Joy School (Katie Nash)

"Young as I am, I know now that everything is about to come. Jimmy will be the place for me to learn the real happiness. He will be my Joy School. My joy. Mine."These words sum up this story, about a 13-year-old girl, Katie, transplanted to Missouri after her mother's death, and subject to the mercurial moods of a stern, inaccessible father; she finds solace in the housekeeper and in her two friends - Cynthia, who is odd and whose grandmother actually interests Katie, with her loud, Italian ways and her penchant for cooking pasta in the middle of the night - and Taylor, a shoplifter, who introduces Katie to her larcenous skills and to make-out sessions at the drive-in theater.And then there is Jimmy - a 23-year-old married man, who comes to her rescue one day when she has fallen through the ice while skating - and who pays her the kind of attention she is sorely lacking in her everyday life.This coming-of-age tale skillfully describes a young girl who is out-of-place in her world - a world set in the fifties or sixties - and who searches for some kind of kinship with the cast of characters placed in her path.We connect with her, in that the author paints a picture of this isolation in such a way that we can relate. We think - Oh, yes, I know what that feels like. And as the story comes to an end, we can feel the hope - just as she experiences it.Joy School (Ballantine Reader's Circle) is memorable, hilarious and heartbreaking.By Laurel-Rain Snow

I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THIS WAS A SEQUEL UNTIL I STARTED READING AND REMEMBERED KATIE AND HER SISTER AND HER FATHER. IT WAS AN OK BOOK. THE FATHER WAS A LITTLE LESS MEAN. ONE DAUGHTER MOVED AWAY. KIND OF BLAND. I WAS HOPING FOR A NEW FAMILY.

Elizabeth Berg creates characters so lovable you want them to move into the house next door and be your best friend forever.Joy School’s Katie is adorable. Her growing pains are palpable and yet she carries on with admirable determination.Berg’s story endings are satisfying, leaving the reader hopeful for a better future and an improved world. Excerpted from the end of Joy School:“Now a cold wind blows suddenly, pushes my hair across my face and I get to see everything in slats. I put my hands deep in my pockets, find Jimmy’s stone. I take it out and look at it. It’s a pretty thing . . .I put the stone against my face, right where he touched me. And then I fling it far out into the pond. . . I didn’t mean to throw it. I wish I hadn’t done that.I’m cold. I start for home. Winter will pass. It may seem that it won’t, but it will. And that stone isn’t leaving, it’s just waiting. In the spring, I’ll come back and find it again.”

I chose this rating because the I found the main character, Katie, unbelievable and far too advanced in conceptual thinking for a young girl. Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite authors, but this book paled in comparison to "We are All Welcome Here," and "Ordinary Life."

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.

I was not expecting a novel written from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl, but after a few pages I was hooked. It took me right back to junior high, and to the losses and hopes of that age. Respectfully and sensitiively woven, it was at times as harsh and brutal as life really is, but elevating at the same time. Bravo to Ms. Berg. Judy Blume for grown ups, in a nutshell.

I loved this short story as well as Durable Goods...the first book about Katie and her life as an army brat who lost her Mom to cancer. Her Dad is an intense man who still suffers from the loss of his wife. Written in the 50's 60's era, I can relate to a lot of her thoughts and feelings. Both Durable Goods and Joy School are great reads for me. I'm hoping that True to Form is another sequel to Katie's life! She's not through yet 🤗😘