UNDERSTANDING CHILD CUSTODY

An entry in the ``Venture'' series that, in its comprehensive treatment of options, will be equally helpful to teens and to their parents. Approaching custody primarily from a legal standpoint, free-lancer Terkel outlines types of divorce (default, contested, uncontested, etc.) and gives a particularly informative overview of custody arrangements: sole, joint, joint legal but not physical, dove-nesting (the parents move about), split (taking turns at sole custody). Case studies give the information immediacy; emotional concerns are addressed in descriptions of support programs (e.g., Banana Splits) and of what court is like. Occasionally, disjointedness creates confusion: a section on court investigation doesn't say under what circumstances inquiry occurs, and sample questionnaires from such investigations are plopped at the end without comment, leaving kids to struggle with how to answer provocative questions and ignoring opportunities for self-evaluation and insight. Nonetheless, a balanced, valuable reference source, sympathetically presented. Bibliography; resources; index. (Nonfiction. 14+)