How does a girl feel when her father is shot? When he bleeds to death in her arms? Beginning with the father's funeral, Judy Blume [in "Tiger Eyes"] follows her 15-year-old heroine, Davey, step by step…. The love interest that is a frequent feature in Judy Blume's work is muted. Davey's friend Wolf, a college student (wise for his years and also wounded in spirit), helps her deal with her problems, even though the two have met only in brief encounters; still he is a central influence in helping her through.

This is a masterly novel, not to be dismissed as simply another treatment of death and violence. The reader empathizes not only with the heroine but with all the other characters. Each has his own story, and each lights up some aspect of the American scene. Take Uncle Walter, for instance, who spends his days making atom...