Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book entails the life of a divorced woman raising her own son. Living the laugh of luxury, the woman triumphs over bouts of depression through perseverance and determination.
Rating: 
Summary: Unrealistic parts marred an otherwise decent book
Review: Maybe I was too fresh from reading Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) getting by in America", but the employment choices of Samantha made this book too unrealistic for me to take seriously.Sam's husband David, who is from a very wealthy family, stops trying to communicate with Sam and leaves her for another woman. Understandably, Sam is heartbroken and lonely. One of her first acts is to go out and spend ridiculous amounts of money at Bloomingdale's and Tiffany, and then give some of her purchases away to a homeless woman, disregarding the fact that they woman would have preferred to get 1/10 of the amount of cash Sam had spent, instead of the extravagent bracelet. After the spending spree, David cuts Sam off from the checking account. We are not treated to the details of the financial arrangements they make, but Sam decides she wants to keep the house and take in roommates and get a job. The roommates are the "Open House" and there is some good and some bad from those people. The jobs, though, are highly unrealistic for someone wanting to keep her expensive home. These are jobs like laundry attendant, telemarketer (sitting on metal folding chairs!) and other minimum wage jobs- all gotten through a temporary agency. A few phone calls would have taught the author that the agencies pay about $7/hour- hardly enough to pay for Sam's lovely house. Oh well- if you can overlook that, you might enjoy the novel. Sam dates a loser or two, while being involved in a lovely friendship with another temp agency collegue. He is a sweet man and I found myself becoming his advocate. Travis, Sam and David's son, pops in and out of the novel and deals with the adolescent confusion of his age, and of a child whose parents are divorcing. Sam undergoes a goodly amount of personal growth while making new friends from some of her housemates, and David undergoes very little. I'd recommend this for fans of Elizabeth Berg, for women wishing for some personal growth of their own, or for anyone wishing to fill a few hours with some fairly light reading.
Rating:
Summary: A few hours' good read
Review: I had read two of Elizabeth Berg's earlier books and enjoyed them. This one is also enjoyable but very light and a very quick read; I finished it off on a Sunday evening in about 3 hours. I am not for sure why Oprah had chosen this book as one of her club selections as opposed to perhaps "Open Range" a much more complex but just as enjoyable read. The subject of this book is divorce and its affects on the woman left behind and her son. The main character, Samantha, is well written and generates your sympathy. Her son is also well written having the proper amount of angst exhibited for an 11-year-old without being a caricature. However, there are secondary characters that are not quite as fleshed out as they should be; for example, I could never get a real grasp on either Samantha's mother nor her best friend. I would recommend this book as pleasant rainy day reading but not for any in-depth study.
Rating: 
Summary: Open House
Review: Open House, one of the best books I have read all year. Elizabeth Berg--this was the first of now many books that I have now read. Great story from beginning to end. True to life. The author kept the story short and sweet. I have been through a divorce and this story rang so true. I highly recommend reading this book. You wont want to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Not a lit masterpiece, but worth a read
Review: The main character has to learn HOW to pick herself up after being kicked in the teeth. She has to learn how to adjust her ideas about what is a good life. She has to let go of the idea that everything will be the way she wanted it. This is an entertaining book. The ending is rushed--a common problem in books these days. But overall, it was enjoyable. I liked that the protagonist learned she was made of more stern stuff than what she thought. That's an important lesson for us all.
Rating:
Summary: *Entertaining*
Review: This book was a joy to read. It wasn't taxing on the intellect, but had some great insights. I laughed out loud on numerous occasions. I think the title of the book could have been more alluring, like "Martha Stuart, Not!" or something humorous. It could be argued that the secondary characters are a bit stereotypical and the storyline somewhat predictable, but, hey, I was sorry when the novel came to an end. I'd recommend it as a pick-you-up if you're feeling under the weather.--Sophie Simonet, ACT OF LOVE, a romantic suspense novel (Fictionwise)
Rating:
Summary: Probably 3 and a half, actually.
Review: I really did enjoy this book - it was very readable and fast paced. I cared about the key characters. Alot of what happens in the book felt true to life, and I particularly enjoyed the relationships between Sam and her son, and Sam and her mother. I also thought that Berg used her secondary characters, the people who roomed at Samantha's, quite well. The evolution of the characters was good. The plot was engaging, overall. Based on my rating system, I should probably give it four stars, as I imagine I will never give it away - I could see myself reading at least some parts of it. Some of the imagery is quite stunning. So why not a full five stars? I've struggled with that; I read this book ages ago and I've avoided reviewing it because I've been torn. The problem is that although the book was good, it wasn't particularly great. In the first three or four chapters, it seems like Berg is going to really let Samantha struggle, and we're going to get to see some of the real pain a person can feel as they rebuild from a separation. The problem is she never quite goes far enough; the emotional depth isn't quite there. Everything seems to be wrapped up too quickly and easily. I wanted to get a better understanding of who David was, and why the marriage broke up (to be fair to Berg, she does write some effective flashbacks, and this really is Sam's story, not Sam and David's story). And I wanted to like the character of King more. He was just goofy to me. In short, if you want a book that's well written and a fast read, you'll like this book. If you're looking for something with really deep insights into how a woman recovers from her husband suddenly walking out, this book doesn't quite live up to it's potential. Enjoy it for a light summer read
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book so far
Review: Loved, loved, loved this book! The characters were so real that I could totally relate to them. I really did not want to put the book down. I didn't even want the book to end! I was so sad to finish the book. But now I want to read all of Elizabeth Berg's books because this one was written so well. Get this book!
Rating:
Summary: Touching and Hopeful
Review: I enjoyed this book and thought it did a good job in portraying the jumbled feelings of divorce. I'm the author of a book for mothers, NEW PSALMS FOR NEW MOMS: A KEEPSAKE JOURNAL, and I appreciate the feelings Sam has for her young son. It's both poignant and humorous, and you'll really care about these people.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner from Berg!
Review: Whatever my mood, I am always ready to read a bit of Berg. I like the way her words taste, the texture, the sweetness...She is like a chocolate chip cookie. "Open House" is a book about surviving, even when your world is falling apart. It is about going on when you don't want to. It is about how the unexpected can come into your life and be so darn sweeeet! Sam's jerk of a husband wants to split, get a divorce, shack up with some other woman. 'Why? What did I do? I'll fix better dinners. I'll lose a few pounds. I'll change.' Sam pleads. Then in the next breath Sam is screaming... 'I haaaate you. I haaate you soooo bad.' Sam proceeds to spend mega bucks at Tiffiny's. After all HE deserves a little something, a little pain, a lot of pain. 'Yes, I'll take the china for eight. Ofcourse throw in the diamond braclet too. Oh hell, what else do you have?' But this doesn't make Sam feel much better. Maybe killing him would. Then he could feel what Sam was feeling. SICK. SICK. SICK. BUT>>>>>>>> Many times great pain carves us into better people, more open people. Her jerk of a husband opened Sam's entire being until she blossomed and even found somebody quite unusual. (I love that part)! but I shall not tell you. Read Berg instead of having a chocolate chip cookie...Or have both...If you can stand it!
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