Be True to Your School

This diary by the author of Good Morning, Merry Sunshine may top that bestseller, for Greene's re-creation of what he considers America's last innocent year, 1964, possesses nostalgia's magic. He records his life as a high school student in Bexley, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. With his close male friends, he thrilled to the music and style of the Beatles and balked at orders to ""get a haircut!''; he mourned from January through December over a girl he continued to love even after she dumped him; sometimes he and his pals drank too much and played tricks ``I'm not proud of.'' He recalls an era when it was hard to persuade a girl to ``go all the way'' and other youthful experiences that make up a poignant, funny, charming memoir. Major ad/promo; first serial to Esquire and Family Circle; author tour. (April)