BLIND SIGHTED

This solid if often familiar first novel follows a poetry-writing New Jersey 15-year-old as he makes a sometimes amusing, more often painful journey toward adulthood. Kirk has several strikes against him. Besides being short and virtually friendless, he has to contend with an alcoholic mother and her condescending boyfriend. Then things get worse. First his poor attitude and spotty performance earn him a demotion from honors English to a class full of "washouts." Next, his mother and her beau run off to California together. Ironically, these worrisome developments mark a positive turning point in Kirk's life. While trying to keep his mother's absence a secret, he develops some unlikely friendships with students from his new English class, one of whom becomes a girlfriend, and a blind woman in her late 20s, who hires Kirk to read to her after school. These individuals, initially misjudged by Kirk, influence him in ways that help him take control of his future. At first, readers may be put off by Kirk's cocky, wise-cracking narration, but as the book progresses, the protagonist's tough exterior dissolves layer by layer to reveal a frustrated adolescent experiencing universal growing pains. Although the plot unfolds along predictable lines, Moore's true-to-life dialogue and his handling of the characters' relationships will hit home with teens. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)