149C: 70s young adult novel involving surfing, drugs, and an imaginary parrot (Solved!)

Set in California.  There’s a character who has an imaginary parrot, and winds up overdosing on heroin. Plot involves surfing, bad parenting, drugs. First-person narrative.

I have been trying to find this book on and off for years.

Wish I could remember more of the plot, but oh well.

8 thoughts on “149C: 70s young adult novel involving surfing, drugs, and an imaginary parrot (Solved!)

  1. Mary/skippercollector

    I have three children’s books about surfing: Surfboard Summer, Jane L. Sears, 1965; The Phantom Surfer, by Carolyn Keene, 1968 (a Dana Girls mystery); and Waikiki Beachboy, by Joe Brennan, 1962. It’s been years since I read them so I don’t remember the plots, other than that Surfboard Summer is actually kind of a depressing read.
    Then there’s Dolphin Island, a children’s science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, 1963.
    Two surf novels for adults are Tapping the Source, by Kem Nunn, 1984, and The Ruins of California, by Martha Sherrill, 2006. Both of these feature heavy drug use and I want to warn you that Tapping is pretty gruesome.

    Reply
    1. Alex Coe

      Randomly checking in five years later. Loved Kem Nunn’s Tapping the Source but not the book I’m still hoping might turn up someday.

      Reply
  2. Jereme

    I want to find this out too. It may be even older than 70s. I think there was a character named Tad or Taf. But the imaginary parrot is definitely in there. Gave a book report on this in 7th grade, 1994, remembering everyone laughing when I described that guy. Then I told them he does. Cruel literature

    Reply
    1. Alex Coe

      Oh, my God. I can’t believe I’m randomly checking in on this while deleting old emails from the server. And someone else remember this goddamn book! Holy almighty.

      Reply
  3. PJ

    I LOVED that book about “TAF” which were his initials as I recall. Had our mother not read it to us each night I would prob have thought I had the perfect childhood in Michigan. As it was- I could never rest until getting out to Ca. to live the surfer lifestyle…Now, here I am stuck between two worlds. Im too califironian to be Michigan and Im too Michigan to be Californian. Hey, wait a minute wasn’t that TAFs dilemma- stuck between two worlds?!

    Reply

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