GERMY IN CHARGE

Sixth-grader Jeremy Bluett (Germy Blew It, 1987, etc.) is still naively imagining that things will come his way with incredible ease. This time, it's power: he wins the school-board seat normally held by a high-school student with the help of adults who warm to his timely RFK quote (``...I dream things that never were and say, why not?'') and of a derisive high school that elects him largely as a joke. To Jeremy, it's an opportunity to call off school when it rains, give out excuses on board stationery, or fire his teacher when she demands homework. With a broad brush, Jones outlines the difference between these fantasies and the reality of the voluminous documents that Jeremy's supposed to read in order to vote responsibly on board decisions; meanwhile, with somewhat subtler wit, she satirizes the political process—influence, unenlightened self-interest, savvy political handlers (represented here by friend ``Margaret Mouth''). Again, kids will laugh at Jeremy's comically doomed successes; his ultimate decision to stick with his office and do his best may presage a changed boy, but don't bank on it. (Fiction. 9-12)