Dear Elijah

Confused and distraught after a heart attack lands her father in the hospital, 12-year-old Rebecca begins writing to Elijah, the biblical prophet. Rebecca's father may not be home in time for Passover, but Rebecca can count on Elijah to be there, at the place traditionally set for him at the seder table. Unfortunately, Rebecca never becomes a flesh-and-blood character, and her correspondence with Elijah sometimes seems like the effort of an ambitious religious school teacher: ``You decided to have a big contest with the priests of Baal to prove who was worshipping the true God. That must have been some contest. You against four hundred prophets. Guess who won? (I bet you harty-harred about that one.)'' Without a convincing narrator, Bat-Ami's (When the Frost Is Gone) portrayal of a religious Jewish family lacks focus. The open ending, which leaves Rebecca's deteriorating father on the operating table, his prognosis unknown, might disturb readers in the targeted age range-that is, if they care enough about these shadowy figures' fates. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)