KISS ME, JANIE TANNENBAUM

In a third book about country-girl Janie and her city friend (Just Like Always, 1981), the two go on a whale-watching expedition. Seventh grade is on the horizon, and Courtney's thoughts are dominated by boys; even Janie's feelings about her old friend Harold are becoming more complex. Meanwhile, Sachs focuses as much on the whales as on the girls, skillfully integrating a quantity of whale lore into the story and conveying the fascination and thrill of observing whales firsthand—though credulity is stretched with the number of species and behaviors (culminating with the rescue of a whale entangled in a net) that the girls see in just four days. Still, the dialogue is lively and believable; and boy-crazy, overdressed Courtney is nicely contrasted to shy, wholesome Janey, just beginning to warm to boys at her own sensible pace. An entertaining story with likable characters. (Fiction. 10-13)