Gr 6-9 Travis, a selfish and obnoxious teen, his 14-year-old sister Jennifer, and their 9-year-old brother Teddy are all taken by their mother to a resort town in Mexico for a vacation. Mom, an unhappy wife contemplating a di vorce, is having an affair. Teddy's ob session with the endangered sea turtles leads him to discover a factory where the animals are being slaughtered. Ted dy is outraged by this injustice and fi nally tries to free some of the turtles on his ownan effort which leads to his death. Travis and his mother are impli cated in the death because neither was around to supervise Teddy. In the end, Travis tells his grieving mother that he is sure that Jennifer and Dad will for give the two of them for their neglect of Teddy, but Hobbs does little to con vince readers that they actually will or even that they should forgive them. This is the stuff of which soap operas are made, although even soap operas have their lighter moments. This novel is overflowing with unpleasant stereo types of Mexico (harrowing cab rides, inefficient hotel clerks, and lecherous locals), and one is hard pressed to find sympathy for any of the characters. Kathryn Weisman, Willowbrook School, Glenview, Ill.