SAY WHEN

TITLE: SAY WHEN
AUTHOR: ELIZABETH BERG
Pages: 262
Date: 04/10/2009
Grade: 4
Library

"To understand is to forgive, even oneself." - Alexander Chase

Although Frank Griffin sort of knows that his wife Ellen is seeing someone else, it still comes as a huge shock when she announces she wants a divorce.
Because Frank refuses to move out of their family home, they go from being a couple to being roommates and find they have to discover new ways of being around each other.
Seeing the story develop from Frank's point of view, we watch him going from disbelieve and feeling betrayed to coming to a reluctant understanding of his own role in this separation.
As Christmas draws near, Frank and Ellen have to decide whether to give up on each other and their marriage or to give it an other chance based on what they've learned and are still discovering.
As always, Berg is good at describing people, their emotions and the way they (try to) deal with life's upsets. She brings feelings to live without getting too heavy, deals with heartbreak without getting depressing and manages to bring humour to what could easily have been a deep and sad story.