Young Adult Book Nostalgia (From the 1980s and early 1990s)

[dhaupt]

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jewzy wrote:

I love this thread and wanted to add my list of favorite books growing up.

I first started reading Christopher Pike books. If it wasn't for those books I probably wouldn't be in love with litature. I've read all of his YA books, but espeically love Road to Nowhere, Midnight Club, Die Softly, Weekend, Chainletter, Remember Me, and The Last Vampire.

I enjoyed L.J. Smith's Forbbiden game series a great deal and actually want to re-read it soon.

Something Upstairs -  Avi

The band never dances - J.D. Landis

The Boxcar Children - Warner

The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton

And then there were none - Agatha Christie

The Martian Chronicals - Ray Bradbury

Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli

I am the cheese - Robert Cormier

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Thanks jewzy, I'm sure my daughter can relate to some of these, I grew up in the 50's with Nancy Drew and The Happy Hollisters

thanks for your list

[lmcbride613]

Hi !

Loving this post...I have been trying to come up with the name of a 4-book-series & am hoping someone could help!  It was about 3-4 girls in their senior year of high school?  One is dating the "perfect" boy & gets pregnant?  Another one is engaged & throws her engagement ring into a pool at one point?  One is a girl (I think named Molly), who everyone hates - who wears a green and black dress with cutouts to a dance (much to the chagrin of everyone else)...also, a girl named Gwennie (?!?) is allowed to dress wildly outside of her house, but not in it?  I believe most of the books revolved around a dance of some type, with one at a New Years Eve party...

Sorry, these are the most random of memories - its been about 20 yrs since I read them, but any help would be SOOOO appreciated! 

[dhaupt]

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lmcbride613 wrote:

Hi !

Loving this post...I have been trying to come up with the name of a 4-book-series & am hoping someone could help!  It was about 3-4 girls in their senior year of high school?  One is dating the "perfect" boy & gets pregnant?  Another one is engaged & throws her engagement ring into a pool at one point?  One is a girl (I think named Molly), who everyone hates - who wears a green and black dress with cutouts to a dance (much to the chagrin of everyone else)...also, a girl named Gwennie (?!?) is allowed to dress wildly outside of her house, but not in it?  I believe most of the books revolved around a dance of some type, with one at a New Years Eve party...

Sorry, these are the most random of memories - its been about 20 yrs since I read them, but any help would be SOOOO appreciated! 

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Hi, thanks for the post unfortunately I don't have a clue hopefully someone else will, but in the mean time try posting this on Lost Books here good luck

[jemstarr]

The book you are looking for sounds like the books I'm looking for. I remember them being Scholastic books. One was called "______ Guide to Flirting" and the next one was "______ Guide to Dating". I can't remember they're exact title or who wrote them. I'm sure they're somewhere in my mother's garage but I hope to figure out the titles without having to go looking in there for them.

The first one had a red border with pink hearts around the cover and the second one was green with light green hearts around the cover.

[sharpswife]

I have been looking for the same book about the orphan and the secret room with the rose wallpaper. It also had two dolls that came to life. It is called Behind the attic wall. I hope this helps.

[Peppermill]

Behind the Attic Wall  by Sylvia Cassedy

Good sleuth work. Check listing for sources.

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sharpswife wrote:

I have been looking for the same book about the orphan and the secret room with the rose wallpaper. It also had two dolls that came to life. It is called Behind the attic wall. I hope this helps.

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[gwen-stacy]

These may not be exactly the correct timeframe, but here are mine that I read as a youngster, most of them purchased from the school book fairs:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

Morning Is A Long Time Coming by Bette Greene

Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

The Boxcar Children (only the first book) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

What Eric Knew by James Howe

Night by Elie Wiesel

Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Island Of The Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

The River by Gary Paulsen

The Monument by Gary Paulsen

The Indian In The Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Peterson

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Julie Of The Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Sounder by William H. Armstrong

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

[dhaupt]

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gwen-stacy wrote:

These may not be exactly the correct timeframe, but here are mine that I read as a youngster, most of them purchased from the school book fairs:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

Morning Is A Long Time Coming by Bette Greene

Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

The Boxcar Children (only the first book) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

What Eric Knew by James Howe

Night by Elie Wiesel

Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Island Of The Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

The River by Gary Paulsen

The Monument by Gary Paulsen

The Indian In The Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Peterson

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Julie Of The Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Sounder by William H. Armstrong

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

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thanks for your list gwen-stacy

[Gigglingoth]

Hopefully someone out there still reads these...

First off I'm so glad to have found this site & this discussion!

Talk about memories! Boy, I could never wait for the order forms to arrive!

My one true mystery book:

I keep thinking the title was something along the lines of love me forever

The only real character I remember is Duncun. I guess he was an oddball-I believe his parents ran an alcohol or drug recovery place. Anyway somehow all the girls started carrying the black anemone (sp?) flowers?

I remember the main character (name not remembered) getting frustrated that his g/f was buying into the whole scene with Duncun

[bradleys]

I'm new to this thread, found it while surfing for some long lost books i read as a kid.

I know its a long shot, but I'm a fan of message-in-a-bottle posts..

  I had one story about a girl and her brother who found a pocketwatch under a stump.  It takes them back in time and they meet a Hessian runaway, I believe his name was Franz?  They may have been in Central Park, and it was probably about a hundred pages long.

  I'm pretty sure it came from a troll or scholastic book order form with all my John Bellairs books.  I can't find it anywhere and I have no recollection of the title.  Anyone else ever read this one?  It was cheesy preteen pulp, but now i have an eleven year old and I'd really like to find this for him to read.

[bradleys]

And there was one more, from the early 80's, just as i was learning to read.  It was about a man and his cat who move to the country.  They shop once a year and quickly run out of decent food.  In the end he learns to fish and garden.  Somewhere in the middle he has to make soup out of watercress and a peppermint stick because that's all they have. 

Internet searches have left me empty-handed although I've stumbled upon some atrocious peppermint stick soup recipes...

[dhaupt]

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bradleys wrote:

And there was one more, from the early 80's, just as i was learning to read.  It was about a man and his cat who move to the country.  They shop once a year and quickly run out of decent food.  In the end he learns to fish and garden.  Somewhere in the middle he has to make soup out of watercress and a peppermint stick because that's all they have. 

Internet searches have left me empty-handed although I've stumbled upon some atrocious peppermint stick soup recipes...

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Hi bradleys and welcome to the board, I'm not familiar with these. Have you tried the lost books board here at B&N. Here's a link to it. 

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Lost-Books/bd-p/lostbooks

Good luck finding it and please come back and visit often

[Hardecanute]

I remember "Wait Till Helen Comes" as well as other Mary Downing Hahn books!  They are wonderful.

The ghost girl in the rose garden reminds me of a book I had called "Ghost in the Garden."  But I don't remember the author.  It may or may not be the same book.

[Hardecanute]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I wasn't the original person looking for this book, but you have inadvertently helped me too!  I've been trying to remember the name of this book for years.

[Hardecanute]

Can you remember this book?

A girl named Zannah finds a farmhouse with a family living there.  However, they are ghosts and only Zannah can find them.  Anyone else would just see a plain field.  The family was cursed by the patriarch and is doomed to live in solitude.

What is the name of this book? 

[dhaupt]

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Hardecanute wrote:

Can you remember this book?

A girl named Zannah finds a farmhouse with a family living there.  However, they are ghosts and only Zannah can find them.  Anyone else would just see a plain field.  The family was cursed by the patriarch and is doomed to live in solitude.

What is the name of this book? 

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You've got me Hardecanute, but try posting this on the lost book club too.

and good luck

[BeinAfraid]

What an awesome thread!!!  I have been looking for the title and/or author of a book I read in the 1980's.

The story was about a girl who lived in a house with her step-brother.  She had to sleep in the kitchen and was always afraid when her step-brother and friends came into the kitchen.  Sexual abuse was alluded to but never actually described. One day her step-brother brought home a new friend who the girl liked.  She ran away with this guy and they wound up at a cotton farm where she had to learn to pick cotton.  I think the story ended with her and the guy living together but I can't be certain.

ANY help is so appreciated.  I can see the cover of the book in my mind but I can't remember the title.  The cover shows the guy leading the girl into the woods while she looks over her shoulder.

Thank you so much for this great site!!

[BeinAfraid]

Hi!   I think this book is for sale at Amazon for a penny!!

http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Attic-Wall-Camelot-Books/dp/0380698439/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1...

[dhaupt]

BeinAfraid, thanks for visiting the General Fiction book club and I hope you find the book you're trying to remember. If you don't get any answers here try the lost books club here

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Lost-Books/bd-p/lostbooks

Also I found this book here at B&N where the A word is an evil term :-)

and it's 1.99

Behind the Attic Wall 

Thanks for visiting and please stop by the other threads too, we're reading a great novel for November Rescuing Olivia and there are of course more things happening here all the time.

[Tomkat90]

I was trying to remember the same one.  I found: Stranger With My Face.  Is this it?