Banks, Kate. Friends of the heart; amici del cuore.

BANKS, Kate. Friends of the heart; amici del cuore. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 144p. c2005. 0-374-32455-7. $16.00. J

Lucrezia, nicknamed Lukey or Lou, is a 12-year-old Italian girl from Rome. Her best friend is 12-year-old Ollie, who lives in Milan. They meet every summer at her grandparents' summer home and enjoy idyllic adventures under the hot Italian sun until "the summer that shouldn't have been." That summer their adventures are complicated by the arrival of two other young teens, Martin, a neighbor, and Anna Maria, a girl who has not previously been part of the inner circle made up of Lou and Ollie. This summer, as narrated by Lukey, issues of budding sexual attraction and the nature of friendship arise. The four spend their days sunning, swimming, sailing, playing board games, and eating good Italian food. At the end of the summer, a near-death experience caused by male competitiveness occurs. Their survival brings the four closer just as they are set to go their separate ways. Then, like a sudden clap of thunder, in an event completely unforeshadowed, tragedy strikes. Everybody is sad. The remaining three fall out of touch, but life goes on.

The setting is exotic. A young reader will learn Italian customs and words. The plot is negligible until the big surprise at the end. Character development is confined to the narrator's pronouncements, not by revelations governed by plot or specific action. The theme centers on typical issues of identity. The big surprise at the end, however, seems like a gimmick designed to give all of their previous interactions Deep Significance. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof. of English, BYU, Provo, UT