Joy School

Rating:
Summary: New school, new friends, First crush.....
Review: JOY SCHOOL is about 13 year old Katie who is adjusting to a new town, a new school, and trying to make new friends at that awkward time of life when everyone your age is trying to fit in and be one of the "in crowd". Katie misses her best friend Cherylanne, who sends katie letters from time to time, explaining how she is too busy to write because of social commitments such as the prom, boyfriends and school. While Cherylanne is the popular girl in school, Katie is trying to get noticed and is desperate to make just ONE friend.

Katie manages to latch on to a few misfits. Cynthia is another misfit who lives with a mother who is obsessive and a grandmother who is a little off the deep end and only speaks in Italian. Katie doesnt' really like cynthia too much, but finds the grandmother a hoot.

Another new friend of Katie's is an up and coming model named Taylor whose hobby is shoplifting. Taylor sets katie up on a date, which turns out to be a disaster.

Katie also experiences her first crush on another new found friend, Jimmy. Jimmy works for the local gas station and is 23 years old. Although he's married, Katie imagines herself dating him and they soon develop a close friendship.

Life couldn't be more complicated, until katie finds out her housekeeper is in love with her father! what more could go wrong?

I enjoyed Joy School. Elizabeth Berg is becoming one of my favorite writers. Her characters are always people you wouldn't mind meeting,and you find yourself caring about them. I thought the book was too short, and wouldn't mind reading a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: WORD UP!! Subtle sequel to Durable Goods
Review: First of all, the marketing of this book made a serious error. The cover of the book does not reflect the fact that this is the sequel to _Durable Goods_. I read _Durable Goods_ many months ago and I bought this book much later. After reading _Joy School_ I still did not make the connection that this was the sequel. Tonight, I read comments of other readers in preparation for writing a reader's review. I discovered to my dismay that I missed a very important fact that this indeed was the sequel! I then closely examined the book and the editorial comments, but no where was a reference to _Joy School_ being the sequel to _Durable Goods._ I felt cheated, as I would have pulled out _Durable Goods_ and reviewed it quickly so as to make the _Joy School_ a more pleasurable experience.

However, I must admit that the book stood well enough on it's own.

It is a subtle coming of age story of a young preteen faced with a disfunctional family life and the uncertainty of being constantly relocated due to her father being in the service. She falls in love with a man too old for her and is challenged by some neighborhood bullies that leave disgustingly rude notes in the bushes in front of her bedroom. Like a ship trying to find a port in a storm, she is challenged by the friends she meets and heart broken by the problems her family faces.

Hopefully, other readers will catch on quicker than I did and make the connection between the two books.

Rating:
Summary: FEED THE NEED
Review: A mouth-watering taste of young, untainted love, so sensational and perfect, and veiled, bitter flaws make the story remarkable and worth reading. Elizabeth Berg‘s, Joy School, tells a story about Katie, a young girl who has just been introduced to her wonderfully new, unfair world of love. Ever since Katie’s mother’s death, she has been bashed around by complications of adjustments, both internally and externally. Now relocated in Missouri, she has forced herself to see the glass half full even though her journey to finding new companions is seemingly fruitless. Though saddened by her futile search for friendships, she has managed to find goodness in two comical characters, nauseatingly talented Cynthia and defiantly gorgeous Taylor. But the most notable friend she has made is Jimmy, her 23 year old crush, who has all the qualities she ever wanted in a man. In return for her perpetual love, he heaves a truck load of negative responses at Katie and she is blown away. Though this has scarred her for life, she finds strength in herself to convert this confusion and frustration to a learning experience where she must grow and move on. Berg reaches out to those emotional individuals and makes them feel Katie’s splintered heart. Joy School’s tale of innocent first love is poignant and unforgettable. The only disappointment the reader will experience is the shortness of the novel. They will implore Berg for more magnificent and heartfelt stories of Katie. Berg must feed the need.

Rating:
Summary: Joy School gets a C
Review: This follow up to "Durable Goods" was underdeveloped. Why was the father abusive? What's up with Katie's runaway sister? There are many angles to Katie which could be further chronicled. It's a good surface read but so much is yet to be uncovered.

Rating:
Summary: Readable but forgettable
Review: The characters were quite 1-dimensional, I didn't get involved with them and to be honest I didn't really care when Katie's heart was broken. Perhaps the story has been over-done, but I found nothing new and challenging in this book. I haven't read the first book and I don't think I am going to. It is not offensive but not powerful either.

Rating:
Summary: ah, first love!
Review: I borrowed this book and it was only when I got it home that I discovered that it was a sequel to "Durable Goods". I decided to read it anyway, and I'm glad I did.

12 year old Katie lives with her imposing father and is uprooted to a new town and school. She is desperately trying to fit in but finds it awfully lonely, until she meets Cynthia, and then another new girl, Taylor sort of 'adopts' her as a friend. But both have their odd values or family life.

Then Katie meets Jimmy and he befriends her, listens to her, and she hears him. It's what Katie needs and she begins to fall in love him, knowing that he's 10 years older, married and has a child. She wants to promise him the world, share his dreams, be his everything.

Unfortunately for Katie, as the story unfolds, Jimmy is hopelessly in love with his wife, would do anything for her and that involves moving away, to be closer to her family. The scene when Jimmy and Katie meet for the last time is very sweet and will stay vivid in my mind for a long time to come. We need more Jimmy's in this world!!!

Rating:
Summary: It Felt Like 1973 All Over Again
Review: Joy School is the best book that I have read this year. I totally understood every emotion that Katie went through, although back in 1973 I thought I was all alone. Nona is the funniest character in the book. The use of her words: "What are you gonna do, complain-a-city hall?" at the end of the book was perfect! I am now midway through Elizabeth Berg's Range of Motion and love it too. I plan to read the rest of her novels as well, and recommend this author very highly.

Rating:
Summary: Memorable
Review: Elizabeth Berg has perfectly captured the feeling of being an adolescent girl in this sweet novel. We all know Cherylanne; the best friend who is both exasperatingly concieted and loveable. We have all had Ms. Sweet; the humourously agressive gym teacher.

This novel made me laugh out loud more than once. Nearly every page has one of Katie's memorable wryly-worded observations on life. Whether she is commenting on an annoying teacher, her new "boyfriend" or her physically abusive father, the voice of Katie is illuminating and unforgetable. Reading this book is a purely enjoyable experience.

Rating:
Summary: A joy to read!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: JOY SCHOOL>>>> A JOY IT IS
Review: This book is soooo good. I am 13 too and can relate to Katie so much while reading. You have to read it.... it is worth it. As said in another review,,, you will definately miss Katie as soon as your finished this book... I LOVED IT AND IF ANYONE HERE KNOWS WHERE TO WRITE TOO THE AUTHOR... ELIZABETH BERG... THEN PLEASE E-MAIL ME ([e-mail])