Skylight

Working-class Buddy narrates this account of his relationship with the wealthy Phoebe, from ninth grade to their breakup after her first year at Smith College. Tempted by the life she represents, he travels far--literally and figuratively--from his Michigan home to be with her that summer, only to learn ``how uncompanionable the rich and poor turn out to be.'' He returns home and gets a job at a garage, working for a champion decoy carver. Set in the early '60s, with the Vietnam War hovering in the background, this is a consciously literary YA novel, rich in the details of Buddy's life. By contrast, Phoebe's family, though possessed of interesting eccentricities, appears vague and unreal. Thoughtful readers will find much to ponder as they follow the course of this romance, even if they question Buddy's bittersweet conclusion that his was a star-crossed love. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)