Catch Me, I'm Falling in Love

Anderson's latest refreshes the reader like an unpolluted breeze blowing through fiction for young adults. Amelia Amherst, 16, relates events that rock her world during a few months, set off by a slip that breaks her ankle. Amelia lives in Manhattan with her father, an artist, and her mother, an actress. They realize that the girl's ankle needs further treatment when the cast is off and send her to Dr. Matthew Caswell, a knockout older man. Taller and more mature than her classmates, Amelia nevertheless cherishes every teen's dream of a perfect love. She pretends she's a 20-ish dancer when she meets Matthew and falls for him instantly. But she has to put her fantasies of a future with the dazzler on hold. Crises follow crises in the Amherst apartment while her mother is on the West Coast; her father is seriously ill and Amelia has to take charge. The funny, touching story involves a number of people, all memorable. (12up)