Crooked Little Heart, Anne Lamott (Pantheon, 1997) ***

The story of a thirteen year old California girl, Rosie, a junior tennis champ who actually believes that she's a loser in life. Her best friend, Simone, is more mature and attractive to boys and has a more natural talent for tennis. Determined not to be a loser, Rosie begins to cheat against her tennis opponents. It's a classic 'coming of age' novel, where Rosie must face the changes that come with the developing sexuality and changing interests of her friends and herself. It is complicated by a home situation where the stepfather and mother have their own problems, and by a shadowy figure, Luther, who seems to be stalking Rosie at her various tennis tournaments. This story line may not turn you on, but you will positively enjoy Lamott's writing. She can be very funny and seems to have really gotten inside Rosie's head. It might just have something to do with the fact that Anne Lamott was herself a teenage tournament tennis player in California.