Very entertaining and true in many cases.

Another of Viorst’s light and amusing books of free verse poems about the changes each new decade brings. This one on 70 is a reckoning with stepping into the realities of reaching old age. She offers up many universal feelings about the aging process in a delightfully acerbic manner.

Well, I'm definitely too young to be seventy but my oldest son sent me this book to remind me that I was born in 1949 and the big 7, O has hit me! I related all too well to many of these well written truths--I mean poems. My favorite had to be "Body Heat" where she writes how she is in the kitchen dressed in a sweater and fleece-lined jacket with the oven on as her husband sits there in a short sleeved shirt and bare feet asking if he can crack open the door. Then at night she is in bed suffering from heat prostration while her husband is lying right beside her with two blankets and flannel pajamas on asking to keep the window closed. They have become thermostatically incompatible! BINGO! That is exactly what is happening at our house! Oh I loved this little book!

Wry and witty, this is a fascinating book of poems that explores the life of a woman in her seventies. It's a quick read and offers a refreshing perspective. I can only hope that I am as vibrant and active in my seventies as she is. I picked out this book at our local library, from a display of poetry books for National Poetry Month. I recognized Judith Viorst as the author of several popular children's books, like Alexander and the Terrible,Horrible,No Good,Very Bad Day. I didn't know much about her poetry, but I thought I'd check it out. After reading this book, I realize that she has a series of poetry books that explore the various decades of a woman's life. I plan to read them all, perhaps in reverse order, since I started with seventy...

Even though I am not near seventy yet, I enjoyed the poems. I will definitely check out her other poetry books.

I was expecting more wit and depth instead of a book of poems. Don't get me wrong the poems were clever and witty for the most part, although tending toward negativism at times. I loved Virost's earlier books - both those for adults and children - and am sorry this wasn't "more".

Don't know for sure about this age but always love Judith Viorst's perspective.

Short and Sassy

Very short but full of wisdom that a younger person may not understand. Enjoyable read. Will wait to turn 80;to get the next one ;-)

Read this book!

Typical Judith Viorst- amusing, engaging, and light-hearted. I read it to my 81 year old mother and we both laughed riotously. This would made a grand present for anyone who is aging....

I recently finished a humor poetry book of my own and was struggling with the front matter stuff (dedication, bio, acknowledgements, etc). I went to a bookstore to browse the humor section and see what other authors did, trying to get a little inspiration -- this is how I discovered Judith Viorst.

She's written dozens of books for all ages, but this particular series tracks the stages of a woman's life, decade by decade -- and it is brilliant. I found "I'm Too Young to be 70" first, then went back to "How Did I Get to Be 40 (and Other Atrocities)"... I plan to eventually read them all. They're sweet, hilarious, poignant and most of all -- totally relatable.

It's true, I could be slightly biased, given that each book is very similar in terms of both layout and approach to my own (with some major differences, but still). This could easily work both ways, though -- because after reading these books I'm quite certain my own could never measure up.

Either way, I highly recommend them for any woman who's trying to age graceful -- and any man who'd like a little funny insight into just how painful that process can be.

It was fun, though way too short!