Alone at Ninety Foot

Holubitsky's debut novel draws an impressively lifelike portrait of a 14-year-old Canadian girl whose mother has committed suicide several years earlier. The title refers to the canyon where Pamela, the narrator, and her mother took frequent walks--and where her mother took her own life; there Pamela struggles with complicated emotions. As Pamela copes with adolescence (her reactions to the changes in her body, her friendships, her rapport with boys are particularly well observed), she feels especially alone. Yet despite her heroine's anguish, Holubitsky adds dollops of realistic comic relief, notably in Pamela's interactions with her father's bumbling but big-hearted girlfriend. The author ends her poignant story on a hopeful note, as Pamela begins to ""find things,"" like her father's ""thunderous, side-splitting"" laughter, that she had forgotten about (""All of these things I've been finding disappeared with Mom""). Some bits are pat (e.g., a redemptive romance with an exceptionally mature, exceptionally good-looking guy), but most of this novel feels authentic and insightful. Ages 12-16. (Sept.)