Kumquat May, I'll Always Love You

Olivia is a senior in high school. Two years ago her mother Luna Lee walked out the door to buy some margarine and didn't come back. Olivia's father is dead, and she can't stand the idea of living with her bigoted uncle and his family, so she pretends to the whole town that her mother is still around. This is not as difficult as one might expect. She buys her mother's weekly supply of romance novels and impersonates her on the phone when the need arises, and the self-absorbed people of Kumquat never seem to notice when they last saw Luna Lee. Though Olivia lives as an independent adult, Grant is quick to point out that the privileges are sometimes outweighed by the costsloneliness, isolation, even despair. Olivia's romance with Raymond, a friend from childhood, falls apart when their interests conflict. Though Raymond's character is a bit caricatured, humor and pathos are well mixed here, and some of Grant's descriptive passages are lovely. (12-up)