Changing of the Guard

Caroline Warner, 15, keeps her distance from most people. She takes a perverse satisfaction in spending her time reminiscing about her special relationship with her deceased grandfather and railing against the conglomerate that has turned his beautiful orchards into a housing development. Then Maddy Lindsay moves into town, a girl as outgoing as Caroline is introverted, and she bombards Caroline with overtures of friendship; Caroline feels her carefully constructed walls crumble. Though readers are privileged to see the real Caroline, it is sometimes hard to understand why Maddy persists in developing a friendship with someone who reveals so little of herself except through her poetry. But this is a satisfying exploration of how one who has always ""lived life inside herself'' slowly learns how to open up. Many of the most poignant passages are Caroline's memories of her grandfather, delineating the character of this strong-willed man and showing with subtlety the difference between who he really was and how Caroline's adoration colored her image of him. (12-upst