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This is a longshot but I have been searching for this lost book forever. I read it in the late 1970s  It was a teen/summer romance about a first love, possibly Scholastic book or Arrow Book Club. I think it was set at the beach and the cover was pink with maybe a beach sunset. At the end, the girl and boy are not together.   Thank you for any clues on this!

Looking for a book about a girls school who goes on a field trip for a picnic and one (or more???) classmates disappear during the trip. I can’t remember if the mystery is ever solved, and whether on not it is suspected there is a supernatural cause.

I can remember that the book was a dark green velvet cover. It was about a fairy who lived in a city and could only touch things that were alive in order for her to stay alive. She would travel through the city touching moss and plants like that. I was given this book a a gift and lost it while moving homes, it was a great childhood book and I read it around 2007-2011. Any help would be appreciated!!

You and your site helped me identify a book a few years ago, and I’m hoping you can help again! I have a lot of details but can’t manage to search in a way that pulls up this book.

This book is from the 70s or 80s, I read it in probably the mid to late 90s. It was paperback and a realistic, contemporary, coming-of-age YA fiction. It’s from a boy’s POV and mostly takes place during the summer before going into high school. I think the main character has been chubby his whole life, but spends the summer working really hard doing landscaping with his friend, and by the end of the book he’s surprised that he’s way taller, stronger, and not chubby anymore. He’s had a major crush on this hot, thin girl and ignores her chubby friend (who he DOES notice has beautiful brown eyes). I think that he and his friend spend the summer trying to surprise the hot girl when she’s sunbathing so that she’ll sit up without her top on. I think that something crazy happens at the end of the book (like an escaped dog, or someone being chased through the yard), and she DOES sit up but the main character misses seeing it? But his friend does and is gobsmacked lol. Anyways, the chubby girl by the end of the summer ALSO gets thinner while she’s away at camp and is suddenly all sexy in a new swimsuit. The main character doesn’t recognize her at first, but then recognizes her beautiful brown eyes. He kisses her and they start the new school year. 

Trying to get the name of a book I read in the late 1960’s or early 1970.s.. It was a paperback – might have been purchased through the school.  It is about a girl that lives next to a boy.  They were friends when younger but as they got older, she became more popular.  They are now in high school and he works a lot on his car and they don’t talk.  Something happened and she needs to fake a boyfriend.  She convinces him to be her fake boyfriend, but he falls for her.  They get together and go to prom.  Very sweet book. I think it may have “something borrowed” or so in the title.  Would appreciate any help.

 I’m looking for a book. Someone in my class wanted to read it too. I started it, but gave it to her thinking she’d read it quicker and give it back. I never got it back. This was in 1991-1992. It was a vampire book. It started with a teenager boy in a town, and they were discovering puncture wounds in cows. That is all I remember.

I read this book in 1975 or 1976 although it could have been written earlier. It was purchased from Scholastic or Weekly Reader. The plot revolved around an unsolved murder mystery in a rural town. At the end of the story a gun is found tucked away in the rafters of an old barn. The barn might catch on fire too. I think the book’s cover may have been orange and black. I’m sorry I can’t recall much else. I’ve been searching for this one for a long time! Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I am trying to remember the name of a book that I would love to see you do. Probably published in the late 70’s early 80’s (I read it around 85/86):

It’s about a late teenaged (18/19) boy who lives in Colorado who is dying of cancer. Leukemia I think. The highlights of his life include; whining, going to Trader Vic’s for Tiki Drinks and I seem to recall fishing. He was a real hit with the ladies until the whole, ya know dying thing. But I think there is a loyal girl who stands by him. Blah, blah, blah. Suggested title: May I Cross Your Golden River? By Paige Dixon or Eric by Doris Lund

Welcome to Lost Classics of Teen Lit’s supplemental blog, devoted to finding your own personal “lost classics.”

I  frequently receive comments and e-mails from readers who are looking for a dimly-remembered book. I know this pain! While I had been able to help in a few cases with coming up with a title and author, I wanted to open up the search to classic YA fans. In 2017 I added a casual page to the main blog, and reader response slowly (and then suddenly!) grew, to the point that I wanted to make things a little more self-service for my readers.

How to request help finding a “lost” book title:

From now on I will be taking “lost” book requests via e-mail at mondomolly@gmail.com, and each request will be posted as a separate blog entry here.

Tips for a successful request:

1. Provide a short description of what you can remember about the plot, including any dialogue or weird details (“the main character was obsessed with her lime-green notebook paper”) you might remember. If a detail stuck with you, chances are it stuck with someone else!
2. Let us know when you read the book: “Around 1987” is better than “when I was in third grade” (we have readers falling into a huge age-range!)
3. Surprisingly, anything you can remember about the cover can be really
   helpful! We had a successful ID with just “two girls who went to the beach and the cover was blue”! (It was The Long Secret)
4. The focus is on Young Adult and Middle Reader books published between 1939 and 1989, so books that fall into those categories will be most likely to be solved; however, I will accept requests from any era, genre or reading level. By the same token, most of my readers hail from the United States, the UK and Australia, but feel free to request a book that may have come from any country or originally published in any language- Scholastic republished a number of titles in translation!

Once You Have Submitted Your Request:

It is my intention to publish updates weekly, and to send out a brief form e-mail letting you know when your request is up on the site. I recommend using the search feature and searching either by your name or a keyword from your request.

I know that book! I have a suggestion for that book!

No need to send an e-mail, simply comment on the post!

Constant Readers, thank you for your continued support and readership, and patience in awaiting this new era in Naming That Book!

Additional Resource: Lost Classics reader Daisy kindly suggested the Goodreads group What’s The Name of That Book? as another place to crowdsource an answer to your lost book descriptions. 

Molly