The Last Time I Saw You

Elizabeth Berg is an author who is no stranger to the role of narrator, and that's clear in her reading of her latest novel, about a 40th, and final, high school reunion. Chapters alternate among five characters as they prepare for and attend this last reunion, painfully aware of the different ways their lives might have gone and wanting to reconnect with those who knew them when. Berg starts out slowly, not offering much in the way of character differentiation, but as the plot progresses and the characters become more defined, so does her narration. Overall, she demonstrates her deep understanding of her characters and why she's the best person to tell their stories. E.N. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

February 22, 2010
A high school reunion and all of its attendant dramas is the backdrop of Berg's rose-tinted latest (after Home Safe
). For Dorothy Shauman, her 40th reunion is the chance to finally hook up with her high school crush. She prepares weeks in advance for the big night, strange as that may seem, preening in front of the mirror. As Berg surveys the gamut of emotions felt by Dorothy and some of her classmates, she zeroes in on an array of stereotypes—the hot girls, the jocks, the in crowd, the out crowd—and considers what makes each one tick, offering the vanilla revelation that the person on the inside doesn't always match the person on the outside. It's cleanly plotted, ably written, and sure to appeal to boomers staring down the barrel of their own 40th reunions.