Life's a Funny Proposition, Horatio

Although only a slim 103 pages, this tender tale of loss and love contains as much heartfelt emotion as one twice as long. Two years after his father's death from lung cancer, Horatio, 12, feels pretty well settled into his new life in the country with his mother and ailing paternal grandfather, O. P. But when Horatio and his best friend Erik find O. P.'s beloved dog dead, the boy finds himself grieving for his father afresh. Adding to his turmoil is the fact that his dentist mother is dating one of her patients, ``Pink Gums'' Paul. Horatio feels even more bereft when Erik gets sick, but finds his sister Angie to be every bit as good company--and a big help in convincing O. P. to get another dog. Polikoff writes in spare yet emotionally charged prose; particularly affecting is the passage in which Horatio, his mother and O. P. conduct an impromptu memorial service on the anniversary of his father's passing. Effervescing with humor, sprinkled with apt Shakespearian quotations and sweetened with a hint of first romance, this little book packs quite a wallop. Ages 9-12. (June)