CHILDREN'S BOOKS; SHE RUNS TO CONQUER: Review

As with all of Ms. [Virginia Hamilton]'s books, the language, especially the dialogue, of ''A White Romance'' deserves a special note. It is in many ways private, the language of today's black teen-agers - creative, rebellious and sharp, in many ways a reminder that young people are outsiders in this culture, isolated in a world that is life-threatening. Here whites are not simply white, but ''be-whites''; blacks, ''be-blacks.'' It is an engaging language that easily lends itself to humor: when a white student asks if the formerly all-black school had the halls carpeted because whites were coming, a black student replies: '' 'Buddy, car-pet was born on these floors . . . you Nawth Americans are privileged to walk on 'em.' Said in such a way that it was funny.''