DONOR BOY

A teenage girl becomes the ward of her sperm-donor father after losing both of her gay parents in a bizarre accident in this first novel, a modern spin on grief, catharsis and the art of parenting told in journal entries and electronic missives. Rosalind Butterfield is the rebellious but sweet 14-year-old whose home life is suddenly decimated when her two lesbian parents—one of whom is a former sitcom star—die in a freak accident. Rosalind's unlikely new guardian is her biological father, Sean Cassidy, a geeky, single public-service lawyer whose lack of parenting experience turns the initial chapters into a comedy of errors, starting with his first icy meeting with Rosalind. She writes about her life in a grief journal that she dubs "Fluffy"; he fills her in on his past in a series of e-mails. The tide begins to turn for Sean when he defends Rosalind at a school expulsion hearing after she decks a hockey player for making fun of her late mom, and slowly Sean and Rosalind cobble together an uneasy relationship that allows them to co-exist and finally respect each other. The unusual setup may strike some potential readers as contrived, but Halpin's storytelling flair and compassion make this an engrossing read. Agent, Curtis Brown Ltd. (Aug.)