DIVING IN

Coll is a 16-year-old with an active fantasy life, especially when it comes to the opposite sex . . . and one boy in particular. Her real life includes a domineering, overweight, feminist mother, a weak father, and a poisonous kid sister. But her biggest problem is her confusion and uncertainty about sex. Narrator Amanda Hulme gives a realistic picture of a girl in the throes of a dilemma. When the object of Coll's fantasy actually asks her out, Hulme delivers a head-over-heels heroine buffeted by powerful emotions. Coll is likable and funny, if obsessed, and Hulme's reading is spot-on. First in a trilogy, DIVING IN is directed toward teenaged girls who enjoy British chick-lit. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 06]