Paper Doll

Ever since she lost both her legs in an automobile accident, Leslie has devoted herself to playing the violin. Caught up in her music and coddled by her parents, she has never been aware of the privileged position she holds in her family, or her distance from the rest of the world. Leslie's first romance, along with her brother's futile rebellion against their father, are the events that force her to examine the flaws in her seemingly cozy world. Though her life is painfully disrupted, this down-to-earth heroine comes to terms with her new vision of life and emerges with a richer understanding of what it means to be an adult--and an artist. The story line is fairly predictable, but that is as it should be: Leslie's struggle to become an adult, though unique in its particulars, will be familiar to many readers. Unsentimental writing keeps the story moving briskly and brings to light the edgy tension of Leslie's unhappy family. Though her disability is a central issue in her life, it is by no means the novel's sole focus. Rather, it is one of the many vivid, vital threads from which this story is woven. Ages 12-up. (June)