14 October 2005 HARMLESS by Dana Reinhardt, Wendy Lamb Books, February 2007, ISBN: 0-385-74699-1; Libr.ISBN: 0-385-90941-9

What happens when the stakes suddenly grow so steep that it feels as if there is no turning back, that there is no real option other than to add a few new stories to a house of cards that is swiftly growing into a teetering high rise?

"White ones and red ones

And some you can't disguise

Twisted truth and half the news

Can't hide it in your eyes."

--The Thompson Twins, "Lies"

Anna:

"Mom and Dad always made this big deal all the time about what a perfect kid I was and that made it difficult for me to lie to them. They always told me that I was so smart and mature and that I know how to make the right decisions for myself. They tell me that the best part about being my parents is, no, not watching my bad karaoke, it's just sitting back and watching me figure out my way through the world. Well, that's what I was doing, wasn't I? Sometimes figuring your own way through the world means lying to your parents. Sometimes it means taking risks. Making new friends, Meeting new people from different neighborhoods and different backgrounds. Sometimes it means doing things that nobody would ever imagine Anna Banana would do."

Emma:

"Parents don't really want to know the truth. They just want to know that everything is perfect and that their children are smart and happy and popular and out of danger so they can concentrate on their own problems."

Mariah:

"Funny. I'd lied to my mother, stolen her money, spent the night with my boyfriend, and managed to get her to feel sorry for me. I was a genius."

HARMLESS is the story of three ninth-grade girls who attend a private school in Orsonville, a small town along the Hudson River. For years there have been Anna-and-Emma. When Mariah joins up with them, it appears as if there might be an opportunity for the duo to escape social invisibility. After all, Mariah's got a hot, older boyfriend with a car who attends the public school. And it doesn't take much for the girls to convince themselves that it is time to become the sort of adolescents who might engage in some of those reasonably common teen behaviors that parents wouldn't exactly approve of.

Emma:

"I wondered if Silas had ever been in my situation. I wondered if he ever lied about where he was spending the night. I'm not sure Mom and Dad would get so bent out of shape if Silas spent the night at some strange girl's house with no adult supervision. There's a clear double standard in our house and it's not just because Silas is older. It's because Silas is a boy, and I get the sense that Dad takes pride in knowing, or at least assuming, that Silas has a way with girls."

"The truth is like chasing a phantom

The truth is so seemingly random"

--Todd Rundgren, "Truth"

What happens when things get too out of control?

Emma:

"This was bad. We couldn't get caught."

Anna:

"I know what I saw. I may be inexperienced. I may never have kissed a boy or had his hand in my shirt, but I know what I saw."

Author Dana Reinhardt does a superb job of crafting the setting and then upping the ante as HARMLESS reveals itself to be a harrowing tale of three friends whose "harmless" lie leads to potential repercussions extending far beyond their ability to spend future Friday nights easily deceiving their parents.

My bet is that it will only take one or two readers to have a major chunk of the eighth and ninth graders lining up to read this one.

Richie Partington

http://richiespicks.com

BudNotBuddy@aol.com