This was a paperback book that I read in the late 1970’s. I believe the story took place in the 1960’s or 1970’s. The cover of the paperback was white and a teenage girl’s face was looking out a window that had lacy curtains and I believe the curtains had daisies or flowers on the bottom of them. The picture on the cover had a sort of lacy dream look to it. The title of the book was “Ghost” or “Ghosts”, I do not know who the author was. Despite the title of the book, it had nothing to do with ghosts, the supernatural, or hauntings. It was a story of a teenage girl’s coming of age with her first high school boyfriend. The girl’s mother does die of pneumonia in the story, but again that is not the main storyline. In one part of the book the girl and her father go put to eat at a diner and the father kills a cockroach that crawls across the table with his thumb (Yuck!). Towards the end of the book the girl decides to stay overnight with her boyfriend and he gives her what is described as a “shy new bridegroom smile”.
Could it be “Ghosts” by Ursula Perrin, published in 1967?
Found this snippet on Google Books:
Ghosts – Page 178
books.google.com/books?isbn=0060971622
Ursula Perrin – 1988 – Snippet view – More editions
He rolled over and smiled up at me shyly, a new bridegroom smile, then stood up and started to tuck in his shirt. “The way I figure it out, we can get married in two years.” I looked out the window and saw that it had begun to snow again, large …