The Whistling Toilets

When 15-year-old tennis champ Ginny Forrester starts losing games, it is up to her best friend, Stan Claxton, to set her back on a winning course. There are complications aplenty, however, when Stan takes over as coach. Ginny has not yet recovered from her crush on a former mentor; Stan is constantly distracted by Ginny's good looks; and Stan's two rather uncouth buddies, Guballa and Wilcutts, have also fallen for the attractive athlete. Meanwhile, one of Ginny's opponents, eccentric Antonia Wheeler, tries to lure Stan by walking off with his most prized possession, a Derbyshire XQ-2R-200S tennis racket. Readers need not be sports enthusiasts to feel the energy and catch the humor of this narrative about a falling sports star and the ""boy next door,"" especially because the verbal matches between teens prove to be more exciting than on-the-court battles. If the plot (which culminates with Ginny and Stan listening to ""whistling toilets"" inside a lodge rest room) is somewhat strained, Powell's (Dean Duffy) ironies about love and gamesmanship are executed with style. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)