugarcoat it when she talks about her fears for her velvet furniture or the safety of her all-too-breakable grandchildren, but she also doesn't hide the fact that she loves her family dearly.
The other refreshing thing is that, unlike a memoir where you want to unleash all the details of your situation, Viorst makes this more of a generalization about parents living with their grown children again. She shares details to illustrate her points, but some of them are from other families, and she never overshares, keeping this snappy little tome moving along at a brisk pace. A fun, quick read.
k_lee_reads_it's review
3.0
Judith Viorst, the author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible..., wrote this book about the summer Alexander and his family of five came back home to live for a summer. Parts of this are quite funny. One should be able to read this in an hour and a half. I was too busy. Perhaps that is reflected in the score. Then again, the last chapters were written as the grandparent and I got bored. So loved the beginning 2/3, bored by the end.
aklibrarychick's review
3.0
Any teachers/moms will know about "Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst. All of her Alexander books were based on her own three sons. Now she's written a true account of the recent time when her grown son, his wife, and their three kids moved in for three months. This is a fun, quick read. It speaks a lot to generational differences (and similarities), about how to be flexible and get along, and about the things that are really important. I laughed a lot, and there were also some very touching moments.
mirk's review
3.0
This was more an extended article than a book, and it was slight re-hashing generational parenting styles, but it was still fun. And I think those Viorst grandkids have a great set of grandparents.
blueranger9's review
3.0
I have to admit I'm on the fence about this book. The first few chapters of this short book come across as a long rant about why having her son and his family stay with her for 3 months proved to be an inconvenience, absolutely ruined her sense of order, and temporarily cured her OCD. I was beginning to wonder why I'd picked up the book in the first place. I don't want to hear about someone complaining about having family over, but she wrapped it up pleasantly enough with decent introspection and a fascinating analysis of modern parenthood that made it worth the few hours it took to read. So while it is not my favorite Judith Viorst book, it is really nice to hear about her lovely grandchildren and find out what exactly became of Alexander after that "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." Now I know.
wheels68's review
5.0
Alexander 5 move home with mom and dad for 90days. Mom/grandma tells of all the Ups, downs, ins and outs of the time together. Learning how to live with 3generations. Cute story.
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