Skyler, Heather. The perfect age.

SKYLER, Heather. The perfect age. Norton. 394p. c2004. 0-393-32688-8. $13.95. SA

Perhaps it's the Las Vegas setting, or the sultry days spent around the Dunes Hotel pool over a period of three summers, but the plot of The Perfect Age seems to meander rather than face the issues of first love and adultery with a specific message. We get to know the comings and going of the entire Larkin family: Helen, her little sister Jenny, dad Professor Larkin, and mom Kathy. Helen's coming-of-age as a lifeguard is the catalyst for the story, while Kathy's affair with the senior guard makes the reader sit up and wonder about this whole group. There is emotional growth and development as Helen and boyfriend Leo experience first sex but the intergenerational message is muddled as Professor Larkin contemplates relations with his students.

A sense of innocence is evident at times in the story; however, rebellion and betrayal figure more dramatically. Pregnancy is introduced as the complicated consequence that it is. The final pages attempt to wrap up this package too neatly, yet I liked the use of the word "implosion" and what it means. I would recommend this title to graduates of the Gossip Girl books or fans of The O.C. who relish these sexually charged vignettes about temptation and relationships. Nancy Zachary, YA Libn., Scarsdale PL, Scarsdale, NY