JACK <i> By A. M. Homes (Vintage: $8.95) </i>

In addition to the standard problems of school, sports and a growing interest in the opposite sex, Jack must cope with the revelation that his father divorced his mother for a male lover. The first-person narration by the teen-age central character rings true, but A. M. Homes needlessly complicates her story: Instead of exploring the way a young man learns love and acceptance, she wanders into soap-opera bathos. The father of David’s best friend turns out to be a wife-beater; the father of David’s new girlfriend also turns out to be gay. It’s nice that David and Maggie have more in common than a homeroom teacher, but the scene of Maggie’s father carrying on with his boyfriend du jour at a bowling alley stretches credibility beyond the breaking point.