Gr. 6-8. Blume is back near the top of her form in this companion to Just as long as We're Together (1987). This time the focus is on another of the three friends introduced in that story, narrator Rachel Robinson. Rachel, a child prodigy (as her brother, Charles, snidely calls her), has a penchant for doing her homework on time, doing the right thing, and, in general, living up to her potential. Her 16-year-old sister, Jessica, also aims high, despite a serious case of cystic acne. It's middle sibling Charles who sees himself as the mirror that reflects the family's flaws, and he relishes the job, labeling his mother an ice princess, his father a wimp, and Jessica a potato head. Meanwhile, he has flunked out of school, smokes dope, and generally turns up the pilot light hoping to burn the family. Blume does a fine job of showing, rather than telling, so the reader really understands the family dynamics and Charles' motivations (some of them, anyway). But she also has a tendency to skim the surface, and just when readers really get interested in a particular story line--for instance, how difficult it is for Jessica to deal with her acne--Blume whisks you away to some other situation, such as an older cousin's flirtation with a married man or Rachel's feelings that friends Alison and Stephanie like each other better than they do her. What Blume gets so right is the stress of modern family life, just as wearing on the kids as on the adults. Everyone tries to keep going, but it's like running an obstacle course where the hurdles are everywhere and awfully high to boot. (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1993)0531068013Ilene Cooper

A straight-A student whom teachers keep recommending for accelerated programs or extracurricular activities, Rachel feels enough pressure at school without her older brother, Charles -- at home after being expelled from boarding school -- wreaking havoc in her family life. Rachel is a companionable heroine in the realistic, balanced portrayal of strained family dynamics and typical adolescent anxieties -- a sequel to 'Just as Long as We're Together' (Orchard). From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 5-8-Rachel Robinson is every teacher's dream student. As she's wrapping up the seventh grade, teachers are trying to lure her into participating in extracurricular activities for gifted students, and as a result, away from her friends. But Rachel's mind is focused on one thing: Charles, her older brother. He's back at home after being kicked out of boarding school and his mission in life is to torture and bully his family. Rachel's friends think Charles is cute, but true to her no-nonsense nature, Rachel can't understand what they see in him. Charles focuses most of his cruelty on Rachel and their older sister, Jessica, a shy high school senior, who is battling a painful case of cystic acne. He also gnashes his brutish teeth at his trying parents and at his cousin, Tarren, a divorced, single mother who is having an affair with a married man. Judy Blume is a master at creating complex characters that tweens enjoy. In this novel (1993), Rachel's personal growth and eventual acceptance of her family is never forced and sends the message that life is messy, but everything's going to be fine. Mandy Siegfried's narration enhances Blume's talent for writing dialogue. Her girlish pitch provides an authentic performance. This companion novel to Just As Long As We're Together (1986, both Orchard) is an excellent choice for libraries where the author is popular.-Annica Stivers, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Blume returns to the trio of seventh graders introduced in Just as Long as We're Together (1987), where Stephanie's narration was colored by her parents' new separation. Here, superachiever Rachel takes center stage with her account of the stresses created when her brother Charles is kicked out of boarding school before he's finished ninth grade. Charles's description of his family is one-sided but cruelly on target: Dad (who gave up law for teaching) is a ``wimp,'' Mom (just appointed a judge) an ``ice-queen,'' acne-scarred older sister Jessica a ``potato head''--while Rachel, who at year's end is just beginning to realize that she won't be able to play the flute, take leading roles in drama and a peer-counseling program, do advanced study at a local college, and be class president (all things suggested to her) is Mom's ``clone,'' and more than Charles can bear. His acting out is genuinely, painfully obnoxious; it's a credit to Blume's skill that his vulnerability also emerges, and that the rebalanced family dynamics following his disruptive return is sufficiently muted to be credible. With a good tutor and a stronger bond with Dad, Charles mellows enough for Rachel to see him as more than a destroyer of family peace- -and for him to admit she may be developing a sense of humor. A good, solid, working-the-family-problem story, with sure appeal for fans. (Fiction. 11-14)

Continuing the story begun in Just As Long As We're Together , Blume here focuses on Rachel, one of three best friends. This gifted, highly motivated student who, according to her mother, was ``born thirty-five,'' feels somewhat out of sync with Stephanie and Alison as seventh grade draws to a close. Then, when Rachel's acerbic older brother is expelled from boarding school, life at home becomes equally unsettling--and decidedly unpleasant. Rachel's incisive, first-person narration easily draws readers into her complicated world as she learns to cope with the pressures brought on by her relentless quest to be the best at everything and by her troubled family situation. Perceptive, strong storytelling ensures that other characters' points of view (particularly Rachel's brother's) can also be discerned. Blume once again demonstrates her ability to shape multidimensional characters and to explore--often through very convincing dialogue--the tangled interactions of believable, complex people. Ages 11-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved