Out of Here: 2a Senior Class Yearbook

More like related short stories than chapters in a conventional novel, the nine sections in this ``yearbook'' attempt dramatic portraits of seniors at a high school in Missouri. Stacey's summer at a Massachusetts playhouse has left her stagestruck, impatient for a chance to begin an acting career. Her best friend, Nicole, has more immediate concerns, such as how to attract guys with the panache shown by Lee, arbiter of the Oakview social scene. Jamie, hoping for eventual stardom, considers his rock band more important than anything else, including friendship. Tara, who's perpetually ignored by her battling parents and indifferent schoolmates, believes that a baby--fathered by a student she hardly knows--will ease her loneliness. Dawn tries to compensate for her father's deserting her terrific mother, in the process forfeiting her own social life. Snapshot glimpses suffice; Asher ( Everything Is Not Enough ) focuses on these characters just long enough for the reader to recognize them. Despite some formulaic or otherwise bland patches, the writing here is confident and essentially sound. Ages 12-up. (July)