THE YOUNG BARBARIANS

Young sixteens and slightly mature thirteen and fourteen- year olds will find this story of a very glamorous younger set entertaining reading. Adults will feel, perhaps, that both characters and situations are somewhat contrived. Penny and Barbara are high school juniors, the pivots of their ""set"". Barbara has a stepmother situation to solve, and a larger-than-normal quota of affairs of the heart. For more than half the story, the girls rampage to small profit through mass entertaining, dating, expensive snacks, etc. And then they turn serious, adopt an orphanage, face soberly problems of petting, dressing, eventual marriage, new babies in the family. The solutions are over-simplified, but there's enough realistic dating talk, food talk and game talk to compensate for lack of compelling action. There are better books.