are wild for pop singer David Cassidy, along with millions of other fans the world over. They spend huge chunks of their leisure time perusing The Essential David Cassidy Magazine for clues to David's likes and dislikes, unaware that most of the material is being created out of whole cloth by ne'er-do-well English major William Finn, whose take on the cherubic singer is a good deal more acerbic than theirs. The novel's second half finds the characters 25 years later as Petra is grieving the death of her mother and the end of her marriage, while Bill is now running an empire of celebrity magazines though still unlucky in love. A lost letter brings them together for a David Cassidy reunion concert, which proves to be a turning point in both of their lives. Pearson is at her best in capturing the way teenage girls use their romantic obsessions with celebrities to work out their fears about real relationships with the opposite sex. An afterword includes Pearson's delightful 2004 interview with a 54-year-old Cassidy. --Joanne Wilkinson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. A frothy yet thoughtful read that perfectly nails what it feels like for a girl to be at that terrifyingly innocent, yet utterly mature, age of 13. Though I, personally, never got the whole heartthrob thing--sorry, Kirk Cameron, I only put up the poster to fit in--Allison Pearson embodies all the angst and excitement of that very unique time in any girl's life. Caught up in the