Come Next Spring CL

Set in the Tennessee mountains in 1949, this first novel recounts the events of Salina Harris's 12th year. After a summer on her family's farm, Salina is looking forward to the eighth grade, but the school year brings a series of unexpected and often unwelcome changes. Put off by her best friend's newly acquired snobby attitude, Salina discovers a companion in Scooter, a quiet girl from an impoverished family. Meanwhile, plans for a new highway threaten to disrupt the tranquility of Salina's village. Although the girl prefers the old ways to the new, she comes to recognize the advantages of progress and learns to accept her inability to predict or control the future. This smoothly written narrative offers realistic characterizations and a perceptive glimpse of small-town life. Readers will sympathize with Salina's growing pains and be moved by the novel's many tender moments. Ages 9-13. (Apr.)