Author: mondomolly

Ok this is a weird one.  I don’t remember what the book was about.  I remember one line, and it’s been going through my head.   A chapter opens with a woman entering a room, described thusly: “Her nose leading, like the beak of a large predatory fowl…”

The woman may have been a schoolmistress or a spinster aunt, an antagonist but not necessarily a villain.  And I have a vague feeling there was also a male antagonist, maybe her brother, who was waiting in the room that she entered.

That’s it.  I can’t imagine why I am suddenly remembering this one line but it is driving me crazy. Suggestion #1:  the character described could be Irma Prunesquallor, sister of Dr Prunesquallor in Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy. Suggestion #2: one of PG Wodehouse’s Jeeve and Wooser stories, possibly in the collection “Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit”

When I was maybe in 5th grade, so at least 20 years ago, I got a book from the school library that I have not seen or heard of since. The only thing I remember is that the main character (I think a boy) is looking for a missing covered wagon from the 1800s. There was maybe a treasure map involved, and I think he found it in the end, possibly concealed in a cave. I’ve searched a lot and can’t find it anywhere!

There’s a novel I read as a teenager around 1977-1978 and I wonder if you could help me gather more info about it.  It was a new book at that time.

I think it was called The Survivors or Survivors.  It was a gripping and poignant novel about an African-American woman (maybe middle-aged) and her caregiving relationship with an African -American boy or teen.  There was some kind of theme of adoption perhaps, or a family secret, or tragedy.  It took place in an urban environment. Suggestion: The Survivors By Kristin Hunter Lattany

I am in search of a book I read in 1979 when I was a high school freshman.  I checked it out of our high school library and read it for a speech we had to do in English that year.  I don’t remember the author’s name  At the time I thought it seemed pretty contemporary, maybe written in the mid to late 70s.

I can’t recall the character’s names, but the story centered around a girl in either 9th or 10th grade.  It may have been written in the first person or in journal style.  It’s about what happens to her at school, what boy she likes, etc.  I remember I quoted a line from book in my speech that either had “shit” or “damn” in it and I talked to my English teacher about it because it was important to my speech and the story, but was nervous about saying it in class.

 I have been trying to think of this book for a while.  It’s a book for teenager from the 1970’s.  The title is very long and it either has the word “zodiac”, “horoscope” or “astrology” in the title.
The cover, if I’m remembering correctly, was kind of a hippy theme – I think it might have been purple with astrology symbols or a sundial.
Please let me know if you know what I’m talking about – it’s been driving me crazy for years. Suggestion: Leo the Lioness by Constance C. GReene. Another suggestion: The Active-Enzyme Lemon-Freshened Junior High School Witch

 I am trying to recall a young adult  book I read about 50 years ago, about a young woman staying with her aunt, I believe in London. Next door stayed 2 men. One was a spy.

I was wondering if you’d ever come across a book called something like “The Boy Who Would Not Come Clean.” I read it in my downtime in the classroom we used as a dressing room during high school theater and it was definitely an oldie in the early 90s. The plot was that some popular kids harassed and threw mud at an outcast girl who was kind of a witch (?) and she cursed the main character to never be able to clean anything off himself. So like he got jelly on his hand while eating toast and it wouldn’t wash off no matter what. As the days go by, he becomes more and more filthy and disgusting. As a person who takes hygiene seriously, this DEEPLY disturbed me as a teen and I have never been able to find it. Anyway, thanks for sharing all these books with us, look forward to looking for some at our town’s used bookstore next time I go! Cheers

 I’m trying to find the title/author of a story that we studied in my 10th/11th grade English Literature class (1975-1977). There must have been a protagonist youth character..but the character that stands out was a soccer player with the nickname “Le Boucher”..the butcher..that the crowd would shout as a rallying cry. I know that isn’t much to go on.

Please help.
Book I read in grade school, 4th grade maybe? Which means this would be 1983, 84.
Sisters go on a camping trip with a group. One of the sisters is smart and responsible, and the other sister is a bit spoiled. Very into her looks. On the trip the spoiled, and I think younger, sister goes missing. As the trip progresses little things at the campsite also start to go missing, including a set of the missing sister’s curlers. The older sister puts the pieces of the puzzle together and realizes her sister is sending her a message with these missing items. Turns out one of their crew kidnapped her and kept her hidden in these ancient Indian caves. The guilty party’s name is Michael Waverly.
Does this sound familiar to anyone?