College Life 101: Cameron: The Sorority

One of a trio of titles launching the College Life 101 series, this snappily written novel centers on an 18-year-old who leaves her upstate New York hometown (and four best friends, featured in other volumes) to start her freshman year at South Florida State. As a student who ""liked school, but primarily for social reasons,"" Cameron's top priority is joining the most desirable sorority on campus. In the throes of Rush Week, she meets handsome, Cuban-born Tad, who has little use for the ""Greek stuff"" or for the snobby sorority sisters he's encountered. Staub belabors the often petty trials and tribulations of the would-be pledges and occasionally creeps onto corny turf (the first boy Cameron meets after crossing the Mason-Dixon line is named Rhett). Yet the author injects a deeper layer into her plot by addressing the issue of racism: her young heroine comes to the realization, if remarkably tardy, that some people--including her own maternal grandmother and some fellow students--have difficulty accepting the fact that her father is African American. A cautionary note: in several scenes readers find Cameron and Tad with ""their hands roaming over each others' bodies""; and drinking alcohol is a routine part of these college freshmen's lives. Zara: The Roommate and Kim: The Party are scheduled for simultaneous release. Ages 12-up. (Nov.)