Weitz takes a weak stab at a collegiate version of Prep
in this disappointing me-too. Beautiful but virginal Natalie Bloom, a student at the University of Connecticut, has traded her working-class past for a spot at the bourgeois party school. While she maintains good grades, she is less successful in the social scene—a menacing environment where horny frat boys lurk in dark corners and couples easily betray each other—until she meets Patrick in, naturally, the library. Though Natalie insists she's shy, her dialogue with men is snappy and direct, and she and Patrick move toward dating in a series of dull getting-to-know-you conversations. When the relationship turns sexual, Natalie finds herself doubtful about his intentions, but she soldiers on until a weakly developed subplot about her brother's suicide somehow brings her to her senses. Without a comprehensible or urgent plot, the novel relies on its characters, but bland Natalie is surrounded by equally forgettable, interchangeable supporting personalities. When Natalie finally does find her happy ending, the reader won't really care. (Jan.)
