NEW HORIZONS

A continuation of Miss Simpson's earlier chronicles (The Honest Dollar; A Lesson for Janie) of the life of Janie Marshall, New Horizons sees its 14-year-old heroine through an emotionally difficult first year of high school on the Mainland. Self-conscious about her ""wild islander"" background and the fact that she must work for room and board, Janie despairs of ever bridging the gap that separates her from her sophisticated and, she assumes, contemptuous classmates. But the friendly interest of other girls, her teacher, the school librarian, and a boy named Vance finally penetrates her defensive hauteur and Janis learns to accept herself and others on more realistic terms. A good girls' story, enriched by tangy descriptions of the coast of Maine.