Watershed — Elizabeth Harlan

Gr 9-12 Although the denouement of this novel is poignant and skillfully written, Watershed is a seriously flawed adolescent booka novel needs a good beginning and middle, too. The evolution of the plotthe events that lead to a teenage boy's suicideis too predictable, and the characters are closer to being stereotypes than fully realized persons. The central character, Noel, a troubled teenager, and his father, a Yuppie-like attorney, engage in battles that seem contrived and use dialogue which is arch and stilted and ultimately, unbelievable. In addition, an explicitly described sexual encounter between a teenage couple is gratuitous. While the novel's issues, sibling rivalry and teen suicide, are of unquestioned relevance, they are better handled elsewhere. Katherine Paterson's treatment of sibling rivalry in Jacob Have I Loved (Crowell, 1980) is superior; both Fran Arrick's Tunnel Vision (Bradbury, 1980) and Richard Peck's Remembering the Good Times (Delacorte, 1985) are better books about suicide. Jerry Flack, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs