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Rating: 
Summary: Mothers and Daughters..
Review: are so special. This book has everything in it to satisfy the literary soul. Childhood romance, heartache, sisters relationships, fathers and daughters, friendships and more. I love books where things aren't what they seem and also has important life lessons. This is my first Berg book, and I look forward to more!
Rating: 
Summary: Another good vacation read
Review: Found this book from a used book cart for $1 while on vacation. It looked like a great vacation book and it didn't disappoint. I was really drawn into the story and could not put it down!
The only major complaint I have is that the information revealed about the father at the end of the story was totally *not* believable based on his character as developed throughout the story. It was totally from left field and felt like it was thown into the story simply for effect.
That aside, this was the first book by this author and I'm looking forward to reading some of her other works.
Rating:
Summary: Grabs you with her characters
Review: I don't know how Elizabeth Berg does it but she has such a wonderful way of making you really her characters that you don't want to put her books down, because you care about the people in them. Having read several of her others books (Open House,Durable Goods...) I find her ability to take a simple story and make it a compelling study about everyday people who have problems unlike our own. In this book she examines through the eyes of two sisters the effect thier mother leaving has on them, and on the mother's side how she sets aside her children to "find" herself, in so doing she "loses" them. The only reason I did not rate this a 5 star is I feel it was wrapped up a little too quickly in the end. I think for the scope of pain these gals had experienced at thier mothers abandonment they would not have ended up laughing on the floor together so quickly.
Rating:
Summary: Breaking free of cages
Review: I found the most interesting relationship in this book was between the two sisters, Ginny and Sharla. The story details their struggle with their mother but their true touchstone in life and anchor is each other.
I also related to the mother's, Marion, struggle. The call of breaking free of whatever cages we surround ourselves with is tempting but the price paid once the cage is escaped can be very very high. In this case, Marion had no access to the key to climb back in a newly expanded cage and was left on the outside looking in.
"And I did not want to understand my mother. If I understood her, I might have to forgive her. And at some critical time I became very much invested in not forgiving her-we all did. It became an underpinning in our reduced family, a need, even; just as there seems to be a terrible need for family feuds to continue. In a way, it is as if your refusal to forgive is too much a part of you for you to lose it. Who would you be without it? Not yourself. Lost, somehow. Thinkk of how people tend to pick the same chair to sit in over and over again. We are always trying to make sure we know where we are. Though we may long for adventure, we also cherish the familiar. We just do."
Rating:
Summary: If you're a mother or a daughter - this is a must!!
Review: I read this in one Sunday, which I hated to do becuase then it was over! I took many breaks from about half way through to the end because I was so moved I was sobbing...big loud sobs - so glad nobody was home that day. I'm a mother of two daughters and I grew up in the late 50's with a younger sister. I related to so much of the time period that the nostalgia had me calling my sister four or five times. I felt the pain of the girls and the pain of the mother's dilemna. I love everything Elizabeth Berg has ever written, but I have to say this is my favorite - right up there with Never Change - another beautiful tear-jerker. This book spoke to me! FANTASTIC...the problem now -what on earth can I read that doesn't pale after Elizabeth Berg?
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of Berg's best
Review: I've read many of Elizabeth Berg's books and have found that while some are wonderful, others are merely okay. WHAT WE KEEP unfortunately fell into the latter category. The main character is Ginny, a middle-aged woman who is flying out to California to meet the mother she has not seen in 35 years. Although Ginny had written off the relationship with her mother long ago, she made this trip at the request of her older sister, Sharla, who may or may not have cancer. As Ginny flies across the country, she recollects her childhood, reviweing the events that led to her and her sister's estrangement from their mother.The majority of this novel is told in flashbacks. Although Ginny and Sharla's anger towards their mother was understandable, the resulting 35-year estrangement seemed to be an extreme reaction. Furthermore, once the novel returns to the present day, the reunion between Ginny and Sharla with their mother happens too quickly and too easily. Although the story was engaging at times, ultimately, I did not find it to be believable, and I was disappointed in the end.
Rating:
Summary: This one is my favorite!
Review: I've read nearly all of EB's books and i found this one to be my favorite so far. I felt like I was living in the house with Sharla and Ginny and could picture Marion and Georgia so clearly. The end of the book kind of left me hanging...but i truly enjoyed every page!
Rating:
Summary: It Makes You Smile.
Review: If you've ever experienced fond memories of your childhood and disturbing ones, as well, you will definitely appreciate this book. Elizabeth Berg wrote this with profound imagination and a wealth of heart and love. Ginny and Sharla are wonderful as young girls, and they are equally as amazing as adults. The depth of their anger and mistrust to the depth of their forgiveness is a learning experience for these characters, even for the reader. Find a shade tree on a warm fall day. Make sure the breeze is just right, and don't forget that sun tea. Because while you read, you will get mad, smile, and laugh. Most of all you will understand. Enjoy. Joy.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a keeper
Review: Let me preface this by saying I really like Berg's style. I had the opportunity to hear her reading in Ft. Myers, Florida, and she has a lovely lulling voice and a truly soft and soothing aura. As to "What We Keep," I enjoyed the book, and probably would have enjoyed it even more if I could relate to 50s America, but being as I grew up mainly in England at a later time, I can't.
I felt that a family secret hinted at in earlier parts of the novel but not revealed until late in the text was not satisfactorily addressed by the three women. What did they actually feel about it? It should have had more impact. For 35 years, the two sisters harbor resentment toward their mother based in part on false assumptions. Now they are finally reunited and a slightly different spin is put on past events. Yet, before we know it, the protag is back on the plane and, after a lifetime of being misinformed and angry, seems all of a sudden very accepting of the actual situation.--Sophie Simonet, author of "Act of Love," Romantic Suspense (Fictionwise)
Rating:
Summary: This one is my favorite!
Review: This book moves quickly, lets you read a few pages at a time or the entire book in one or two sittings. I love Berg's masterful use of the English language, the depth of her characters, and also the tempo of how the story plays out. While the theme is similar to that of Secret Life of Bees, this novel is superior by far. A delightful book.
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