CO-ED OFF CAMPUS

Freshman Beth Douglas arrives for five months of training in a Chicago settlement house as part of her college's work-related curriculum. The experience is a good one. Under the supervision of an intelligent, demanding head resident, Miss Hibby, Beth and the reader gain a realistic picture of social work. The author manages to portray the serious problems of a defeated urban community without sensationalism or sentimentality. Her major weakness is a sometimes pallid and self-conscious style, especially evident in the dialogue, but the story and personalities are so well conceived that the theme survives. The love interest is only a little sticky. On the whole, a welcome addition to the vocational story shelf.