SUSIE AND LEYLA

Susie is an American spending a year with her family in Ankara and Leyla is a Turk whose year in the States (AFS) makes her fluent in English--a first but not the last basis for friendship. The book takes shape around several situations, primarily the gradual understanding of different expectations and goals. Susie is relatively open-minded in contrast to American compound Carolyn (the PX and imported movies), aggressive compared to more tradition-minded Leyla. With sixteen-year-old pink robe fluffiness, Susie goes through a series of crushes; Leyla fights a family-arranged marriage, then capitulates but almost loses her man (Susie awkwardly intervenes). The rushed departure of Susie's family is accompanied by an onrush of gifts revealing mutual friendship. It's ostensibly Susie's remembrance, often so precise that it's suspect although family humor carries it along. Pleasant.