"Shelter"

"Shelter" by Harlan Coben is his first Mickey Bolitar novel but he was introduced to readers in Coben's adult novel, "Live Wires."  Mickey is a high school sophomore who loves to play basketball.  His father was recently killed in a car crash that sent Mickey to the hospital and his mother escaping into addictions.  Mickey's Uncle Myron, an attorney, has offered Mickey a home while his mother is in rehab.  Mickey still owns the family home that he grew up in with Mickey's father.  The two brothers had a falling out years ago and there was also some disapproval over his father marrying his mother when they were both so young.

Mickey has spent most of his life traveling the world with his parents while they did relief work but his dad had recently decided it was time to settle down in one place and allow Mickey the opportunity to attend one high school and prepare to go on to college. 

Mickey has learned a lot of useful life skills while traveling with his parents and living in some fairly exotic places but he also has a true gift for basketball which he is keeping under wraps until time for tryouts.  Although Mickey's father was a good player, his Uncle Myron is still known as one of the best basketball players at the school Mickey is attending.  If his mother hadn't gotten pregnant with Mickey, she would have been a tennis star so he has inherited some natural abilities.

Adjusting to a new school takes some time and Mickey is not above making choices that don't always set well with teachers and/or other students -- like refusing to participate in all the "bonding" exercises the teacher had for the first day of school.  The exercises do allow him the opportunity to meet Ashley, though, and the demure young woman becomes his new girlfriend.  When she disappears, he decides to find out what happened to her and/or where she has gone.

In the meantime, he has an encounter with the town's crazy "Bat Lady" who knows who he is and tells him his father is still alive.  He makes friends with some unlikely fellow classmates -- Ema who is known as the fat girl, and Spoon who is the janitor's son.  He's really surprised, though, by being approached by Rachel, the prettiest and most sought after girl in school, after Ashley's disappearance.

Mickey and his new friends find some adventure in their search for Ashley and he has another encounter with the Bat lady.  Although this is from the teen section, it doesn't read like a teen mystery to me -- kept me engrossed to the end and I almost read it in one sitting.  I can hardly wait to see what Mickey gets up to next.  pazt