WATER FROM THE MOON

The author of Here's Looking at You, Kid is back with another view of the high-school scene; here, sophomore Nicole is disappointed in both her friendship with exotic Tanya and her crush on Josh, a college senior. Nicole Bernstein is a talented art student at a special high school in New York City. Her troubles are familiar. Josh works for her father; when both she and Josh are involved in shooting a TV commercial, she takes his casual interest and affectionate gestures for more than he feels. Meanwhile, Tanya tempts her with skipping out of school at lunchtime and smoking pot; she seems like a close friend; but when she moves away, Nicole's letter is returned, address unknown. Still, parents and brother Rob, who points out that the world is not always open and honest, provide a loving family to rely on, and long-term friend Amy is still available. Zalben's strength is her accurately observed teen-age world, presented in a comfortably undemanding style. Readers will have to be content with that, since the story has minimal plot and little tension; the connections Nicole hoped for were no more likely than ""water from the Moon,"" and their lack of development, while realistic, leaves the story a little flat.