FALLING FROM FIRE

Neither a "Rowdy" nor a "Holy Roller," 14-year-old Teresa Dinsmore is a "Nobody" at school until her 15th birthday—when her house burns down and gives her celebrity status. This first novel traces Teresa's reactions with only mixed results. While the protagonist—saddened by her family's loss but secretly pleased with the attention it brings her—emerges with some complexity, the other characters seem stereotypical. Teresa's mother, known as "Timberville's very own Marilyn Monroe," searches for a man to fulfill her dreams. Teresa's older sister plays the role of the rebel, and Wesley Wilton, the classic nerd, eventually wins Teresa's heart after she realizes that handsome Doug Stewart from history class is shallow. There are problems with the pacing as well, with so much time spent establishing the heroine's background and woes that readers have to wait until the middle of the novel for the fire (mentioned in the first chapter). Booth does not always balance her storytelling between the tragic and the trivial, yet some of her scenes are remarkably poignant. The author is at her best when crystallizing Teresa's feelings about herself and her altered world. Ages 12-up. (June)