Rottman, S.L. Stetson.

Penguin Putnam, Viking. 214p. c2002. 0-670-035424. $16.99. JS

High school senior Stetson, known as Stet, lives for his car, an old Honda Civic he has been lovingly restoring over the last two years. He designs and sells T-shirts and works at a salvage yard for extra money to rebuild his dream vehicle. He even pulls pranks at school for cash, though they threaten his goal of being the first in his family to graduate from high school. Stet tries to stay out of the way of his alcoholic father, and to avoid the traps of drink, early marriage, and work at the town mill that have stunted the lives of his former friends. When Stet comes home one day, he is startled to encounter his younger sister, Kayla--a sister he never knew he had, as his mother had left when he was a toddler. Fourteen-year-old Kayla is a mess, mourning her mother, horrified by her father, and trying alcohol herself. Stet reluctantly comes to her rescue, and a bond is forged between them when she helps him paint his beloved car. Then Kayla gets into an accident with the Honda, and Stet finally arranges for them to leave town--the new beginning they both need so desperately.

A clever, sensitive, talented teen nobly striving to overcome a lousy parent and a bad environment--one who can fix cars and pull pranks, too--this is a good formula for a character teens will admire and embrace. Stet is sympathetic and believable, and the emotional connections he forges with the owner of the salvage yard, a gruff but caring Viet vet, and with his sister are affecting. Rottman, the author of the YA novels Hero, Rough Waters, and Head Above Water, is a former high school English teacher who knows teens well, and readers will root for Stetson to triumph over his circumstances. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT