Silver - Softcover

Grade 7-12 Finding friends in a new school isn't easy for any junior high school student, but it seemed like it was going to be twice as hard for Sarabeth Silver, who came from the wrong side of the tracks to a wealthy district. But with a slight twisting of the truth, Sarabeth gets acquainted with the one girl in school she really wanted to know, Grant Varrow, and quickly falls into Grant's circle of friends. Then Patty, the least friendly in the group, breaks down and confesses to Sarabeth that the uncle with whom she lives is molesting her. But everything turns out okay because Patty and her mother get counseling, the uncle is prosecuted, and Sarabeth becomes an accepted group member. Fast paced, with realistic dialogue, this easy-to-read problem novel stuffs all of this plot (including boyfriend troubles for Sarabeth) into one book. The characters are undeveloped, and readers won't care that when Patty moves in with Sarabeth, Grant disappears from Sarabeth's life almost without a whimper. Convinced that the plot will revolve around Sarabeth and Grant, it's a real shock when two-thirds of the way through the book, the molestation aspect appears and is dramatically presented and easily resolved within the last third. In spite of the plot inconsistenciesthe ease with which Sarabeth falls into the sophisticated, wealthy group and the easy, uncomplicated resolution of the molestation, this moves easily and interestingly enough along that confirmed Mazer fans will want to finish it. Kathryn Havris, Mesa Public Library, Ariz.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.