By her own admission, Meg Rosoff doesn't go in for exhaustive research. But no matter - she can write a thoroughly good story, and What I Was (Penguin, £10.99) is a very atmospheric tale of love and friendship.

The story is told by a teenage boy who is at boarding school on the Suffolk coast. His life at school is uncomfortable, and he finds solace in walking by the sea. Then he discovers a fisherman's hut, hidden away from casual eyes, and - joy of joys - a beautiful boy who lives there, in striped blankets and with only a roaring fire for company.

It's not an earth-shattering tale, this story of tentative friendship, but a gentle, compelling one. So gentle that the twist in the tale is all the more surprising when we find out the truth.

Rosoff's first book, set in a house in Water Eaton, near Kidlington, where she lived before moving to London, was aimed at teenagers, and she obviously has a gift for getting inside the skin of adolescents.

Things are not always what they seem in That Summer Affair by Sarah Challis (Headline, £16.99). This is a romantic story, set in a little Dorset village, where the disappearance of a somewhat disreputable teenage girl sends shock waves through the community, and has unexpected consequences for many of them.

There's Rachel Turner, for instance. Police inquiries about her husband's whereabouts that day do not receive satisfactory answers. An elderly resident is troubled by memories of his own childhood misery.

And while Juliet Fairweather, who has come to stay in the village for the summer, is distracted by a personal drama of her own, her elderly mother is drawn into the lives of many of the villagers.

Again, this is a gentle story, easy to read, and ultimately a pleasure.

Just in case you are tempted by the title, which I admit is appealing, I should warn that A Death on the Ocean Wave (Robert Hale, £18.99) by Tim Heald is so lightweight and frivolous as to be nauseating. It's the third in the mystery series involving Dr Tudor Cornwall, so obviously my reaction is not shared by all readers.

On this occasion, Dr Cornwall is a guest speaker on a transatlantic crossing which goes spectacularly wrong. The cast of fellow passengers is laughable (Doctor Umlaut, Freddie Grimm and so on), the writing full of clichés, and the storyline quite ridiculous. But don't let me put you off if you have enjoyed his previous books - this is merely my personal opinion. So now you know.