Product Description

Rachel is Stephanie's best friend, and ever since second grade they've shared each other's secrets. When Alison moves into the neighborhood, Stephanie hopes they can all be best friends. But "two's company and three's a crowd"--unless the girls can learn the generosity of true friendship.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31936 in Books
• Published on: 1991-10-01
• Released on: 1991-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780440210948
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Stephanie, 12, is into "hunks" even though she's never met one herself. But when she starts seventh grade and finds out that she and her best friend, Rachel, aren't in any of the same classes except gym, Stephanie has more to worry about than boys. A new girl, Alison, moves in; she's a welcome new friend, but her presence alters the relationship between Steph and Rachel. For the first time, Rachel has secrets from Steph. But worse, Stephanie accidently learns that her father isn't in California on business, but that her parents have separated, and that her father has a girlfriend. She even suspects her mother of having a "fling." The relationships within the storyamong the three friends, and between Steph and her parentsare complicated, and Blume handles this aspect realistically and with great ease. The plot resolution, though carefully handled, is curiously flat. Despite this weakness, the story is lively, moves quickly, and captures the nutty, poignant world of very young teenagers. Ages 10-13.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7 Blume once again chronicles the customs, mores, and lifestyle of preteen girls. This first-person narrative touches on many themes found in her previous novels: friendship, emerging sexuality, body weight, the family, menstruation. The freshness and intimacy of 13-year-old Stephanie Hirsch's account infuse those themes with originality. Stephanie enters seventh grade armed with innate optimism, two best friends, and a supportive mom. She gradually assimilates the devastating news of her parents' separation, endures the pain of an all-out fight with her oldest best friend, and comforts her young brother through nightmares of nuclear war. The Blume trademarks of realistic dialogue, funny non sequiturs, and forthright misinformation (gullible Stephanie is told by her friend that hairy legs on a boy indicate sexual experience) are much in evidence. The inviting jacket design, showing the three friends in a fit of giggles, perfectly evokes the upbeat story. Susan H. Patron, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
The popular author returns to the junior-high age with an episodic story about a three-way friendship during a seventh-grade year. Tall, super-bright Rachel and narrator Stephanie have been best friends forever. When diminutive Alison - a Vietnamese adoptee whose mother is a well-known TV star - moves to their neighborhood, she easily joins their circle; Alison's unassuming charm makes her everyone's favorite, and her family is pleasantly ordinary. Meanwhile, Stephanie is beset by various pressures: Rachel neglects to tell her that she's been transferred to an accelerated math class; more important, Dad is "away on business" for months. When it turns out at Thanksgiving that her parents are trying a separation, it is a total surprise to Stephanie, partly because of her self-absorption, partly because her parents have dropped astonishingly few hints. Stephanie's angry response includes a food binge; the resulting fat complicates possible friendships with boys, who are just starting to be more interesting. Come spring, Stephanie begins to accept her parents' wish to live apart; a quarrel with Rachel, the inevitable consequence of the year's tensions and jealousies, is sorted out; and she loses weight. Blume still excels at assembling the minutiae and concerns of today's young with a humorous style and enough insight to win her readers. Devotees will set themselves a valuable precedent by reading a book of this length. Light; sure to please. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Excellent coming-of-age story
I've always been a big fan of Judy Blume, and she didn't disappoint in "Just As Long...." As always, Blume is a master in getting into the heads of young teens, and though Stephanie is the narrator in this installment (Rachel narrates in Here's To You Rachel Robinson, and Blume has mentioned that she'd like to write a book from Allison's POV), Rachel and Allison are equally as compelling.

Overall, this is funny, poignant and realistic look at what happens when a kid enters junior high and begins to question his or her place in the world.

As for the handful of reviewers who complained that parts of this book are "obscene" because the girls discuss kissing and sex. Come on, let's not be stuck in the Pilgrim days here. These girls are 13 - of course they're going to be thinking about boys, getting their periods, etc. Which 13 year old hasn't? Whether the subject matter is appropriate for younger kids to read is up to parents to decide, but Blume doesn't try to pretend this isn't anything other than a middle-grade read. To criticize her for realistically portraying teenagers is absolutely ridiculous. I think the criticism goes more to the parents who didn't bother to check to make sure that their younger kids were reading something on their level.

Anyway, this novel is a (PG-13) gem.

Honest,real and endearing!
I first read this book when i was 13 and yes,I loved it! It's not hard too see why Judy Blume appeals to such a wide range of people, be it children,teens or adults.Her books are so heartbreakingly honest and funny that you are drawn into reading them again and again.I'm 17 now an yet whenever I come across a copy of 'Are you There God-It's me Margaret' or 'Just As Long As Were Togther' I still smile while reading them.This book mainly deals with friendship and the main protagonist happens to be Stephanie one of my favourite Judy Blume characters who's optimistic,endearingly gullible and naive.However starting seventh grade her life undergoes a large number of changes not all of them which leave her happy.Her parents divorce and the worst part is she never saw it coming,she likes an older boy and makes a new best friend which leaves her other best friend just a wee bit jealous.The transition from kid to teenager is a tough one and no one depicts it better than Blume.Adolescence is a tough phase of life however if you are going through it I suggest you make it easier by reading this book!

Just As Long Review
Just As Long As Were Together was a pretty close to real life kind of book. Friends get into fights, right? I found the book a really realistic book. I did because it sounds like most girls' lifes in this world. This book, is about young girls' who are bestfriends, then a girl moves into the condo (I think it was) across a pond from one of the girls. They end up getting into a fight and then become friends once again. They get into so many incidences,and are into this guy that goes to their school.The first sentence "Stephanie is into hunks", kind of caught me off gaurd. Not many books, or authors actually start off a book like that. That's why I thought it would be a pretty interestiong book to read, and boy was I right! Any book that starts off like that can grab your attention and grab you in. I loved this book and I highly recomend it to everyone, that likes Judy Blume or not. It's sophisticated yet, childish, so it's a perfect book!