The Uncertainty Principle: #5

Senior year of high school has hardly begun, and already Kathy is bored. None of her classes is challenging, and a two-year relationship with Eddie is growing stale. On a whim, she enrolls in a physics course and becomes entranced by the subject, partly because of her infatuation with her handsome teacher. Kathy ultimately sees the world, her future career as a physicist (much to her parents' chagrin) and kind, adoring Eddie in a completely different light. Set in Southern California, this first-person narrative deals with adolescent sexuality, peer pressure and how important it is for young men and women to choose their own career goals. In this fifth title of the Portraits series, Sommers doesn't moralize, and her dialogue is flawless. Although Kathy's ``problems'' may receive scant sympathy from readers, they'll admire her strong, practical nature. Ages 11-16. (Oct.)