Let It Go

Despite occasional shifts in tone, the Canadian setting and dynamics in this book should appeal to readers. Red Cantrell and his best friend Lance Ducharme are both 15 and have an idyllic friendship. Then Lance's mother Ann-Marie, missing for many years, shows up. Red arranges a meeting between Lance and his mother, but Lance is devastated by her reappearancehe'd considered her dead. He becomes sullen and turns to drugs. Then, to avoid the pain and revelations of a custody battle, Lance decides that he must live with her. But a happier ending ensues, with understanding gained all around. The dialogue in some of the emotional scenes is disconcertingly glib. At other times, Red and Lance sound like real teenagers groping toward maturity. (12-up)