Grade 9 Up-Well-realized, sympathetic teen and adult characters populate this novel packed with family problems, romance, and wry humor. Fifteen-year-old Mick Nichols opens his stepmother's e-mail by mistake and discovers that Nora is having an affair. Unable to confront her or tell his father, he turns surly and uncommunicative at home. Meanwhile, he's embarked on a confusing friendship with a college girl and a budding romance with a high school classmate, the beautiful Lisa Doyle. Mick has a troubled relationship with his mother, who left the family years ago, and has always admired-as well as had a mild crush on-his young, attractive stepmother. Her affair shatters his illusions. While he searches for clues to the identity of Nora's lover, he also gets to know Lisa better on their weekend job. Obstacles stand in the way of love, including her interest in an off-limits Mormon missionary. Mick commits an uncharacteristic act of vandalism aimed at his stepmother's lover, and ultimately has an emotionally satisfying confrontation with Nora. The teen's romance with Lisa finally takes off, and several other subplots wrap up as well, sometimes too neatly. Mick learns that the adults whom he has idolized have their own problems, and that relationships are far more complex than he ever imagined. Refreshingly, Mick's father and stepmother are fully fleshed out characters, not stereotypes. This is a believable novel that will especially appeal to teens interested in moral ethics and human dynamics.
Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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