Durable Goods - Katie Nash, Bk 1 Author:Elizabeth Berg In the sweltering heat of a Southwestern summer, on a small army base in rural Texas, Katie waits impatiently for her life to change. Though battered by the recent death of her mother, her spirit remains miraculously stong. She is filled with longings: for a boy to fall in love with her the way Dickie Mac has fallen for her sister; for her fathe... more »r to stop hitting her; for her life to become less uncertain. And she knows that day is coming soon.« less
This was a quick read and not a very good one. The characters are not well developed and you never really find out why certain characters are the way they are. I don't care for books that leave you guessiing at the end as this one did.
A very quirky and quick read about the life of a 12 year old who is going through a rough time in her life and how she deals with it. Well written, I will definitely pick up another Berg novel.
I read this in eighth grade and I have to admit to not remembering very much about it. However, what I do remember is that it is extremely subtle; while the subject matter is domestic abuse, there is very little action of that kind in the text.
I absolutely LOVED this book because I could relate to Katie in so many ways and her sister reminded me a lot of my own big sister. I read this book start to finish in about 2 hours.
Elizabeth Berg is wonderful with this super novel. This is a read you will take with you long after you are finished. I found i could'nt put the book down to fold laundry. I just wanted to stay in the place Ms. Berg had created in this novel. I loved the setting in rural Texas and everyone in the book except the father, who was very abusive to Katie as she grew up. Katie who just knew that there would come a day when her father would not be able to hit her, was creeping into my heart and i loved her so. I would read again.
A far too short story about a 12 yr old girl who has lost her mom to cancer and lives w/ her abusive father. Katie is a wonderful character, so up and hopeful, considering her circumstances. I wish this book had gone on and on.
Got this book through paperbackswap.com after it was on someone's list of books to read. Short book--I started it one day and finished the next. Some critical Amazon reviews noted that there's really no plot to the book. That's true and if you're a hard core action fan, this book likely would disappoint. I gravitate towards mysteries. Yet, when I finished this book, I felt like I wanted to know how Katie's life turned out. Then I discovered that this book was the first in a series of three about Katie, the protagonist. I requested Book 2 ("Joy School") from the local library--started it yesterday and finished today (2/29/2020).
I was bothered by the mother's (deceased but references made to her in Katie's musings) blind eye/excuses for the dad's abusive behavior toward his daughters. Of course, this book--based on descriptions of hairstyles, clothing, music, etc.--is set in the 50s or 60s when domestic violence was swept under the rug.
Renee H. (oinkee) reviewed Durable Goods (Katie Nash, Bk 1) on
I love reading books written by Elizabeth Berg...I especially love the books about Katie. It is so easy to "be there" with her and understand what she is going through. This is an excellent read.
This is the story of one year in the life of 12 year old Katie whose mother has died of cancer, father is in the military and Diana, her 18 year old sister spends all of her time with Dickie, the love of her life. Both Katie and Diana walk on egg shells at home because dad becomes physically violent when he is angered. The story is told from Katie's perceptions. When the book was over, I really wanted to know what happened to Katie after the end of the story.
