Dear Mom, Get Me Out of Here!

Conford, the author of such upbeat novels as Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desperate and You Never Can Tell , succeeds once again. When Paul first comes to Burnside Academy, he thinks he has stepped into a nightmare. Broken windows, frigid bathrooms and inedible meals are just the beginning. But school somehow seems bearable when Orson, Chris and Wendell befriend Paul; when the boys begin speculating about their headmaster's sordid past, Burnside actually becomes intriguing. Conford peoples her tale with a cast of zany characters who, with their irresistible quirks and quips, manage to make an unbelievable plot seem real. Readers will gradually warm to Paul's integration into this crazy group of friends; by the time the boys are plotting to expose the headmaster, the audience will be completely hooked. A rollicking, surprising finish caps off this riotous tale. Ages 8-12. (Nov.)