Love Me, Love Me Not

With its hazy New Age philosophy, surfeit of tarot readings and high school gossip-fest plot, the first volume in the Mystery Date series seems aimed straight at Christopher Pike fans. While in a graveyard to mourn the death of her twin sister, sophomore Kristen captures the heart of an unusual suitor: Death himself. Attracted by ``the most beautiful life force he had ever seen,'' Death assumes the identity of Josh March, a student athlete with ``a body like spun steel, powerful and strong.'' The slightly goofy but not unappealing subsequent scenes involve an important football game with the school's loutish rivals; Josh's efforts to get Kristen to pledge herself to him for eternity; the nasty romantic mischief organized by scarlet-taloned Kathryn; and occultist Lynn's attempts to get Death/Josh to behave responsibly in his early incarnation. Conveniently, the principal characters take an elective in world mythology, paving the way for numerous references to Hades's abduction of Persephone and thus glossing this enterprise with a veneer of respectability. Ages 12-16. (June)