cover image The Last Time I Saw You

The Last Time I Saw You

Elizabeth Berg, . . Random, $25 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-4000-6864-7

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. (Apr.)