SAMMY CARDUCCI'S GUIDE TO WOMEN
By
An antic, lightweight tale about suburban sixth-graders in pursuit of the opposite sex. At 4'2"", Sammy Carducci has decided that he's ready to date; as he learnedly lectures his featherbrained buddy Gus about Women and Love (""Giggling is one of the ten early warning signs""), he surveys the available females and settles on voluptuous, 5'6"" Becky Davidson. The two, who narrate alternate chapters, actually hit it off, though (unbeknownst to Sammy) Becky is already being chased by prep school hunk Kevin. Sammy tries to come on as a swaggering, sharp-dressed Italian lover, but Becky is cleareyed enough to see past this front to the good heart underneath. Amid pratfalls, comical plot developments, and quick, funny dialogue, the two share some good times, have a falling-out, and finally mend matters (after a macho, gratuitous fight with Kevin) when Sammy acceptd the fact that he's not as sophisticated as he'd like to think. Readers who enjoy comedies of embarrassment will laugh through this while absorbing the author's suggestion that they needn't rush to maturity.