Synopses & Reviews
It is 1961, and 13-year-old Katie is facing a summer full of conflict. First, instead of letting her find her own work for the season, Katie's father has arranged for two less-than-ideal babysitting jobs -- one for the rambunctious Wexler boys and another for Mrs. Randolph, a kind but elderly, bed-ridden neighbor. To make matters worse, Katie has been forcibly inducted into the "loser" Girl Scout troop organized by her only friend Cynthia's controlling and clueless mother. A much-anticipated visit to her former home in Texas and ex-best friend Cherylanne proves disappointing.
Then comes an act of betrayal that leaves Katie questioning her views on friendship, her ability not to take those she loves for granted, and, most importantly, herself. "One thing to say about you, Katie, is that you are true. You should be proud of it, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise," Cherylanne insists. But whether or not Katie will ever feel true to herself remains to be seen.
From the writer whose work the New Yorker calls "strong" and "timeless," True to Form is a delicately-told tale of a young girl wise beyond her years whose growing pains finally awaken her to the clarity of forgiveness and a greater understanding of the complicated world around her. Full of the anguish and joys of adolescence in an innocent time, True to Form will cause listeners to remember and reflect on their own moments of discovery and self-definition.
Synopsis
After the death of her mother two years ago, Katie moved to Missouri. Now fourteen years old, she lives with her taciturn father and his new wife, who means well but cannot mend the tear in Katie's heart. Lonely, the "smart" kid at school who likes to read and write poetry, Katie forges alliances where she can: with a fellow misfit named Cynthia, with the gentle old couple down the road, and with the three little boys she babysits. When Katie tries to move up in her social world, she ends up losing her best friend Cynthia and learns some very hard lessons about herself in the process. Meanwhile, her ties to the Texas town where she grew up are fraying; when she goes back for a much-anticipated visit, she discovers that she has grown away from everything that once defined her.
In Elizabeth Berg's hands, Katie comes to life on the page with great depth and complexity. True to Form is a superbly engaging novel that resonates with the myriad uncertainties and assorted epiphanies of real life; it will make readers remember their own moments of discovery.
About the Author
Elizabeth Berg is the author of New York Times bestsellers Never Change and Open House, which was an Oprah's Book Club selection in 2000. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as American Library Association Best Books of the Year, and Talk Before Sleep was shortlisted for the ABBY award ill 1996. The winner of the 1997 New England Booksellers Award for her body of work, she is also the author of the national bestselling novels The Pull of the Moon, What We Keep, Range of Motion, and Until the Real Thing Comes Along, as well as a nonfiction work, Escaping in the Open: The Art of Writing True. A former nurse, she lives in Chicago.