MAIZIE

Maizie, 12, is older than her years; her mother left the family four years ago, right after sister Grace was born, and her silent, gloomy father has a drinking problem. Optimistic and hard- working, Maizie wants her family back together, her father to quit drinking, and a strawberry roan pony. But tragedy and disaster are always lurking; the family dog dies, she almost stabs her eye out, and her father accidently sets a neighbor's farm on fire. Vividly original details give Maizie's tale force, but it lacks a satisfying ending and consistent voice. The narrative veers unconvincingly between hillbilly colloquialism and lofty imagery; not that a girl from the Pennsylvania mountains can't have a poetic notion, but nothing Maizie says indicates that such thoughts are forthcoming, and so they always jar. (Fiction. 9-12)