A TANGLE OF ROOTS

Beth's mother dies suddenly near the beginning of this, and Girion takes us through the girl's initial disbelief, the numbness of the funeral and the week of shivah, the irritation with her friends' normal interests when she returns to high school. Beth's chief concern is for her father, and to keep him company she breaks dates with boyfriend Kenny until Kenny gets fed up and takes another girl. What with Kenny and school friend Joyce, a nagging tradition-minded grandmother, a brittle aunt who models depilatories, a slick tennis pro Beth dates while in Florida with her father, and her father's own eventual steps into the singles world--Girion makes this a realistic and well-rounded novel of its type. But it doesn't break out of the mold, probably because Beth and her suburban family are themselves so typical and so straight that they don't leave you with any impression.