Category Archives: 1990s-

373B: Jewish woman in the 1930’s – 1960’s Gets a Raise

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I am looking for the title and author of a book I read about 7-8 years ago (2015-2016). I believe it was a fairly recent release at that time, so this book isn’t too old. It is a historical fiction book (I can’t remember exactly what decade it was set in, but I believe it was 1930s-1960s) and what I remember most is that it was about a young Jewish woman who lived in an apartment in New York with her family and worked at an office in Manhattan. The other women at her work weren’t very nice to her, but she was really good at her job and got a promotion. Her home/family life was a big part of the book too. It even talked about cooking on the Sabbath and what was and wasn’t allowed. I know this isn’t much to go on because I don’t remember many details, but I absolutely loved the book. I have tried searching for it for about a year now and have come across a lot of books that hit these points, but they are not the right one. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

373A: Schizophrenic Episode

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I read this book maybe 10-15 years ago and had it from my library. It follows a European man who is a restaurant cook/chef and devolves into a schizophrenic episode. It talks about him scratching his scalp, leaving his job and ending up picking vegetables as a day laborer in a zombie-like state. It doesn’t tell you that this is a schizophrenic episode until his sister finds him (I don’t remember how) and gets him into treatment, you’re just along for the ride from his perspective.

I’ve been trying to find this for a few years, now.

372V: A staying-up-late book

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I would’ve read this picture book in the 80s or maybe early 90s but it could have been from earlier too. It was about a little girl (not sure if she was a human girl or an animal like Frances, etc) who thinks her parents (and sister?) have a party after she goes to bed each night. She finally convinces them to let her stay up and it’s fun and I think they maybe eat toast?
It is not a Frances book, it’s not “I Hate to go to Bed”, and it’s not “Amy’s Long Night”.
Thank you!

372K: The Signs Come Alive! (Solved!)

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Seeking a short children’s chapter book, some black and white line drawings. Published by the early 1990’s, probably much earlier. Inn signs from around town come alive at night and hang out together. Definitely a rabbit, a mermaid, and either a lion or a tiger. Possibly a unicorn as well. They get stuck in the position they are at when the sun rises, so they must rush back to get to their signs in time. A child notices that they’ve been shifting positions.

372I: Preteen Thief Gets To Go On Pogo Stick

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There’s a book I read around 2004, definitely before 2005. Man travels Europe with his rich girlfriend, they have no real jobs. Her preteen daughter is home from boarding school for the summer so is traveling with them. At the beginning of the book she uses yogurt to soothe a sunburn. Also, he wakes up to the child standing next to the bed asking him to take her on pogo sticks but he refuses. For some reason they have to go visit the child’s grandfather. The child helps the main character plan to steal some art while at the house. He is a little bit bumbling but succeeds at stealing the painting. While they are at the grandfather’s house he has to pretend to be a tutor for the child. There were other people also there, and one was a French (?) woman who flirted with him a lot. At the end of the book the man takes the child on pogo sticks.

372H: A boy named Junior tries to fly (Solved!)

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The book was found on the shelf of my grade school library near the Boxcar Children and my best guess of pub date is 1960s to 1990s-early reader chapter book/ middle school reading level. In the first book of the series a young boy jumps from the roof of the family barn with homemade (airplane?) wings and breaks both legs; I think the boy’s name is Junior- the story follows a sibling set who i remember being cared for by an older (non parent) male relative – there is a pet companion involved, a dog? At one point, Junior knocks on the front door to the home from the inside to ask permission to come sit outside with the older male relative in one of the series’ culminating scenes
This book has haunted my dreams for almost fifteen years and I badly want to find an old copy to read. please let me know if it sounds familiar and thank you for providing this essential service to society- that sounds facetious, but I promise I am serious as a heart attack, thank you. 

372E: Romance leads to “cheating”

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I’m looking for a book I read in High-school (2011) I believe the book was written and or published 1985 to 1999.


Keywords: YA romance, senior year American high school, new girl, friends boyfriend returns from a semester abroad, new girl falls in love with friends boyfriend.


Summary/synopsis:The book starts out with a main female protagonist who was new that school year. The setting is high school, in the autumn/winter. She goes to school and talks with her new friends and finds out that one girls boyfriend who is returning home from a semester abroad.When the boyfriend returns, he’s very welcoming and excited to talk to everyone again but it seems like everyone is treating him very similar to the way he was before he left. He wants to talk about his new experiences and the only one who can relate to is the protagonist as she had family in the part of England that he visited. They talk about the old stained glass windows. Later it’s apparent they like one other a bit to much. They are hanging out together but during one day, it is too much and they talk about his feelings for the main character in his car. They decide that they should put distance their relationship so as not to be unfair to his current girlfriend until he breaks up with his  girlfriend to be with the main character.Somehow the friends catch wind of this and assume that the main character and boyfriend were cheating more than they did. The Ex girlfriend and main girl get into an argument and later at school the friend group is mad at both of them but the two main characters support one other through this until the friends realize the main characters were sincere and tried to make the most out of a hard situation. I believe it ends with talks on them going to college potentially together.


Other details I remember: they held hands in the car and the main character noticed the boyfriend’s thick healthy nails.The main character was a brunette.The ex girlfriend was blonde.The boyfriend played a sport before going to England. 
I can work out more information if I can, but I don’t want to Mandela effect myself more than I may have already done.

371V: Dark illustrated ghost book

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I remember this illustrated book from when I was a kid. It had dark drawings somewhat similar to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark but not quite. Some of the elements I remember are that there’s a ship or boat?
There’s at least two men. One man is possibly stabbed. I remember a ghost maybe. Blood as well.The men’s bodies are shown from various strange perspectives to look stretched out and ghostly or long.

Fiction.

Plot: Not sure.

I read this between 1997-2005 roughly.

Book’s intended audience: Seems too scary to be a kids book but there wasn’t much text. It was definitely heavily based in illustration. 

I read it in Ohio, USA.

That’s about it !

I know it exists.
Thanks for your time.