Brodsky, Daniella. One trick pony.

BRODSKY, Daniella. One trick pony. Random House, Delacorte. 279p. c2007 0-385-73452-3. $15.99. S

Chocolat? Only this time around, it's designer coffee in Manhattan. A beautiful, mysterious Frenchwoman blows into town and sets up an exotic coffee house named One Trick Pony, whose brew subtly transforms lives and characters, untangling the romantic entanglements and parental problems of four rich, sexually experienced, but secretly unfulfilled teens: Jesse, the hookup king; Abigail, the heartbroken poet; Randall, the musical genius; and Kate, the beautiful but lonely know-it-all. Somehow, the coffee makes all of these people not only kinder and gentler, but bolder and braver. This is necessary because the theme is getting up off the couch, and all of these young people must become serious but successful risk takers. Kate has a slightly different task. She must learn to take other people's feelings into account.

This author is a heavy-duty fan of coffee, or maybe just French-roasted coffee. At any rate, no one seems concerned that four high school students cannot exist without 12 to 20 mugs of coffee a day. But then, again, they're rich enough to afford the latest in teeth-whitening procedures. Even more of a concern is the sexual free-or-all they enjoy. Jesse, for example, is not a villain for being a relentless Lothario; he's just confused, and his parents ignore him. Presumably, the somewhat disinterested, all-but-absent parental units taught these teens about birth control and safe sex at some point, but those sessions are not mentioned in the text. Instead, this book flirts with magical realism and the belief that true love will eventually conquer all, no matter how many toads you sleep with before it does. This is romantic fluff with a caffeine twist that sophisticated teenagers will enjoy. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof, of English, BYU, Laie, HI

S--Recommended for senior high school students.