Northern Edge

This promising but uneven first novel makes a feeble start in the adolescent musings of educated but lazy Tay MacElroy, who impulsively accepts a summer clerical position in Alaska, only to find the job unavailable when she arrives. Handsome biologist Mike Gavin, hired by the company to do a seabird census for an environmental impact study, promptly beds Tay to lure her into becoming a field assistant at their remote camp. She meets the rest of the team during a hurried departure--grumpy biologist Strider, supply pilot Bill, and Phoebe Gavin, Mike's wife and Tay's only female companion for the next eight weeks. In the rugged isolation of the camp, Tay has a lot of growing up to do, including overcoming excessive adulation of Phoebe and a tendency to categorize men. Quick finds a surer voice as she allows Tay to relax into the rhythms of the wilderness. Phoebe and Tay develop a unique, and eventually real, relationship that is the strongest component of the story. (May)