THE DOOR BETWEEN

Continuing the saga of the seasons begun in Fours Crossing (a small New Hampshire town where Celtic traditions and magic still vie with modern customs) and Watersmeet, Melissa, 13, discovers that as True Keeper she must make a dangerous journey to the Otherworld. With the passing of summer, there are changes. Melissa's Dad has been appointed Keeper of the Forest. But, though he's a loving parent, his notions for developing the forest tract (beginning with the destruction of the root cellar that is actually a Celtic temple) prove him a false Keeper. Jed, now in high school, is so involved in new concerns that he is less of a support. Gran is failing. Harvest festival and Halloween provide the arena for the Hermit, escaped from jail and lurking in the background, to send forth the menacing Hunt until Melissa confronts him in the Otherworld and frees the town from his persistent threats. If this sounds like the middle of a long tale, it is. Clearly, winter is expected to produce a fourth volume. Meanwhile, readers of the earlier volumes will want this one in spite of its problems: Celtic beliefs are less comfortable in Garden's sketchy New Hampshire than in Cooper's vividly evoked Britain; characters have ambiguous roles to no apparent purpose; and the magic is less than compelling. Still, this is at least as strong as the earlier volumes, is fairly well paced, and may serve as a bridge to Cooper's more substantial fare.