JINGLE BOY

Readers attracted to this title by its relatively hip jacket art—a photo of a cute boy staring out soulfully from under a Santa cap—may be disappointed by the contrived and somewhat cloying comedy-cum-fantasy within. Paul Nicholas, the teenage narrator, is a self-proclaimed "Christmas freak," just like his parents. "My family has more Christmas traditions than an elf has pairs of pointy earmuffs," says Paul, who confesses that he thinks Christmas will somehow be "destroyed" if he stops wearing his Santa hat. Indeed, he loses said chapeau at the mall, and all-out calamity follows. As the plot twists and turns in overdetermined and obvious fashion, even encompassing a visit from the real Santa Claus, readers are likely to find Paul's Christmas quirks more peculiar than endearing. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)