Dreadful Sorry

Readers with a craving for supernatural romance will not find much satisfaction in this dry and predictable tale. Though outwardly a well-adjusted teenager, Molly suffers from severe hydrophobia and is plagued by an eerie recurring dream; both these conditions are aggravated when Jared, her love-interest-to-be, throws her into a swimming pool and she nearly drowns. Then Molly arrives to spend the summer in the small Maine town where her father and new stepmother have recently set up house, and things go from bad to worse. Not only does the ever-persistent Jared show up, but the strangely familiar town itself brings on a series of rather tepid waking visions in which Molly believes herself to be Clementine, a shallowly depicted and unpleasant girl who lived at the turn of the century. With the help of her New Age stepmother, Molly comes to realize what most readers will have guessed long before: somehow, possibly through reincarnation, Molly and Jared are connected to the lives of two long-dead young people. Given that the characters are invested with no more than a single dimension, not even the triple prospect of dramatic coastal storms, paranormal flashbacks and Jared's earthly kisses is enough to enliven this plodding story. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)