THE QUEEN OF DREAMLAND

Julie, 14, was adopted as an infant by the Soluses but is now consumed by the need to know her real parents. When a mysterious card inviting her to Dreamland for a free palm reading appears in her school locker, Julie follows it up. Dreamland turns out to be a big old house, part of which is rented out to Loretta Young and her wheelchair-bound son, Bagley. Loretta is Julie's real mother, a garishly dressed, illiterate fake who makes a living by interpreting horoscopes and reading the palms of the gullible. Julie is too infatuated with Loretta to see her for what she is; her eyes are opened when she learns that her real mother didn't give her away, but sold her. After some melodramatic moments, the story concludes with everyone forgiving, understanding, and loving everyone else. Few readers will care about any of the unattractive characters in this dreary tale from Tomey (Grandfather's Day, 1992, etc.): Julie is selfish and unpleasant; Loretta is cardboard; the Soluses are colorless; and Bagley is in service to the plot, and not a character at all. (Fiction. 10-14)