Among Friends
Grade 8-12 Through journal entries, six high-school juniors reveal their jealou sies, frustrations, fears, and hopes. The plot focuses on upper-crust super- achiever Jennie Quint and a withdrawn newcomer, Paul R. Smith. Driven by parental and self-imposed pressure to succeed, Jennie is lonely, alienated from her friends. Meanwhile, Paul faces a private trauma with his unstable mother and estranged sister. When Jen nie confronts failure on a statewide honors math test, she runs away. In contrast, Paul accepts help from class mate Emily and Jared's lawyer father. Cooney again exhibits her knack for portraying the perils of success in an adolescent world. Characters speak with candor, occasional meanness, wit, and conviction. Although Cooney's Don't Blame the Music (Putnam, 1986) is a more thematically subtle and dra matic account of alienation and friend ship, Among Friends will attract secon dary readers with its fast pace, friendships and rivalries, upbeat end ing, and believable cast of characters. Gerry Larson, Chewning Junior High School, Durham, N.C.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.