"Fleur growing up"

In this sequel to FLEUR DE LEIGH'S LIFE OF CRIME, Diane Leslie has her teenage heroine "exiled" to a lowcost, rundown, sorry excuse for a boarding school. Her parents, Charmain and Maurice, arranged to transfer Fleur and a teenaged family friend, Daisy Belmont, in mid-semester, to Rancho Cambridge West. Both sets of parents are in the Hollywood entertainment industry and would prefer their daughters not to be underfoot. Hastily choosing a "bargain" school, none of the parents realize how substandard Rancho Cambridge West really is.

Fleur arrives first and is mistaken for her friend Daisy Belmont, daughter of a famous movie actress. Fleur becomes the brunt of pranks intended for Daisy by the jealous student body. When Daisy arrives, she informs Fleur that she wants to be known as Twyla Flint and wants to distance herself from her mother and stepfather. She has hired a detective to locate her biological father. Fleur and Daisy get to know the thirty-eight other students, some of whom play major roles in the novel. There's Melly, a Jewish girl like Fleur, Lizzie, Tammy, Sparky, Brian, and Lionel. The adjudicator, Mr. St. Cry, plays a prominent role. The headmaster, Mr. Price and his wife; St. Cyr's doctor friend, Dietrick; the school's owner, Dirk Swiggert; and Royzy, a virile cowboy star, play minor roles.

Fleur and the girls get into situations that Leslie treats with humor, but the situations involve deep issues. Melly and Fleur become targets of anti-Semitism. Melly, Fleur, Twyla, and Sparky get drunk and trash their room with unladylike graffiti. Punished by the furious headmaster with a second "exile" on Sundays, they bond together as the "Four-Letter Four." The Four-Letter Four make the best of their punishment, turning it into something worthwhile and ennobling. Twyla's biological father shows up and adds an interesting side plot to the novel.

Diane Leslie has a talent for seeing the humorous side of life. She presents serious issues in a way that does not offend anybody. She takes Fleur and Twyla through growing up experiences amid the humorous episodes at Rancho Cambridge West and adds insight into some of the mindset of Hollywood. I enjoyed this novel. I think you will enjoy it also.

Reviewed by Maurice A. Williams
Posted April 26, 2003