Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink

Libby%E2%80%94an enthusiastic student of fashion, the past, and fashions past%E2%80%94ventures from her Minnesota home to intern at an 18th-century living history museum in Maine for the summer before her senior year. A fan of Jane Austen, Libby dreams "of a time of true love, courtly manners, and real gentle-man," but her problems (namely an overzealous, cat-loving roommate named Ashling) begin as swiftly as her romantic interludes. Buff sailor boy Cam recites Shakespeare to Libby as she prepares to teach open-hearth cooking, needlepoint, and other domesticities to eight- to 10-year-old girls. Another boy, Garrett, shows up to report on the camp's alleged ghost for the local newspaper, and Libby joins him on the lookout for the paranormal. Debut author Strohm fills her novel with cute historical factoids and even cuter frocks, sometimes at the expense of character development. Even so, she turns a strong heroine and a few surprises into a clever, tightly written book that will keep readers wondering who will become Libby's true Mr. Darcy. Ages 12%E2%80%93up. Agent: Amanda Lewis, Doe Coover Agency. (May)