Twisted

The author of both Blind Date and this book seems to have a peculiar view of women. Here they are mostly shrill, insecure types, who go along with a sorority prank and rob a store. But they end up with a corpsethe owner of the store drops dead during the crime. Then there's Leila and Abby, who both love (for no good reason) a lazy, shiftless boy. He (the only male in the book) prevents Abby from killing Leila; Abby has a ""split personality,'' and when the prank is over, she's carried off, babbling, by paramedics in white coats. Of course, no one is really dead; even the murders were a joke. And Leila, who was as shrill as everyone else, suddenly becomes a sympathetic character. For shock value, this book adds up to a lot of cheap tricks. Ages 12-up. (July)