PALE PHOENIX

Miranda Browne, of Reiss's well-received Time Windows (1991), gets involved in another supernatural mystery when her mother narrowly avoids injuring a girl who steps directly into their car's path. Abby is an orphan, it seems; Mrs. Browne generously takes her into their home, but Miranda soon finds herself disliking the girl intensely. Abby is sullen and secretive; she is also mysterious, has the ability to disappear at will, and sometimes weeps furiously—though only Miranda can hear her. And what of the pictures Abby carries in a beaded satchel, long-ago photos of a girl who looks just like Abby? Miranda not only learns Abby's deepest secrets; she finds within herself the power to lift the girl's dreadful curse and make her whole. The problem here is that the story is more preposterous than perplexing, more superficial and contrived than supernatural. Miranda's earlier adventures were far more exciting, with the supernatural elements well integrated into a tight, fast-moving plot. Reiss tries hard with this one, but it doesn't measure up: no frissons, and not much fun either. (Fiction. 10-14)it doesn't measure up: no frissons, and not much fun either. (Fiction. 10-14)