Center Stage Summer

The summer after high school graduation is eventful for Johanna. Working in her aunt's store, dating her rather possessive boyfriend, Neil, and acting in an amateur production of A Doll's House have brought her closer to understanding who she is. The central conflict, however, concerns her older sister Dana, with whom she is trying to find common ground. To please Dana, Johanna joins with her in protesting a nuclear power plant; in the process, she antagonizes the firm that has awarded her a vital college scholarship. How, Johanna wonders, can she be true to herself and not offend others? This is an obvious but technically smooth story. The plot threads are resolved a little too neatly in the end, but Johanna's zest for livingand for learning to act independentlyhas appeal. Ages 12-up. (June)