Hormones threaten the best of friends in Farrell's (Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd; Bradley and the Billboard) take on the duckling-turned-swan story. Soon-to-be high school freshmen Jack and Chris have been inseparable since first grade. But almost overnight Chris turns into a beauty and starts turning the heads of the hunks at the country club. So much change leaves Jack baffled—is he jealous of Chris or of the guys whose attentions she repays? Proving the strength of Chris and Jack's friendship, Farrell includes a scene in which Jack braves a potentially humiliating trip to the drugstore to buy Chris's first tampons, then dilutes the effect by having Chris explain menstruation to Jack in a conversation that seems straight out of sex-ed class. Familiar plot elements include Jack's fascination and eventual disillusionment with the in-crowd; Jack having dates with two girls (Chris and another) for the country club cotillion; and his obviously false conclusions about a woman's phone number found in the jacket belonging to his currently separated dad. Jack's confusion may be realistic, but his clumsiness is likely to frustrate and distance readers. Ironically, for all of Chris's explicit criticism of stories "where the wallflower magically blooms into a prom queen and gets the guy in the end," the author casts Chris in very nearly that role. Ultimately, Jack's reactions don't approach the inherent appeal of this tried-and-true story line, however much Farrell critiques it. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)
