A review by happy_hiker
Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg

2.0

I picked up this short novel (~200 pages, large font, very large margins, > single spacing) on the sale shelf at the library and started reading with no idea what to expect. What I got was a nicely written, but somewhat disappointing story of 12-year-old Katie's life with her abusive father, older sister, and bit older best friend/neighbor. There were some parts of of the writing that were wonderfully descriptive and evoked memories of my own youth, and the book started out on a strong note for me, but overall the story was unfinished, and given its brevity, the characters were not wholly developed. I now realize that this is the first of a series, which actually makes me feel a little bit manipulated -there could have been more substance to this book had it and its sequel(s) been written and sold as one book. I am not sure if I will read the next, even though based on reviews it seems to be better than this one. 2.5 stars. This book is going down the street to the neighborhood Little Free Library.