SOMEONE ELSE'S BABY

The setting here is British, but the feelings are universal: Terry, 17, is pregnant as the result of an encounter at a party where she'd had so much to drink that she's not sure who the father is; though she wasn't willing, she blames herself too much to call it rape. Middle and least favorite child of an autocratic naval officer and his compliant wife, Terry thinks of herself as her dad habitually describes her—an inept loser. Actually, she has more going for her than she knows; emotionally, she's a self- indulged child, but she's wise enough to understand that the big issue is whether to keep the child or give it up for adoption, a decision over which she agonizes and vacillates even after she signs the final papers, six weeks after the birth. She kidnaps a baby who turns out not to be hers, an act that leads to much- needed counseling and also to Terry's finally taking hold of her own life. Kaye, whose previous YA novels have been published in Britain, relates Terry's experiences as journal entries, a device that makes them even more immediate. A realistic, accessible novel, with characters who are fairly well individualized (though they play predictable roles) and events nicely chosen to dramatize Terry's choices. Considering the level, the text has been over-Americanized. (Fiction. 12-16)