Gr 7-12-- Krell-Oishi's attempt to capture the voice of adolescence comes close at times, but ultimately misses the mark. Her subjects--dating, teen pregnancy, sibling rivalry, friendship, college plans, grades--are certainly the stuff of daily teen discussions. However, the slice-of-life scenes read more like case studies from a guidance counselor's files. Occasional attempts at slang and street language can't disguise the preachy tone of these homogenious model teens as they unerringly find the right path in a few carefully constructed sentences. If YAs are going to the trouble of memorizing someone else's words, something that stretches their minds and vocabularies is more worth the trouble. Perhaps a drama teacher stuck for ideas might find these scenes useful as a launching point, but the vivid character studies in Mel Glenn's poems in Class Dismissed (Clarion, 1982) are much more evocative. In most schools, Scenes That Happen probably won't. --Sally T. Margolis, Park Ridge Public Library, IL
