No Big Deal: 9

McClain makes a deft debut with this thought-provoking, timely novel. For overweight Janice Green, or Baby Huey (as class bully Kevin Lynch calls her), the only good things about the junior high in her New Jersey suburb are her best friend--intelligent, beautiful Holly Johansen, who has just moved there--and sixth-period social studies with Mr. Padovano. Then rumors begin to circulate that Mr. P is gay and Janice catches Kevin spray-painting Mr. P's car with anti-gay graffiti. After striking an uneasy bargain with Kevin, Janice finds herself battling her own mother, who joins a movement to get Mr. P fired. As Janice struggles with the growing furor over what she considers ``no big deal,'' she discovers that Kevin's brother is gay and HIV-positive, she begins to understand that prejudice often stems from hidden fears. Padovano is not fired, but he tells Janice that he plans to look for a job in a more accepting district--a bittersweet outcome that reflects an all-too-real situation. McClain handles the various reactions to Mr. P's homosexuality and, especially, the antagonistic relationship between Janice and Kevin, with an astute eye and sharp sense of humor. Her multifaceted characters go well beyond the categories of good and bad to show that appearances can be deceiving. Ages 10-14. (Aug.)