Where Do You Stop? the Personal: History, Adventures, Experiences, and Observations of Peter Leroy (Continued)

Fans of Kraft's Peter Leroy series ( Little Follies ) will unequivocally delight in this latest installment of Peter's adventures growing up in post-WW II Babbington, the ``clam capital of America.'' Readers unfamiliar with this masterful storyteller's pellucid prose will equally enjoy his account of Peter's momentous and treacherous initiation into junior high school. The arch cuteness that marred some of Kraft's earlier vignettes is absent, as Peter defines the boundaries of his rapidly developing self, dealing with his unrequited crush on Ariana Lodkochnikov, his best friend's sister, at whose house he watches that newfangled invention, television. Peter's friendship with a black classmate prompts his bigoted parents's disapproval. His father's subsequent change of heart is only one of the small miracles in a magical, funny, healing journey that features familiar and unusual memories--backyard barbecues, a sexy, inspirational science teacher--without lapsing into mere nostalgia. (Sept.)