Brother Mine CL

Twins Nick and Tony look alike, but their personalities could hardly be more different. Tony, the ``older brother'' by a few minutes, is socially at ease; Nick is intense, moody and quiet. An explosive sibling rivalry has grown up between them, fed by their differing perceptions of the same situations. Over the course of a few days, their mostly submerged hostility escalates, builds up to violence and then, tentatively, shifts into real communication and a new start. The brothers tell their story through alternating narratives, carefully structured to prevent the reader from falling into facile judgments. Westwood makes less use of the supernatural than in Shock Waves ; here it is present in a shared dream of pre-birth struggle that reveals the depth of Tony and Nick's mutual obsession. Tightly and effectively plotted, this suspenseful melodrama poses intriguing questions about the impact of conflicting points of view. Ages 14-up. (Apr.)