THE AMBER CAT

Revisiting some of the characters who appeared in McKay's Dog Friday (1995), this story finds Robin Brogan, his friend Dan, and neighbor Sun Dance down with the chicken pox. While Mrs. Brogan takes care of them, she begins a story from her own childhood, when she and two summer friends, Nick and Charley, met a mysterious girl, Harriet, on the beach. Nick and Harriet construct a raft in a cave as a surprise for Kathy, but Nick is swept out to sea, rescued, and put to bed. McKay has composed a ghost story of great charm, a bit of a mystery with many poignant moments, and a family story in which the well-realized characters don't need to be bound by blood ties to treat others with respect and affection. The mystery comes when Harriet, dead for 80 years, habitually ``borrows'' objects—which she always returns—from the past and present; she also returns to Sun Dance the amber cat that Charley gave her so long ago. The seaside setting is as enchanting as the collection of children, and the British humor that peppers this novel only provides more cheeky appeal. (Fiction. 9-12)