Shelter for a Seabird

After spending time in a shelter for pregnant teens, having a baby and giving her up for adoption, 16-year-old Andrea Tagg returns to her home, on a remote island off New York's Long Island, a different person. She finds it difficult to settle into her old way of life with her parents and friends, who act as if nothing has happened. Andrea carries her grief privately until she strikes up an unlikely friendship with a visitor, a young soldier gone AWOL. Andrea has always despised people like Swede Stuhr, the son of wealthy tourists, yet in spite of herself she becomes intimately involved with this lonely stranger. Without passing judgment on Andrea's decisions, this thoughtful story focuses on the changes she confronts during the aftermath of her ordeal. Showing rather than telling her characters' emotions, Farish ( Why I'm Already Blue ) relays the native islanders' close ties to their land, their resentment of intruders and their pragmatic approach to life. Although some may feel that this subtle novel is too leisurely paced, those who seek a quiet, contemplative read will find the gradual, realistic unraveling of events highly effective. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)