Midget

With its supernatural elements and cautionary moralizing, this British import might have been a Twilight Zone episode. Teenage Midget, abnormally small, can barely speak and has fits as a result of the secret abuse he suffers at the hands of his psychopathic older brother, Seb, who is to outward appearances utterly devoted. His one solace is to escape to the marina, where he watches Old Joseph restore a wooden sailboat. Before long Midget discovers that whatever he pictures comes true, whether it's his new therapist cutting himself on a letter opener or, after Old Joseph dies and wills him the boat (called The Miracle Man), besting Seb in a lengthily described sailing race. Seb almost murders Midget; in return, Midget wills him to be mortally injured. But Midget learns the meaning of Old Joseph's warning that evil comes from wishing for a ``bad'' miracle, and spares his brother, whose true colors are finally known to all. Even so, Midget is unable to forgive him and heeds Seb's girlfriend's plea to ``sacrifice that part of you that hates'' by sacrificing his whole self. There is no rule that successful YA novels must have a happy ending, but surely Bowler could have found a wiser resolution to this already creepy tale than having its hero walk into the sea just when his future starts to look brighter. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)