Barbara M. reviewed on + 152 more book reviews
This is the sixth Elizabeth Berg book I've read (others are Durable Goods, Joy School, True to Form, Range of Motion, and Talk Before Sleep). I liked the first three (main character is Katie, a teen). Never Change, like Talk Before Sleep, has a rather unlikeable central character. In Never Change, Myra, the protagonist, is a home health RN in her early 50s. She loves her job and over the years has bought a house and a nice car. In spite of her success, she has serious self-esteem issues (although there doesn't seem to be much of a basis for that other than her parents weren't real affectionate).
She didn't appear to have any friends of siblings (don't recall if the book stated she was an only child or if it was a logical conclusion because Myra never mentioned siblings). Myra also considered herself to be unattractive although I don't recall the author ever really describing Myra.
Anyway, one of Myra's new clients is a former high school classmate of hers--Chip, who had been a good looking star athlete in high school. Myra apparently had a crush on him. Even though it's now 30+ years later, Myra is like a smitten teenager at the prospect of seeing Chip. I found that hard to believe. I graduated from high school decades ago and if I ran into my high school crush 30+ years later, I wouldn't be tongue-tied, nervous, etc.
Diann had been Chip's girlfriend in high school (and, of course, she was a cheerleader). She and Chip had split years earlier although they still stayed in touch periodically.
Of the three central characters--Myra, Chip, and Diann--I liked Diann, disliked Myra, and was ambivalent about Chip.
Some of the Amazon reviewers who worked in health care noted that Myra broke many boundaries during her home visits. I don't work in health care but I also thought some things (i.e., bringing her dog into her patients' homes; bringing Chip along occasionally) were inappropriate and likely could result in disciplinary action. Myra loved her job and thought she was good at it so it's astounding that she would so easily ignore some pretty clear boundaries.
If we could give half stars, I would have rated this book 2.5 stars. Not sure I'll continue to read Elizabeth Berg since this is now "strike three."
She didn't appear to have any friends of siblings (don't recall if the book stated she was an only child or if it was a logical conclusion because Myra never mentioned siblings). Myra also considered herself to be unattractive although I don't recall the author ever really describing Myra.
Anyway, one of Myra's new clients is a former high school classmate of hers--Chip, who had been a good looking star athlete in high school. Myra apparently had a crush on him. Even though it's now 30+ years later, Myra is like a smitten teenager at the prospect of seeing Chip. I found that hard to believe. I graduated from high school decades ago and if I ran into my high school crush 30+ years later, I wouldn't be tongue-tied, nervous, etc.
Diann had been Chip's girlfriend in high school (and, of course, she was a cheerleader). She and Chip had split years earlier although they still stayed in touch periodically.
Of the three central characters--Myra, Chip, and Diann--I liked Diann, disliked Myra, and was ambivalent about Chip.
Some of the Amazon reviewers who worked in health care noted that Myra broke many boundaries during her home visits. I don't work in health care but I also thought some things (i.e., bringing her dog into her patients' homes; bringing Chip along occasionally) were inappropriate and likely could result in disciplinary action. Myra loved her job and thought she was good at it so it's astounding that she would so easily ignore some pretty clear boundaries.
If we could give half stars, I would have rated this book 2.5 stars. Not sure I'll continue to read Elizabeth Berg since this is now "strike three."
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