THE THINGS I DID LAST SUMMER

Andy Szabo (The Truth About Kim O'Hara, 1992), spending the summer before senior year at a cottage in the Hamptons, has two aspirations: to succeed in his job at the local newspaper and to lose his virginity. In the dunes he happens on a beautiful young woman playing with a small child: It's Susan Boggs, she says, is an au pair for the wealthy Carlyles. Andy is soon deeply in love, but something is peculiar. Susan's employers are more than strict; she's a virtual prisoner in their elegant home, unable even to use the phone; she warns Andy never to call or come to the house. Still, the two manage to rendezvous, and Andy's love deepens. Meanwhile, working for feisty old Lex Bernstein, he comes to realize that he wasn't hired as a star reporter and also that Lex is a real pro; he resolves to learn everything he can from her. At summer's end, Susan abruptly announces that their affair is over. Bereft, Andy tries to phone but is told there is no Miss Boggs at the Carlyles'. Setting out in the teeth of Hurricane Edna to find out what's going on, he learns Susan's shocking secret, one that will change his life. Andy's coming of age under heartbreaking circumstances makes a bittersweet and compelling story. Andy is appealing and believable; the elusive Susan and the secondary characters are also fully realized. Though the story moves quickly, Tamar (who has never written better) probes deeply into the emotions that make first love so wonderful, and so terrible. A book that should win a wide readership among mature YAs. (Fiction. 14+)