Category: Name That Book Request

Reaching out and hoping someone might know this one… I’m not sure if it was published in the mid/late 80s or early 90s – I remember reading it when I was 10 or so, and that would’ve been 1995, but it belong to my older sister, who was 15 in 1995 so I think it must’ve been late 80s or first part of the 90s, as she wasn’t reading it around 15. It was a fantasy novel, something about a young girl who goes on a journey (I don’t remember what for!) but I know there was some time where she was riding a horse (or maybe a unicorn), and there’s a scene where she’s crossing a big field, and I’m thinking there might have been a dragon in it somewhere. I actually can sort of see the cover in my head too… it was a metallic sheen – green/tealish and had a girl (and maybe the horse/unicorn) on the cover. I LOVED that book and my searches have led to ZERO results because it’s so very vague. Suggestion: The Blue Sword By Robin McKinley 

Second Suggestion: Song of the Wanderer by Bruce Coville

Third suggestion from Lost Classics reader Jacalyn: could be The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce or like a mix of all the books in that series by her- The Immortals.

 I’m looking for a book that I read in the late 80s or early 90s, which I *think* was pretty contemporary.

It was one of a series of books about a group of teens or young adults who solved mysteries. The one bit I remember clearly is that they found an old house with a river landing stage, and an old lady who lived there by herself. At one point, one of the girls finds and tries on a dress that they have seen in an old photograph…something to do with the old lady’s lost first love.
It’s possible that they solve the mystery of why her lover went away? I sold the book shortly after, and I’ve always regretted it.

 Hi, I read a book in 2017 that was a summer reading book back in highschool. I don’t remember so much about it but I’ll say what I remember. It was a young adult book.
The book started off with these group of kids in a lighthouse, these teenagers did criminal acts and our main character, male, stole a bike so he was put their as another option of juvenile detention. Between the middle of the book he’s driving a car with this other kid with him, also male, off to a beach where they could make a bonfire and eat the food they’ve stolen. Our main character went to set up the bonfire while his friend went out to look at the ocean, only to turn back to ask what he wished to eat and see the guy gone. Following the footsteps that lead straight into the ocean, he knew his friend died walking into the vast cold sea at night as he had problems with his will to live.

Looking for a book I read as a teen in the late 90s most likely. Probably published between 80s-99. The cover was a picture of a teenage girl.. dressed kinda funky in converses(?) and a plaid skirt(I think!). So it’s a lighthearted YA romance… the main character is MacKenzie(?) think.. and her best friend is Devon. She is in love with her neighbor… he only sees her as a close friend bc he’s a little older. So she sets out to make him fall in love with her by trying to be like any girl he’s currently seeing.. she gets into a lot of awkward moments. I remember random pieces like she buys a sweater dress and uses socks for bust enhancement.. which fall out when she is with him. Her friend always complains about her thighs. They were both only children and their families are really close. Please help.. searched for ages and no luck. Thanks!

Sometime in the ’80s, I picked up a book that I am almost certain was a Silhouette Romance novel. But the cover touted that it was part of a “new line” of books that were more “mature” (i.e., more graphic). The characters were definitely post-high school age. All I remember about the plot is that a girl goes to Florida to stay with an older relative (grandmother?) in a brand new development that is still under construction. She meets a handsome young guy, maybe at the pool, and he turns out to be a carpenter working on the development’s construction. She can’t invite him home for some reason so they meet up at night in a gazebo. Their encounters are pretty steamy! The only other detail I remember was artificial orange trees near the gazebo, which seemed an odd, tacky touch for Florida.

Cover -features a blond boy talking to a girl who’s irritated…she has on an early 80’s ruffley blouse and he has on a striped polo type shirt with a collar. She’s listening to the boy talk and is annoyed. Plot: she (maybe her name is Tracy?) is going to be in a speech or drama class taught by a charismatic, well-known teacher and Tracy gets into the class and the popular kids are in there. The blond boy on the cover is Wylie and I think his girlfriend is Andrea…So Tracy gets paired up with Wylie and there’s a love triangle and I think Tracy has a makeover and becomes more attractive? She and Wylie wind up together. They have to come up with skits for the class and they bond over the skits?

I’m looking for a book that I checked out of the junior high school library in the mid-70’s. It looked new. I can’t remember the cover. I remember a scene where a teenage boy, who was the main character, and a teenage girl were running through a castle. The girl had a Scottish accent and she was in love with him. She died, maybe from falling off a ledge. He felt guilty because she had died trying to help him and he hadn’t returned her romantic feelings. He had just considered her to be a friend. I think that he was involved in some political intrigue. He may have come from a different time and place. Please help!

 I was born in 1958 and I remember a book that I read over and over when I was a young teen. I was wondering if you could help me find it.

It was about a girl, I think her name was Amanda, (because I liked the character so much, I always liked that name after). She goes to visit her fiance’s family for the first time, and they live in a big house on the Hudson River. I keep thinking the title is “Anead on the Hudson,” or something similar.

I would love to find that book again. If you know of the book, it think you do, I would really appreciate any help in finding it!

There were two stories I read right around 1980, books I checked out from my library, and I’ve never been able to find them in recent years. One or both of these stories may have been in a collection of stories, rather than a full kids’ or YA novel.One was a story about a boy whose family had moved into a house that had a big scary tree in the backyard. Each night the boy saw that the tree’s shadow crept closer and closer to his bedroom window. Finally in the end there was some conflict re a witch, and they chopped the tree down and filled the hole where the stump was with concrete.The other story was about a boy who loved next door to an old man, but it turned out the man was a vampire, and he trapped the boy in his basement, where there were coffins filled with dirt, I think. Suggestion: Apt Pupil By STephen King- the neighbor in question was an escaped Nazi war criminal, not a vampire, but the rest of it sounds close! Another suggestion: Prisoner of Vampires by Nancy Garden