"Puerto Rico," by Erin Foley, is part of the "Festivals of the World" book series. Geared towards younger readers, the book is richly illustrated with many full-color photographs. Foley includes an overview of Puerto Rico and its people. Other topics covered include patron saints' festivals, the Calle San Sebastian festival, Three Kings Day, the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City, salsa music, traditional dance, musical instruments, and more.

The book includes a map, glossary, and index. Also included are a recipe for besitos de coco (a kind of sweet) and instructions on making a vejigante mask (a traditional festival mask). The visual appeal of this book is outstanding, and the information in it is, on the whole, well presented.

Elizabeth Berg has manage to make another great book about the wonderful young girl a lot of us have grown to love. Katie Nash is back again and this time she has a lot to do and she has more problems.

Katie thinks that this summer will be fun, but her father has different ideas for her. He thinks that it will do her good if she works two different jobs. One babysitting for the Wexlers and the other caring for Mrs. Randolph. She is also trying to spend time with her best friend Cynthia

As time goes on she learns that Mr and Mrs. Randolph aren't so bad. But when she wins a radio contest to go anywhere she makes her choice to go back to Texas and visit Cherylanne and see how things are going there.

When Mr. Randolph offers Katie the chance to go to a private girls school she decides to go and see what is about. She gets accepted and is happy that she is actully getting to enjoy some things in life. She goes to a party with some of the girls and there is where things in her life take a turn and she starts to realize what is important in her life and how she is going to keep the things that are important to her life around her.

Katie Nash is a strong young woman who knows what is going on and what she wants and Elizabeth Berg makes Katie seem like such a real person. When i finished this book I felt like I was closing the book on a good friend who I had gotten to know over the past few books.

Elizabeth Berg first introduced us to Katie Nash in her book "Durable Goods" and now in this book we meet up again with Katie who is now 13 yrs. old and her father has married Ginger whom Katie really likes. Ginger is a quieting influence in the family.........Since moving to Missouri because her father was transferred from a military base in Texas, Katie feels lonely once again, missing her best friend, Cherylanne. Katie did go back to Texas to visit once and the two friends keep in touch by letters.....Katie meets a new best friend named Cynthia, but Katie betrays her when she wants to fit in with the "in-crowd" at a new private school she now attends......Katie feels very badly about this and wants more than anything to have Cynthia forgive her.....Katie has learned not to take people she loves for granted because they could be taken from her as her sister was (she ran away to another state) or her mother was (by dying)...Through trial and error, Katie learns to forgive people, even herself........This story is about adolescence in a more innocent time during the 1960's.......I enjoyed it.

I have to be honest - I hadn't read the previous two novels Elizabeth Berg wrote about Katie nash - but after reading TRUE TO FORM, I will be going back and reading them. I have become a fan of Elizabeth Berg since reading ORDINARY LIFE last year - and TRUE TO FORM is "True to Berg"! This is a story of 13 Katie nash and the events that shape her life during one summer vacation. She babysits the nieghbors three boys, helps take care of her elderly neightbors, and runs around and spends her free time with her one true friend, Cynthia. It's easy to see ourselves as 13 year olds during our summer breaks - bike riding; lying in the grass watching the clouds; planning for the new school year; fighting-making up-getting along with our best friends! It's all there in this fast read. It's not a deep read that you wuill go WOW! with, but it is satisfying and will bring back memories which is why I gave it 5 stars - If you like Elizabeth Berg be sure not to miss this one - even if you're like me and you've never herd of Katie Nash before - you will want to know about her after reading TRUE TO FORM.

This is the fourth Elizabeth Berg book I've read, and it has cemented my admiration for this writer. "Joy School" is actually a follow-up to "Durable Goods", but I wasn't aware of this when I commenced this book. You don't need to have read the first book to enjoy this one. Ms Berg has a real gift for creating wonderfully three-dimensional characters. In this case she's writing in the first person as a teenage girl (often a curly one for some writers) and she pulls it off beautifully. There are funny moments, sad moments, and moments so poignant you feel as though you're the main character yourself. I've just started another of Elizabeth Berg's books, "Range of Motion" and so far, so good. I'll certainly keep buying books by this author - long may she write!

'Joy School' is the continuing story of Katie, whom we were introduced to in 'Durable Goods.' Army brat Katie now lives in Missouri with her father and a housekeeper Ginger.

The reader can see how Katie has grown up since her move from Texas and the problems that plague her as a teenager like her classes at school, friends (good and bad) that aren't all true and a crush on an older man. This novel expands more about Katie's life, what she is thinking and how her life has changed since she's moved away from her best friend, Cherylanne. 'Durable Goods' seemed to introduce us to the characters and 'Joy School' expands on them. However, this book can be read on its own without reading the first novel.

I enjoyed this book more than 'Durable Goods.' I feel that Elizabeth Berg was able to tell us more about how Katie was feeling and there were more scene actions than the first book. The author also leaves the ending open so that there could be a continuing story of Katie's family.

As her readers have come to expect, Elizabeth Berg's book, Joy School, is a wonderful sequel and continuation of the story about Katie, whom we first meet in Durable Goods. And while this book can easily stand alone, I do suggest that both books be read.

Joy School now finds Katie once again living with her father but this time on a different army base and in a different part of Texas. Her sister is still off with her boyfriend and instead of her neighbor and confidant Cherylann, Katie now has a housekeeper who becomes her close friend.

Although Katie has found it difficult to find true friends, after an accident she does meet an older man, and he becomes her main interest.

As Katie forms a serious crush on this 25 year old, it's as if all of the bad in her life is somehow being erased and she thinks to herself that "He will be my joy school."

This is a poignant and memorable story of young love which I imagine many readers will identify with from their own first love experiences.

Judging by the praise heaped on by the other reviews, I obviously didn't like this book as much as most people. I read Berg's more recent "Open House" first, and I enjoyed the sunny writing style and humor. For me, however, "Talk" bogged down somewhere in the middle. With the exception of Ruth, who is dying of cancer, most of the women seemed to be sketchily drawn. The narrator, with whom we are meant to empathize, is similarly sketchy. One questions, too, how easily she seems to balance her home life with caring for her dying friend.

Despite the adulation, this book just isn't up to par with "Open House." The subject is compelling, and Ruth is somewhat compelling as a character, but the book is too long and too sketchy to be compelling as a whole.

Truly wonderful short novel about two best friends, one of whom is dying of breast cancer and is near the end of her life when the story begins. This is a look not only at what it's like for the patient, but at how hard it is for someone to watch a loved one leave this world -- and not be able to do ANYTHING to stop it. All the feelings are here -- the guilt, the fear, the frustration, and the sorrow -- and they are so eloquently described that by the end of the book, you will be exhausted. As exhausted as the characters themselves. And this is what made me love this book so much -- it's so sad, it's so hard to read, but when was the last time a book moved me like this?

Berg says in the foreward that this book is actually based on her own experience as a friend watching a friend die from breast cancer and I believe it. Only someone who'd really been through it could make the rest of us feel like we had too. But this book isn't all about death and sorrow -- it's also about how bright someone's light can be, even in the face of extraordinary darkness. This book made me laugh out loud. And then it made me cry myself to sleep. How wonderful is that? Answer: darn wonderful.

Given the subject matter of "Talk Before Sleep" this book could have been a maudlin account of death through breast cancer. However, Elizabeth Berg's prose creates a most insightful tale that touches the very heart strings of the reader. It is witty. It is gritty. It is prolific. It is truthful without too much clinical detail. Mostly, it is loving. The loving friendship of two friends, bound together through thick and thin. A wise story, the book leaves you uplifted even with the inevitable ending. Yes, tears spilled from my eyes, but they were in profound respect for Berg's well written characters, and the exquisite beauty of her words. I was so genuinely moved by this read, I wrote my dearest friend an email emoting how much I loved her. Well done prose affects it's readers, and that, to me, is the crux of good writing. This was very good writing!!!

Elizabeth Berg knows how to write about women -- her clear-eyed insights and respect for her characters make for great reading. She hits every note with her graceful prose and in her latest book, "Never Change," she has created one of her best characters yet in the self-appointed, fifty-one year old Myra Lipinski -- not to mention the fabulous characters surrounding Myra: DeWitt (the cantankerous patient/drug dealer), Murray & Ethel (the ever fueding couple she takes care of), Marvelous (the name says it all), Grace the teenage mom ("sorry for the swears") and of course Frank the dog (who gets to watch The Discovery Channel when Myra goes out). Throw in the most popular guy from high school Chip (who is dying from a brain tumor) and his girlfriend Diann (who is still cheerleader perfect) and you have the makings of a warm, emotionally charged, sometimes witty, and sometimes sad story.

"Never Change" is a book about the importance of connecting with others. It is about a woman who has been lonesome her whole life and is about to realize what it means to open herself up to love and to trust that others care for her well-being. This is a wonderful book -- the perfect gift for a friend, mother, sister, or yourself!

The set up is completely unbelievable - a 51-year old guy with the ridiculous name of Chip, comes home to die and Myra, a girl who had a crush on him in high school, just happens to be his visiting nurse. Big surprise - they fall in love despite his being a dream boat and her a dog.

What saves this from being a maudlin piece is Berg's ability to make her characters real. Even though I didn't believe the plot for a minute, I believed that the characters were real people. Berg's attention to detail is excellent. Her character's voices and observations, and what they say to one another are true. That's why I truly enjoyed this book.

But I won't give Berg a five. Recently I heard a story of hers read aloud. It had all the positive points of this book, but it was sophisticated, funny and deep. I want her to write a book with more depth. She can do it. She has plenty of cash now from the sale of all these sappy books. Come on, Liz. Give us a piece of literature.

Even as a child Myra Lipinsky had no friends and failed to connect with anyone. She sold the tickets to the prom, but no male asked her to go with him. As an adult, she had become a visiting nurse. Her occupation is her only satisfaction as she is content with her solitary status especially since her dog Frank provides her with companionship.

At fifty-one, her high school secret crush Chip Reardon returns into her life when he is dying from an inoperable brain tumor. Chip refuses to accept chemo or radiation that will grant him a few more months to live, but at a dramatically reduced style of life. Chip moves into Myra's home where he teaches her to live and she teaches him to love.

Elizabeth Berg has written a beautiful and poignant love story centering on a person accepting his fate and living what time he has left in life to the fullest. Chip's gift to Myra is helping her to open up to her feelings even as she provides him with the nurturing and the support he needs at the end. NEVER CHANGE is a five-tissue box novel, for the tears that flow not out of sorrow, but out of living. Elizabeth berg has written one of the most dramatic and beautiful books of her career, one that celebrates life to the fullest despite the death sentence hanging over the hero's head.

Harriet Klausner

I've read all of Elizabeth Berg's books to date and found this one to be a disappointment. The characters were thinly drawn, especially the father. The scenes and dialog were just repetitions of each other, dragging out the obvious conclusion. Her previous books made you feel you knew the characters intimately, in particular "Range of Motion" and "Durable Goods"/"Joy School". In this book, you just end up frustrated as everyone tends to let everything "just happen."

Since you know from the beginning of the book that Ginny and Sharla haven't seen their mother in 35 years, Ms. Berg's challenge is to create understanding and empathy in the reader. Unfortunately, she does not pull it off.

WHAT WE KEEP was the story of a woman (Ginny Young ) who is about to meet her mother for the first time after being apart for 35 years. During the flight to California, she remembers the events that lead up to her mother's departure. Ginny was 12 years old when she last sees her mother, and we see the events through Ginny's 12 year old eyes. And although the 12 year old Ginny does not fully understand why things happened the way they did, the reader will note things that the young inexperienced Ginny could not understand. The adult Ginny finally is able to understand, and it takes the reunion with Ginny, older sister Sharla, and their mother Marion to help her realize why her mother left them all those years ago.

This was the first time I read a book by Elizabeth Berg and I was very pleased. I found it to be a fast read. Her descriptions were so vivid that I could imagine the characters as if watching a movie. I also found her characters to be interesting and real. I could relate to them and understand them. I am looking forward to reading more by Elizabeth Berg.

Elizabeth Berg has crafted a book full of contrasts; nostalgic and hard-hitting, beautiful and heartbreaking. The story of two sisters with a miserable and unfulfilled mother, "What We Keep" is a painfully realistic story of love, betrayal, abandonment and, finally, forgiveness. I found this story brought tears to my eyes more than once. Ginny and Sharla are pre-teens when their mother begins to act in a frightening, dispondent manner. Ginny reacts with stormy emotion, while Sharla remains heartbreakingly stoic throughout the ordeal. The pain of these two girls is so clear on every page, even as we recognize and understand their mother's reason for leaving. I found the ending of the book somewhat unsatisfying, only because I wanted to know more about the characters' relationships and experiences. I wish this book had been 100 pages longer!

Reading this book provides a vivid and memorable emotional experience. I highly recommend it for any woman who has ever been close to her sister, or has had a mother with emotional difficulties.

This is the second Elizabeth Berg's books I have read. This one is about divorce ~~ a sudden surprise to Sam, who all of a sudden is caught unawares ~~ though there have been signs of marital discord in her marriage for a while. So Sam decides to gather in boarders so she can keep her big house, and she goes to work for a temp agency ~~ learning different jobs each week. It is a fun book especially for someone who is going through a divorce.

This is a quirky read ~~ of a woman's self-discovery as she deals with the aftermath of her husband's leaving, her best friend and mother trying to fix her up with dates, a new friend she meets, and entering work force for the first time in 20 years ~~ and so forth. It is a light read, easily read in one day, full of laughter and grace. I highly recommend it for a light read if you're in the midst of troubles.

I loved reading this book just as I have loved reading all of Berg's other books (I was especially moved by Talk Before Sleep). Berg creates characters who are loveable and real, but in Open House, I was disappointed by the lack of depth she allowed her heroine and her compatriots. That aside, there are genuinely poignant moments in the novel that capture your heart as well as moments that are so amusing you'll laugh out loud. I was especially appreciative of Berg's easy, straight-forward writing style - I read Open House start to finish in one evening over a cafe latte. In a complex world, it's a complete delight to have the opportunity to drop into someone else's world for an evening and then leave it feeling satiated. I would highly recommend Open House as a "feel good" read.

PS. I'll never think of Martha Stewart in the same way ever again! Thank you Elizabeth Berg.

What do you do when your husband decides he doesn't want you anymore? You start to analyze EVERYthing -- especially yourself. That's what Samantha does -- as she agonizes her way to a new life. This is a fun book. And the characters are a hoot. Omigosh, this lady can write! The dialogue is so natural and realistic, I found myself reading it out loud, and it always rang true. It only took a few hours to read, and I must say it gave me a lot of laughs. (It's not a farce, by any means. It's really quite gentle and warm.) There were several real surprises in the book, too -- not plot twists, but weird characters popping up or really odd job situations or just a smack-on-the-button remark. Here's one that hit me for some reason: She's trying to help her son with his math homework, which reminds her of how she didn't understand geometry in high school, and she remembers taking her midterm: "I passed the time by drawing designs for evening gowns on the back of the exam; everything on the front of the page only annoyed me." I don't know what it is, but it has that magical something. My advice: Join me in looking up every book she's written, because this is worth our time! .

Elizabeth I has had many biographers good, bad and nasty. Susan Bassnett has provided a path through a maze of publications with her clear and calm approach that both refutes the many myths about Elizabeth Tudor and prompts the reader to take her consideration and reading much further.

Bassnett's conclusions of the Mary Queen of Scots relationship are lucid and sympathetic and demonstrate how Elizabeth felt her own position as a female monarch was threatened by Mary Stuart's disatrous attempt to balance rule and personal feelings. The interpretation of Elizabeth's virginity - akin to the holy order of a Renaissance nun - was highly convincing and illuminating. The Essex relationship was the best treatment I've read of it.

This book should lead readers back to the most accessible collection of Elizabeth I's letters by G. B. Harrison. I would have given this valuable book a greater star rating if it had been longer, but would recommend it to anyone facing the pile of books on this subject for the first time.