My Best Defense

Ethnic stereotyping, mangled metaphors (""The sharp thorn of jealousy pierced my barefoot heart"") and other problems keep a firm stranglehold on this first novel. Thirteen-year-old Jack Winslow describes how his family comes to terms with the death of his mother. The process is facilitated by the presence of Maki, a 29-year-old university student from Okinawa who agrees to work for the Winslows in exchange for room and board. From the beginning, Jack's high-energy delivery assumes a tone of almost unrelieved, forced savvy (""[his handshake] came off with all the soul of Barry Manilow doing Aretha Franklin's greatest hits""), meant to pass for sharp wit and ""sarcasm."" His mordant observations and reaching attempts at humor tend to fall flat--the author's adult sensibility creeps in, through strained, dated cultural references, for instance. Maki embodies every stereotype of female Asians, right down to her accent, which is gratuitously ""translated"" for the reader (""Sank [thank] you""). Inconsistencies abound: in character development; in odd, abrupt changes in tense; in trivial plot details. An ill-conceived effort. Ages 9-14. (Aug.)