Earth Angel'

Although the main characters in this insipid novel are in their 50s, their romance is sophomoric. Kathryn Stuart is startled when Jamie Chandler, a former high school classmate and her late husband's childhood friend, shows up to buy her old records for the ``fifties-type restaurant'' he is planning. Jamie, who loved Kathryn back in school, turns on the charm; but Kathryn likes to live in the present, not the past, and isn't interested in Jamie. Jamie's pursuit tactics include regaling Kathryn's adult children with tales of their father's youth and ignoring the woman he wants to win; she becomes intrigued and turns up fifties memorabilia to justify her visits to the restaurant-to-be. There, Kathryn stumbles on a reunion committee meeting and encounters her two best friends from her school days. Only when Kathryn invites her chums for ``a real honest-to-God slumber party'' does she explore the past that keeps her from enjoying the present. Juvenile chatter and behavior, Kathryn and Jamie's willingness to blame others for problems in their lives, and Hehl's ( Lilac Mansion ) unconvincing grasp of restaurant development and newspaper advertising sales (Kathryn's business) make this a disappointing read. (Oct.)