"True to Form"

On 2/8/10, I wrote about "middlebrow" authors I enjoy. Their works are a pleasure to read, and are of good quality but perhaps not in the top tier of "serious literature." They have given millions of readers much enjoyment. One of these writers is Elizabeth Berg. I have read several of her novels over the years, and just picked up "True to Form" (Washington Square Press, 2002) for a recent plane trip. (Some of my colleagues work on planes...I see time in the air as time to read!) Berg constructs wonderful, relationship-oriented (I refer to relationships among family members, friends, spouses, and more) stories with very believable characters. In this novel, she writes of thirteen-year-old Katie Nash, a character she previously wrote about in "Durable Goods" and "Joy School." Katie is wise in some ways and innocent in others. She encounters various obstacles in life, but has a kind of centered quality that allows her to deal with them. She is very self-aware and thoughtful, but sometimes makes mistakes in her relationships with others. She is always sincere, and always tries to do the right thing. She is an extremely likable character, with a direct and compelling voice. I admire Berg's ability to portray a young teenager in such a natural, insightful way. "True to Form" is a "quick read," but the story -- and Katie's voice -- do not fade so quickly.