AN EVEN BREAK

An unambitious novella about ambitious 12-year-old Frisk: He gets a summer job managing a backroom pool hall in Wilma, Virginia; sets up his mother with the polite pro who teaches him the game; and, by stepping in for his mentor at the pivotal moment in a pool tournament (which comprises a third of the book), becomes the toast of the pool hall. This is a feel-good novel that isn't particularly compelling, but doesn't disappoint readers either. Hite (Answer My Prayer, p. 711, etc.) has an upright sense of humor; with admirable speed he sketches out characters and lays down the plot. The only larger idea in the novel appears on the last page, concerning pool: ``It is immensely popular for one simple reason: It's fun. . . . You might give it a try sometime.'' A fast read, without any bumps, that, like the average TV show, leaves almost no impression. (Fiction. 9-12)