Modern Love

The razzle-dazzle of television journalism and such trendy and potentially controversial topics as condom distribution and teenage sex lend an up-to-the-minute glitter to the debut volume of the Video High series. Bored with the bland topics covered by her high school newspaper, Sharon is the first to get involved in the school's new, student-run cable television show. A variety of fairly predictable subplots keep the pages turning briskly. Earnest Sharon adds a politically correct veneer to the gossip-fest with her efforts to conduct a school-wide sex survey; the novel's villainess, a manipulative former cheerleader, attempts to use the TV show to unseat a rival for the title of homecoming queen. Meanwhile, another would-be broadcaster, surly, unapproachable Jade, is revealed to be a punk rocker with a heart of gold. Entertaining fluff with a mild social conscience. Ages 12-15. (Feb.)