Wild Times at West Mount High

Jesse McCracken adores Susan Brantley, yet family loyalty prevents him from telling her--their fathers loathe one another. He resorts to sending Susan anonymous love letters. She is intrigued, but concludes that the notes are from Blake Farraby, an occasional date. At a school dance, Jesse orchestrates a power outage, and in the resulting darkness, he seizes the opportunity to kiss a stunned Susan. It doesn't take long for her to realize that she's as smitten as he. The importance of attaining motor vehicle ownership (just about any kind will do) is a secondary theme in this modern-day Romeo and Juliet takeoff. The dialogue is on-target and the characters share a recognizable egocentricity that's typical among teenagers. Ages 11-14. (Dec.)