STARDUST by Alane Ferguson. 1993. 155 pages, Bradbury Press, $13.95
Eleven-year-old Haley loring had "shot up from the darling, button-nosed little girl that she'd once been." Now she was no longer the star, Samantha Love, on the "Family Love" television series. Some parents were protesting that she was a real smart-mouth and refused to let their children watch the show.Haley, who had been the family paycheck, was dumped by her agent ("Haley...you're just not cute. Pretty is a whole different look than cute. Cute sells.") and the Lorings move to a small town to begin a new life. But the glamour of television follows Haley and she is terrified, "What if everyone hates me? I mean if they do, then they'll hate ME, not the character I play!" It was then that Haley decided to remain Samantha, her TV personality, to survive.
All of the children in her grade seem to be in awe of a movie-star classmate except Andy, the brightest boy in the class. He appears less than impressed and gives her many indications of his disdain.
When Haley is caught in a lie, the class sees her as she really is, "the mask has slipped and everyone could see inside..."
Salt Lake-based Ferguson has captured the language, interests and feelings of sixth-graders well. The crisp dialogue, reference to clothes, school friends and attitudes really make this a genuine "good read" for 10- to 12-year-olds. Like her previous books "Cricket and the Crackerbox Kid" and "The Practical Joke War," "Stardust" will help young people understand reality and what is "screen real."
T-BACKS, T-SHIRTS, COAT AND SUIT by E.L. Konigsburg. 1993. Atheneum, $13.95.
Readers of E.L. Konigsburg readily recognize her fiction: long titles without a clue to their meaning until the end of the story (for example, "Jennifer, Hectate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth," "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler") and young protagonists who get into bad situations and learn by getting out of them. Also, her contemporary settings and events that harbor fact with history are sprinkled like seasoning on a sunny-side-up egg.
"T-Backs, T-Shirts, Coat and Suit" is no exception. It is the experience of a young girl who finally realizes one summer what is important as she looks into the mirror to find her own face.
Chloe is sent to her stepfather's sister, Bernadette, for the summer, to avoid pressure from her friends, such as their pact to support each other on "bad hair" days by going into the pool in total immersion.
Chloe is told to give the unexpected a chance, and Bernadette is the unexpected. She leases a commissary truck, has a dog with a special sense and refused to join the other drivers when they wear T-backs (a scant thong-like bathing suit) to attract business. She refuses to eat "anything that has a face or comes from something that did." The unexpected also includes teaching Chloe to swim and ignoring being called a witch, even though Chloe thinks she might be.
Konigsburg's characters include Tyler, 13-year-old wimp who attends Bible school, Velma and Wanda, "two full-size Totally Hair Barbies - one blond, one brunette," Bayard, the "suit" and lawyer, and the Rev. Butler, who organizes a group called COAT, "Citizens Opposing All T-Backs."
Fastidious Chloe and world-worn Bernadette are crafted slowly and are as likeable as any Konigsburg character. The warmth between them is precious and strongly felt as the older woman tells about her life as a flower child and what it means "by giving responsibility, she had lost freedom."
The theme of the book is defending one's rights, and Bernadette's wisdom sees that "people always accuse someone with different views...when they are worried about losing."
When Bernadette's vulnerability is finally disclosed, it is Chloe who reaches out to make the bridge between them stronger. Certainly, young readers will cheer her on.