Rating: 
Summary: A Refreshing "Change"
Review: I've read most of Berg's books, and although I typically find them to be a bit treacly, "Never Change" really struck me (although it is somewhat cloying and definitely predictable). The descriptions of Myra's lonely life were especially poignant; Berg has made her an extremely sympathetic character, one you are really rooting for. The way the book deals with death was also compelling; maybe it was because I had just been to a funeral the day before, but it really got me thinking about my inevitable demise and the deaths of loved ones. This is not a morbid tale at all, but a bittersweet one.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Berg
Review: I became a true blue Elizabeth Berg fan after reading the truly extraordinary "Pull of the Moon". Since then, after reading backwards and forwards through her body of work, I have liked, loved and have been disappointed by books she has written. Her last (Open House) had me wondering from time to time where my Elizabeth Berg had gone. I was worried that perhaps she had joined the school of writing by word processor that so many "popular" novelists seem to subscribe to (insert intriguing plot device here). But then along comes this one and my socks are knocked off once again. If you even sort of like her, you've got to read this book. If you've never read her, this is a fine place to start (you can skip Open House and a couple others, but by all means go back to Pull and Talk before Sleep, Durable Goods and Joy School) I couldn't put Never Change down. Now I feel like a bereft 12 year old waiting for the next Harry Potter to emerge. No hurry, though, Elizabeth. I'll be here whenever it gets here.
Rating:
Summary: A dream fulfilled........
Review: Elizabeth Berg's "Never Change" is a Fairy Tale; a story about what happens when we dare to dream and the remarkable circumstances that occur when our dreams can and do come true. The very first lines of the novel ache with longing and dreams unfulfilled: "You know people like me. I'm the one who sat on a chair out in the hall with a cigar box on my lap, selling tickets to the prom but never going....But I would have happily gone...happily put on the wrist corsage. I wanted an hour to allow for the application of all my new Maybelline, suffer the flash bulbs of my parents' eager camera..... I didn't get asked. I never once got asked. Not to proms, not to lesser dances, not to movies, not to paties, not for shopping with the girls." The narrator is a traveling nurse, Myra Lypinski. And whether or not we know a traveling nurse we all have known or now know a Myra Lypinski. It's good old Myra always there with the food or a smile or a shoulder to cry on or to listen to our problems. But author Elizabeth Berg has a different fate in mind for Myra. One that makes Myra happy if only for a short while. There are shades of "Marty" and shades of many of Anne Tyler's characters in Myra. In fact Myra suggest an Anne Tyler novel to one of her patients. Her patient responds..."but the characters are so weird," which gives Myra a chuckle and we chuckle also. The end of the novel falls apart I think due to a hurried ending. But there is so much beautiful, haunting prose to be had in "Never Change" that you won't care much. "Never Change" is about the dream you dare to dream and never hope to fulfill. But sometimes life will throw you a curve and you will get what you ask for and it will be good.
Rating:
Summary: Love Stays the Same
Review: "Never Change" is a novel that will invariably stay with one for a long time. It is the story of Myra Lipinsky, a fifty-one year old nurse, who divides time between rambunctious patients and her devoted dog, Frank. There is not much to Myra's life until one day she receives a call from her agency to take on a new patient, that of Chip Reardon - the once popular high school football star in which Myra, like every other girl, had an enormous crush. But the sad truth of the matter is that Chip is dying from an inoperable brain tumor and it is up to Myra to tend to his final days.If you liked "Back When We Were Grownups" by Anne Tyler, you will most definitely like "Never Change." Both novels encourage making up for lost time, resurrecting a love that once was buried. But "Never Change" does go one step furthur in its portrayal of old desires made new. "Never Change" asks the question of how much one might sacrifice to keep that intoxicating feeling of first love. How far might Myra go to sustain her passions for Chip? As written in another review, I do not bestow perfect scores. I have the belief that there should always be some margin of error, whether that is in the tone, style, or plot of the story. But for "Never Change," I give it a 4.95. Nearly perfect in its entirety with its range of hilarity in Myra's very colorful patients to the poignancy in Myra's unwavering devotion to Chip. Elizabeth Berg is now one of my favorite authors.
Rating:
Summary: Something Real and Wonderful
Review: I had never read Berg before, but a friend recommended this book because I also am a home health nurse and 52. I think Ms. Berg must have been reading my diaries or a fly on the wall. This is nearly my life story! And yes, do not doubt her characters are real. I'll allow her some poetic license for taking off mid-day to spend a day at the beach with her patient, for breaking all ethical codes by falling in love with him and having him move into her home (her agency must be pretty lenient--I wasn't allowed to sit by my patient's bedside in the hospital). But this is a novel, not a treatise on the politics of home health. The ending is the most poignant since "One True Thing" and she ranks up there with Anne Tyler and Anna Quindlen for character development. I'll be reading lots more of her work. Don't miss the ending, quite beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Left me hungry for more
Review: Overall, Never Change is a delightful read. It is definitely a "read in one sitting" novel. The story of Myra, the lonely independent nurse and her connection with Chip, the dying heart-throb from highschool is touching and real. I was immediatly drawn in to the character of Myra and found myself wishing I knew her. My empathy and concern for Chip was a little harder to come by. I felf cheated in that I Berg didn't let us get to know him better, and Diann I found to be too much like a cliche' of the "pretty girl." However, the relationship between Myra, her patients, and even her dog were what made the novel so hard to put down. I thought it had such a great story-line, that I was left wishing Berg had elaborated on it.
Rating: 
Summary: never change
Review: I have read all of Elizabeth Berg's books and enjoyed them. However, this one depressed me. The character of Myra was pathetic! She had an education and wonderful career. It was made clear that Myra had chosen a single life by keeping men at bay. Yet the book focused on her age, looks and an unhealthy love for a dying man she knew from high school. Having Myra consider and plan a co-suicide with this cancer victim was disturbing, sending a message that a woman needs a man in order to survive. Ms. Berg, this is 2001. What happened to your positive female role models? The women survivors who do their grieving and then take control? I am so disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great, hard htting novel.
Review: What would you do if you knew your life would end soon due to illness? What treatment would you choose, if any? And what would you do with the rest of your life? Chip Reardon is faced with this decision. Myra Lipinski is fifty-one and never married. She considers herself to be homely and doesn't really have friends. She is a visiting nurse. Her patients are fascinating characters, and she enjoys her job. Then, one day, she gets a new patient--Chip Reardon, her old high school crush. Chip has a brain tumor and has come home to live with his parents. He has chosen to take no treatment. His mother has a great deal of difficulty with his choice. Myra is dealing with many conflicting emotions. It's hard, of course, to watch this man die... but she has him somewhat to herself now... until Diann, his old high school girlfriend, comes to visit. For a brief, uncomfortable time, all three of them live together in Myra's apartment (Chip has chosen to leave his parents' home). But soon Diann leaves--she can't stand to watch Chip's degeneration. And not long after, Chip has to make the hardest decision of all.... This is a very difficult novel. Elizabeth Berg takes a difficult subject and writes with directness, honesty, and even humor. She gifts us with a story of rare beauty capable of making us smile through the tears.
Rating:
Summary: A treasure!
Review: Myra will win your heart! She's a 51-year woman, who is perfectly content with her golden retriever as her soulmate and her job as a visiting nurse. Life is simple and routine, but not without pleasure and joy, which she derives from little things that many people take for granted. She was the quiet, "geeky" outcast in high school who had a secret crush on the star football player, who, it turns out, is her newest patient........because he's dying! How extraordinary that after all these years, they would be brought together under such circumstances, and certainly things are quite different between them now! Chip, the former "stud", is vulnerable and needy, while Myra, the unaffected "plain Jane" is his lifeline. This story about dying is also about a re-birth, in many ways. Once again, Elizabeth Berg delivers a fully satisfying story about people next door, whom you wish you knew and you genuinely care about!
Rating:
Summary: Never Better!
Review: Once again as with all Berg's books I started this and couldn't stop till the end. A poignant story of Myra a 51 yr old spinster who thinks her life has no meaning. She is a home health aide who finds herself in the posistion of caring for a man she had a crush on in high-school. Through the short time they get to spend together Myra finds out who she really is and that she does have a purpose in life. This book will make you smile, laugh and cry which is why I enjoy all of Berg's books. They tug at your heart and make you think. Read and enjoy!
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