OSTRICH EYE

Cooley's suspenseful debut begins as a quiet coming-of-age story centered around a teenage girl who hasn't quite figured herself out yet, and takes a surprising turn into dark and disturbing territory. High school freshman Ginger lives with her over-emotional neo-hippie mother, her warm stepfather, Tony, and her second-grader half-sister, Vivian, in a calm suburban setting where her biggest worry is the upcoming Spring Fling at school. She has passing thoughts about her real father, who she has not seen since she was three, but doesn't think about him much—until a man she believes is her father starts showing up at various places she happens to be. There is muted warmth after she stages a clandestine reunion (her mother would disapprove), but terror quickly replaces that warmth when it becomes clear that the man is not her father—a fact Ginger discovers only after she has allowed her sister to ride off alone in the car with him. Cooley sets up some delicate situations but handles them confidently; scenes involving pedophilia are shocking without being explicit. Ginger and her boyfriend Nicholas emerge as full-bodied characters, honest and mature, making the emotional punch of the story all the more effective. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)