PINK

Frustrated at being penned in by her counterculture parents, 17-year-old Ava shifts away from her unconventional school and a longstanding relationship with her beautiful but sometimes chilly girlfriend in this funny and poignant Australian import. She is unsure about many things; her decision to switch to an academically rigorous high school is her first step in trying out a new persona. Her plans also include wearing the soft pink sweater of her dreams, attempting to fit into the mainstream and possibly, just maybe, dating a boy. Nothing turns out as she'd expected, though, and Ava finds herself spending a lot of time with the outcast members of her new school's stage crew (or "Screw" as they've proclaimed themselves), to whom she relates much more than she'd like to admit. Ostensibly a focus of the novel is Ava's process of understanding her sexuality, but her search for belonging doesn't stop there. While the resolution of her struggle is too predictable, the delightfully authentic, bawdy dialogue and cast of intensely likable misfits energetically propel this story forward. Readers will enjoy the ride. (Fiction. 13 & up)