Plain-vanilla, middle-American Philip (10) and his divorced mother have lived in L.A. for six months, but Philip still hasn't adjusted--he hates the Mexican food, the smog, his mother's boyfriend Josh, and especially the earthquakes. Bitterly disappointed when a long-awaited trip back to Ohio is canceled, he grudgingly agrees to accompany his mother and Josh on a drive up the coast. Gradually learning to enjoy new experiences--and Josh's company--Philip begins to come to terms with some of the changes in his life. A good first effort--the school scenes ring especially true (the author teaches in L.A.)--that sympathetically captures the ``culture shock'' of relocation and the stubborn misery of the interregnum between loss of the familiar and acceptance of the new, as well as relationships (with a friend, pets, concerned adults) that can ease the transition. (Fiction. 8-11)
