Virgil Hunter

Fourteen-year-old Virgil may live in North Carolina during the '50s, but he's explicitly modeled on Huck Finn nonetheless. His world revolves around the farm he and his widowed father live on; the schoolroom is completely useless. School authorities believe Virgil requires more ``social interacting'' and ``peer group associating.'' Heeding their advice, he spends the summer broadening his horizons through new experiences (sex with classmate Virginia among them), new friendships and encounters with some decidedly odd people. Virgil's episodic narrative is frequently humorous and occasionally disturbing--a brief incident, for example, reflects Virgil's father's blatant racism. An easy rural tone enhances the limber style: ``Soon his eyes rode up the paper. Higher. Up. Over. There I was.'' A few chapters, such as the one on religion, fail to hold interest, but most will strike a chord with readers. Ages 12-up. (May)