Penelope Todd: Peri

By MARGIE THOMSON

There are a lot of changes going on for Peri: not only has she moved from Wellington to Christchurch with her parents and younger brother Luke, with a new house, new school and new friends to get used to, but she is changing.

This cleverly drawn character is someone other girls her age (around 15) will easily relate to: she is seeing her family in a new, mature way, sometimes empathetic, sometimes critical.

She is having to juggle extra responsibilities that come as her parents both take on demanding activities outside home; and she must also take care of Luke, a quirky, unsettled child who takes refuge in a tree and rarely comes down.

Most tumultuously of all, Peri falls in love, experiencing a more powerful attraction to the enigmatic and possibly dangerous Max than she has experienced before. The important question of how to occupy the difficult emotional terrain between childhood and ones emerging sexuality, is managed expertly by Todd. She doesn't flinch from the rocky side of teenage jealousy, sexual attraction, resentment of parents, alcohol use and abuse but at the same time she has created a responsible, independent-minded girl who you feel would be a great and fun friend.

Longacre

$14.95