Following up her excellent debut novel "Waiting to Disappear," the author offers a heartfelt story of Sarah Jane Otis, a sixth-grader who leaves her home in Georgia to escape her alcoholic abusive father.

But life in Ohio doesn't seem too promising after the only home her mother can afford at first is a room at the Sweetwater Motel. The author has a real flair for creating a memorable heroine and affecting, believable family situations.

- Jean Westmoore
SOMETHING TO DO
Check out "A Garfield Christmas" musical at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at the UB Center for the Arts, North Campus. Call 645-ARTS. Tickets $12 to $15.

A CHRISTMAS STORY
Maple East teacher Joan Johnston, who has taught elementary school for 40 years, recently sent us this little story, "If I Were a Gift," by second grader Caila Grabek.

I am a baby doll and Santa is wrapping me. It tickles when he rubs the wrapping paper against my feet. I love being Santa's best gift. He said I am the best. Now it is time. I am going to be someone's toy! But I will miss Santa. Still, it is a lifetime of love. I will miss you, Santa. I just don't know what to do. It is too hard to choose. OK, Santa. I will go, but I will still miss you and I will always think about you. HO! HO! HO! It is all right. I will still be in your heart. It is Christmas everywhere and Santa is dropping me off. Santa, will I ever see you again? Yes, yes. You will see me again, but it could be anywhere, anywhere in your heart.

YOU'RE THE STAR
Let's face it: All of us want to be on TV. For PlayStation 2 owners, the Eye Toy ($49.99) makes it possible.

The Eye Toy is a small camera that plugs into PlayStation 2. It turns players into action stars by reading your movements and translating them into the gameplay. Sure, you'll look like a fool waving your hands and feet in the air, but playing Eye Toy with a bunch of friends is a riot.

In Kung Foo, players battle with imaginary ninjas flying from all sides. In Wishi-Washi, players have to scrub dirty windows within a time limit. In both, you can play alone or with a friend. All of the games are incredibly simple to play, and they appeal to all ages. Eye Toy also can be used for video messaging. Users can record a 60-second message and save it to a memory card for later review.

A MERRY WHAT?
There are more than 2,700 languages spoken around the world, all of which Santa speaks fluently. Here's a sample of how to say "Merry Christmas" in 10 languages:

Danish: Glfdelig Jul (glow-lee yule)

Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest (fro-lich keerst feast)

Finnish: Hyvaa joulua (haus-kaa yo-la)

French: Joyeux Noel (jwa-y-oh no-el )

German: Froehliches Weihnachten (free-lich vi-nock-ten)

Italian: Buon Natale (b-wan na-ta-ley)

Spanish: Feliz Navidad (fey-lise na-vee-daad)

Swedish: God Jul (god jewel)

Thai: Suk San Wan Christmas (sook saan waan Christmas)

Welsh: Nadolig Llawen (na-doe-lich la-when)

BRAINIAC QUESTION
In what language was the traditional holiday song "O Christmas Tree" first written?

A. Dutch

B. German

C. Swedish

D. Russian

Answer: B. German. The tune is very old - music historians think it may go back to the 12th century. The words we sing today, in the original German and its English translation, were set to the music in about 1820. The German name for the song is "O Tannenbaum."

MINI HA-HA
What is a ski pro's favorite song?

"There's No Business Like Snow Business"!