THE SHELL HOUSE

A pitch-perfect tale of contemporary teenage life intertwines with an overly dramatic if occasionally moving account of a privileged youth's literally life-changing experiences in the First World War. The modern-day story centers on Greg, who, with his longtime best friend attending another school, comes into his own. He makes friends with Faith, a sheltered and religious girl he meets while exploring and photographing the grounds of Graveney Hall, the shell house of the title, the skeletal remains of a stately home ravaged by fire in 1917. Meanwhile, Greg's thoughts are increasingly occupied by the self-possessed Jordan, an accomplished athlete whose reserved ways hide a piercing intellect—and whose friendship takes on a romantic cast. The other narrative thread concerns Edmund Pearson, heir to Graveney Hall and an aspiring poet, whose world has been rocked by two events: the Great War and—even more significantly—his passionate affair with a fellow soldier, Alex. Scenes of Edmund and Alex at the front are compelling, but when Edmund visits his family (whom he now perceives as stifling and shallow) the novel takes on a callow, sniping tone, as in this description of his intended fiancée: "She had a way of looking at him from under her eyelashes, doe-eyed. Presumably she thought it was appealing." The melodrama of these later episodes stands in contrast to the wonder and compassion that illuminate the bulk of this book. Ages 12-16. (Aug.)