THE NEW LUCINDA

Sixteen-year-old Cindy, known to her friends in Exeter as ""bean pole"", dismayed by her own awkwardness, determines to artificially change her personality and develop glamour. This she sets out to do, and after a year of inner contortions in which she just about alienates herself from her entire class, she realizes that it's better being a genuine bean pole than a poseur. With this realization Cindy assumes a presence and force which far exceeds her fairy tale expectations. Though replete with all the usual ingredients of teen-age fiction, Cindy's story not only presents, but offers a feasible solution to a problem, which if not handled intelligently, invariably accents the awkwardness of the awkward age.