cover image Much ADO about Prom Night

Much ADO about Prom Night

William D. McCants. Harcourt Children's Books, $11 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-15-200083-7

This sassy caper lives up to its eye-catching cover (see p. 106). As in McCants's debut, Anything Can Happen in High School (and it usually does), the action--narrated in peppy surfspeak--centers on a bevy of ultra-hip but clean-cut California high schoolers with a penchant for defending their right to free speech. Becca, the outspoken narrator, and Jeff, the editor of the school paper, hide their true feelings for each other behind a wall of bickering. But when the Peer Counseling Network (PCN) Becca has organized is attacked by conservative parents, the squabbling teens find themselves working in tandem. Becca defends the PCN at a raucous school board meeting, sorts out her feelings for Jeff and finds herself a dream date for the upcoming prom. The PCN is a particularly nifty narrative gimmick, allowing readers glimpses of difficulties facing a variety of characters. Even better, the advice that Becca and her PCN ``buds'' dish up is plain-spoken, wise and fresh (it even includes tips on using body language to gauge the interest of a potential beau). Underneath all the bubbly fun, pre-dawn surfing and romantic sparring lies an earnest message about teen empowerment. Ages 12-up. (June)