The Lifeguard

Gr 9 Up—The longing to hook up with a hottie is what fuels many a teenager's angst. The Lifeguard starts off hot: the French idiom la petit mort and how it corresponds to the English "orgasm" drives an early conversation between Sirena and her best friend, Marissa. Artistic Sirena has a crush on gorgeous lifeguard Pilot, whom she meets when her divorcing parents ship her from Texas to her Aunt Ellie's Rhode Island beach house for the summer. Marissa's humor and common sense make her a believable antagonist to Sirena's swooning and self-absorption through her letters. But her crush on Pilot gets lost in other subplots involving haunted houses and haunted pasts that strain credibility. Connections between teen love and previous heartbreak seem forced. The past rests heavily on Pilot, and waiting to find out just what it reveals is Sirena's preoccupation, rendering her so passive that it's not really her fault that she isn't more compelling. Aunt Ellie, a writer with a handsome and empathetic boyfriend, becomes the most interesting character by default. Her casual lifestyle translates into an acceptance of her somewhat uptight niece as an adult: that's one challenge Sirena's needed all along.—Georgia Christgau, Middle College High School, Long Island City, NY