Rearranging and Other Stories

Taking the theme of coming of age through epiphanies large and small, Gifaldi's (Toby Scudder, Ultimate Warrior) nine stories score a bull's-eye in targeting the heart of personal growth. The characters are easy to relate to: average kids in familiar settings with predictable problems (family tension, unrequited love, shaky self-confidence, peer pressure) and time-honored questions (about death, sex, prejudice). What sets these kids apart, however, is their level of perception and honesty in facing their own self-deceptions. For example, in the title story, Seth yearns to be like Ray, a former friend who appears ""cool"" but has gotten in with a bad crowd and pressures Seth into a loan. Seth steals money from his father's new girlfriend, only to discover he has been set up by Ray. Beaten up by two thugs, Seth nevertheless walks away from the experience understanding what self-respect requires. In the most moving entry, ""Jared,"" a teen badly disfigured in a freak accident finally steels himself to face a girl he likes with confidence. Gifaldi's matter-of-fact writing is dotted here and there with sage advice (e.g., from a no-nonsense parent on premarital sex, in ""The Driving Lesson"") and lyrical descriptions (from ""And Angels Too"": ""On the morning of the night of the miracle, Ruthie awoke as if pinched, the August sun like a flaming pumpkin filling the rusted screen of her window""); taken as a whole, readers may well find this volume a quiet epiphany in itself. Ages 12-up. (May)