True to Form : A Novel
by Elizabeth Berg
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Book Summary Information
Author: Elizabeth BergEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-13
ISBN: 0743411358
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Book Reviews of True to Form : A Novel
Book Review: Another Katie Nash story
Summary: 5 Stars
TRUE TO FORM by Elizabeth Berg
November 25, 2004
One of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Berg has written three books centering on the young Katie Nash, as she tells her tales about growing up in the early 1960's. TRUE TO FORM is the third and final book in this series, and each book has been a delight to read. Reading about Katie and her thoughts and fears about growing up has been such a treat. I feel that Berg gets it "right on" with everything Katie goes through, including the loss of a parent, first crush, and the trials and tribulations of growing up a misfit.
In TRUE TO FORM, Katie is now thirteen years old and is getting ready to start high school. Her relationship with her new stepmother, Ginger, is developing and growing, and while her own father was never there for her emotionally, it is Ginger that becomes the dominant parent in Katie's life. As for Katie's older sister, she is now living in California and is rarely heard from anymore. It's as far away from their father as she could possibly get without leaving the country.
Katie is still in touch with her best friend from Texas, Cherylanne, who is still in contact via long letters filled with advice and the latest news. Cherylanne has her own trials to get through, but as always, she's quick on the advice and very confident that she will get through this difficult time in her life. Katie finds herself growing apart from Cherylanne, as the older girl is now having sex with her boyfriend and is hoping to get married to him soon, but Katie still goes to her as her one source of advice when all else fails. As the novel progresses, Katie learns what true friendship is really about, and how as life goes on, she in turn will move on to new places, new friends, and she is finally learning to accept her new home.
In the meantime, Katie is recruited by her father to baby-sit the neighbors' three boys, as well as help an elderly man take care of his bedridden wife. Between the two couples, Katie learns what real love is all about, as she watches the love between old Mr. Randolph and his wife who is still beautiful in his eyes. Katie also watches while the Wexlers, who are a much younger couple, fall apart before her very eyes. The wonderful thing about Katie is that while she is at first repulsed by the older couple, she learns to care for both Mr. and Mrs. Randolph as she gets to know them better, and wishes she will someday find a love as strong as theirs.
Katie's new best friend is Cynthia, another misfit. They sleep over each other's house and know each other's secrets as only best friends do. The climax of the novel is Katie's friendship with Cynthia, and how she betrays Cynthia while trying to fit in with a new set of friends in a school that Katie has just gotten accepted to (with the help of Mr. Randolph). It's a private school for girls, very exclusive, and Katie thinks now she will be popular and no longer be the misfit she's felt like all her life. It's a harsh lesson in life that Katie has to learn, but Berg writes this book so realistically that I felt this part of the book was done very well. It was believable and I was not let down with how the book ended.
TRUE TO FORM gets 5 stars from me. Ratings are obviously subjective, as one can tell by reading various reviews on Amazon.com, and for me, I personally enjoyed the story of Katie Nash, as I have done with the previous novels. I also enjoy the way Elizabeth Berg writes, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Her style is very simple, but yet she tends to pack a wallop in such short books, which I find very impressive. That is really my main reason for giving it such a high rating. Those who enjoy reading Women's Lit will love TRUE TO FORM.
Summary of True to Form : A Novel
Katie Nash -- the beloved heroine of Elizabeth Berg's previous novels Durable Goods and Joy School -- is thirteen years old in 1961, and she's facing a summer full of conflict. Her father has enlisted her in two care-taking jobs -- baby-sitting for the rambunctious Wexler boys and, equally challenging, looking after Mrs. Randolph, her elderly, bedridden neighbor. To make matters worse, Katie has been forcibly inducted into the "loser" Girl Scout troop, compliments of her only new friend Cynthia's controlling mother. Her only saving grace is a trip to her childhood hometown in Texas, to visit her best friend Cherylanne. But people and places change -- and Cherylanne is no exception. When an act of betrayal leaves Katie wondering just what friends are really for, she learns to rely on the only one left she can trust: herself.Full of the joys, anguish, and innocence of American adolescence, True to Form is a story sure to make readers remember and reflect on their own moments of discovery and self-definition.
In her 10th novel, True to Form, Elizabeth Berg finds her way into the year 1961 and into the head of 13-year-old Katie Nash at the start of her summer vacation. Katie's world is smooth and easy with endless possibilities and sunshine. You almost expect sitcom-style canned laughter when she whines in frustration or stomps up to her room and turns the radio way up, but then almost everything Katie does fits that era's squeaky-clean conventionalities. The younger daughter of a remarried widower, Katie craves popularity, a great summer job, and a direct line to the local DJ to make requests. Newly transplanted from Texas, she settles in with her only friend, Cynthia, who shares her views on status and appearance and boys. Between a regular babysitting gig for a household of little boys and caring for an elderly bedridden woman, her summer is off to a less than auspicious start. Cynthia's mother's plot to start a Girl Scout troop and to camp out for a weekend in their living room doesn't help. Berg's plot doesn't exactly mine new territory, but Katie emerges as a girl who sees the world differently from the rest of her peers. Her poetic perspective on her surroundings and her predicaments should eventually win readers over. The period backdrop feels unformed against this portrait of a young artist-to-be, but Katie imbues it with fresh eyes. --Emily Russin
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