STEPS IN TIME

When Evan, 16, spends a summer with her widowed grandmother on an island in Maine, she and ""Gram"" help one another to expand their worlds. Evan, a reticent middle child, has always thought of herself as less popular than her brother and sister. She was Grandy's favorite, but now she's been left as companion to Gram, who has always favored the others; it's easy to be at loggerheads with Gram, who is unaffectionate and sometimes abrasive. As Evan makes friends with the Island community in spite of Gram's restrictions, she realizes that Gram has always stood aside as Grandy's ebullience gathered friends; shy, she was unwilling to compete, a trait Evan shares. On their own now, both blossom. Gram rejoins a chamber music group and acquires a motorbike. Evan conquers her fear of diving and makes several friends, especially David and Gram herself. Each friendship is blessed with the sort of merry repartee that springs from the joy of discovering a kindred spirit. A complex, thoughtful novel, with the well-drawn characters we've come to expect from Wallace. Brodeur (The Kenton Year, Callie's Way), and enough humor and incident to please a wide audience.