THE BEGINNING OF UNBELIEF

Hal, 16, opens this contemplative journal by declaring that he doesn't believe in anything—including belief— and closes with the realization that questioning belief, rather than rejecting it outright, is a sturdier peg on which to hang a life. Readers can follow his trail on a metaphorical level—in an episodic short story about Hal's imaginary childhood companion Zach, who learns to deal with annoying and dangerous illusions as captain of the starship Albatross—and also, more mundanely, as Hal travels between divorced parents and sees them also struggling with life's changes. Jones paints Hal as a wry self-observer with a gift for family diplomacy, and puts him into mildly comic situations that generally lead to a clearer view of himself and others. Cerebral, but not heavy. (Fiction. 11-15)