Last Dance

Those who admire Cooney's deft weaving of plot upon subplot exhibited in her other novelsincluding this book's predecessor, Saturday Nightwill be entertained by this sequel, though not completely satisfied. The five girls who starred in the last book are back, with romances going awry or not going anywhere at all. It's the Last Dance of their junior year: one has had a baby, one has terrible family problems, etc. The names become a muddle, there is a now-predictable disaster theme (last time: flood; this time: fire), and the girls' lives are open-ended enough to leave room for, perhaps, another episode. Better-than-average romancing is going on here, but not up to Cooney's usual much better-than-average standards. Although this book still has the froth, it isn't as fun as the first one. Ages 12-up. (September)