TILL'S CHRISTMAS

Till, 11, is horrified when her mother invites an old school chum and her daughter Deirdre, who is Till's age, for Christmas. Unsure at school, awkward and prickly at home, Till isn't the most appealing heroine; the friction between her and the sophisticated young New Yorker is predictable, as is their surviving their parents and Christmas to become friends. Meanwhile, some of their squabbling is unconvincing, while Till's school position remains ambivalent. Till's sibs and her mother are interesting types, but Deirdre is less clearly drawn. Most disconcerting, the setting is Alabama, but there is no mention of mixed colors in school or community—even though cultural conflict is a theme here.(Fiction. 8-12)