They are actually a lot darker than I expected them to be, not quite the same as the other Liz Berry novels I've read, and I think this is why they were never published in the States - they deal with rape.
Why the huge demand? Well, I can see a lot of people never forgetting these books after reading them. As soon as I finished it I had to read Easy Freedom, so I coughed up the $40 to buy it from amazon.uk. The website said "one book left in stock"! Finally about a month ago - someone put Easy Connections up for sale on for only $10, so I snapped it up. I couldn't find it for under $40. For the longest time I would periodically check to see if there were any cheaper copies but was always out of luck. The person she most reminds me of is Ai Yazawa of Nana and Paradise Kiss fame, except Yazawa uses the slightly different medium of manga).Īnyway, I did some rooting around on the internet and discovered that a lot of Liz Berry books are out of print and hard to find (of course!) - including this duology Easy Connections (book 1) and Easy Freedom which are probably the books shes most well known for. Liz Berry worked in the arts and with high school students, and her characters are on this cusp of adulthood, dealing with serious issues (pregnancy, homelessness, physical attraction, love and sex) and they are often artists (painters, designers, musicians). I also found Mel, and liked that too - that one had a girl renovating a house all by herself, and I had just moved into the first place I ever *owned* so I was interested in that home-beautifying process. The author was really good at creating an emotional atmosphere and a tone of inevitability. I'm partial to books set in England because growing up in a British colony, many kids books I read were set there.
The only book I could find in the US was The China Garden - which was this young adult romance/mystery with paranormal aspects combined with a very British voice. I was very struck by it. I think it may have been maybe 5 years ago.
I'm not sure when I first read a recommendation for Liz Berry's books.
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