THE BOY I LOVED BEFORE

The joys of being 16 are amply explored in this back-to-the-present comedy of second chances. At the start of Colgan's funny, fast-moving fifth novel, 32-year-old London accountant Flora Scurrison realizes that she can't bear the monotony of her job and her dependable boyfriend, Oliver. So when she sees her high school love, Clelland, for the first time in 16 years at her best friend Tashy's wedding, she can't help wondering what her life would be like with this globe-trotting hunk rather than with steady, unexciting Oliver. As Tashy cuts the wedding cake, Flora wishes herself 16 again and gets a chance to make new choices about love, career and risk. She can keep her father from cheating on her mother and be the coolest kid in high school—not to mention ogle her svelte self in the mirrors at Top Shop. Strangely enough, though Flora is 16 again, only her parents have been transformed with her, and it's still the year 2003. Flora's interactions with a new Britney Spears generation of teenagers as well as with the grown-up friends who recognize her in her adolescent incarnation give the familiar plot a fresh twist. Cleverly constructed and often hilarious, this is an enjoyable addition to the annals of body-switching. Agent, Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider. (Mar.)