From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10?These volumes sport wide margins, decorative chapter headings, and subtitles in bold type. In eight chapters, Levine discusses the periods before, during, and after divorce; the economics involved; disappearing dads; living in stepfamilies; and what to expect in the future. While this title contains some useful information, the text is sometimes confusing and often reads as though the writer hasn't determined whether to address young people or their parents. Paula McGuire's Putting It Together (Delacorte, 1987) and Jill Krementz's How It Feels When Parents Divorce (Knopf, 1984; o.p.) are better overall choices; Susan Neiburg Terkel's Understanding Child Custody (Watts, 1991) provides better coverage of that topic. Zeinert's title gives an excellent overview of this constitutional right, explaining both its history and current issues. The 10 chapters cover free speech as it applies to newspapers, books, magazines, music, movies, radio and television, protests, speech, and silence. The text is clearly written, interesting, and flows easily. Black-and-white photographs appear throughout. Students working on reports will find much useful information here; others may find themselves reading this book for pleasure once they flip through the pages.?Dona Weisman, Northeast Texas Library System, Garland
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 7^-12. Levine's straightforward, commonsense manual for teens dealing with parents' divorce offers helpful advice and an overall realistic picture of the whole difficult divorce scene. Interesting case studies interwoven with well-presented commentary, facts, and statistics constitute chapters on predivorce stress, the divorce procedure and custody matters, relevant economics, emotional adjustments, relations with noncustodial parents, and the step-family scenario. Levine never sugarcoats the pain and yet provides a hopeful picture for children of divorce--particularly when, for example, parents are able to build better lives than they had in the intact family and when there remain strong emotional attachments between the children and parents or other caring adults. This is a strong title for teens' personal use and for family living, psychology, sociology, and general research curriculum needs. Anne O'Malley
