STRANDED IN HARMONY

From the believable, reflective point of view of Lucas Cantrell, high school senior and captain of the Harmony football team, Scott Shina delivers the first person-account of a year of failure, change, and awakening, the real story behind the gleam of popularity and having-it-all in small-town Indiana. Shoup pulls no punches about teenage sex, adolescent drinking, and parent-child animosity, but Shina's matter-of-fact delivery keeps it all in perspective. Most intriguing are Lucas's relationships with his bigger-than-life father, a used car salesman; his vindictive coach; his lovesick best friend; his bedridden cousin; his cheerleader girlfriend; and his busybody sister. Most notably, Allie Bowen, the sixties radical terrorist with secrets to share, serves as both a counterpoint and a mentor to Lucas. While the final tape, a recorded interview with the author, will be interesting to other young adult authors and scholars, it most likely will not intrigue young listeners. T.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 01]