NORA

If only the heroines of this tale—Nora, almost 13, and sibling Patsy, just 12—didn't seem so much older than their ages suggest, Greene would have a near-perfect tale about the hauntings of the heart. Three years ago, the girls' mother died of cancer, a death her sorrowful portrait and many of her photos seem to have foretold. Now that their father is remarrying, Nora's sadness is reawakened and she imagines that her mother is occasionally with her—next to her on a couch or laughing in her ear. Nora has long lived in her sister's shadow; Patsy's an attention-getter, disbelieving when the boy both girls like prefers Nora's company. The subtitle's ``maybe'' cues readers in: the mother's spirit presence, if it's there, is gentle and tenuous. Still, the story is affecting—not as a testimonial to the paranormal but as a study of a young girl's delayed reaction to loss. No wonder Chuck finds Nora's quiet ways likable; as her wry narration demonstrates, she's perfectly capable of nabbing the attention she needs, and entertaining her audience in the process. (Fiction. 10-12)