Category Archives: Teen

363M: Quaker seamstress in Philadelphia during American revolutionary war (Solved!)

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Cheryl Hill, chill4hhorse@comcast.net[/private[

I am looking for a book I read as a teen and young adult in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  I recall finding it at my local library and I believe the author’s last name began with the letter A.  The story was historical fiction and the main character was a seamstress in Philadelphia during the revolutionary war.  She was a member of the Quaker religion and her fiancé fought with George Washington.  She worked in the home of Peggy Shippen’s family and was able to overhear some of the plans made by Benedict Arnold and his wife.

360W: Teenage Girl Saves Missing Boy With Horse

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Looking for a book about a teenage girl who lives alone with her father. Her brother was killed when he fell off their horse and she refuses to touch the horse anymore, only going into the barn to feed the horse. She lives in the mountains somewhere, they still have a communal phone line, which she uses to order clothes while her father is away on his sales route.

There is a new family in town, maybe the new mayor or teacher, someone important, there is a parade or celebration of some sort where she sees the young boy be given a piece of candy by an elderly woman that the town thinks is kind of crazy.

Shortly after that the boy is kidnapped. There is an abandoned homestead behind her land and a couple moves in. The man does work for her. She starts to wonder about the couple, goes to investigate and finds the young boy. She then devises a way to get the boy back. She uses the horse because she has no way to get into town without the horse. Describes her home as a shotgun house.

359O: Teen Romance on Spring Break Cruise

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This is an 80s, possibly early 90s, teen romance. A girl goes on a spring break cruise with her grandma. She has a crush on one of the ship’s workers. And also meets another passenger that is the “funny” boy. The ship’s worker leads her on a bit. One funny part is; she takes way too many tanning pills and turns orange trying to impress him. She ends up with the funny boy in the end. I thought his name was possibly Jace or something similar.

359L: Secret Twin With Gloves On Hands

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I have been trying to remember this book I read as a teen in the 90s for years now and it’s starting to drive me crazy.

All I can remember of the plot is that there was a guy and he had been dating the same girl basically his whole life. A new girl comes to town and somehow they end up together. I believe they were in high school or just graduating from high school. Then at some point it is discovered that the new girl has a secret twin and the secret twin tries to kill someone, I can’t remember who. The secret twin always wore gloves on her hands because there was something wrong with them, I believe they were burned but I’m not positive.
Again I know it isn’t much to go on. For some reason the movie Swim Fan always triggers me to try to find this book.

359A: 90’s Satanic Panic Teen Romance

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This was most likely purchased from a Scholastic Book Fair in the mid to late 90s. I don’t remember the title but I think the cover was dark blue with an image on the front but I can’t remember what of. Something vague like two shadows or a book with a pentagram on it. It is a short book. Probably around 150 pages. Could be Middle Grade or Young Adult.
Details I’m pretty sure of: The story was about a teen girl who moves to a new town and gets a crush on a dark, mysterious guy. He brings her into a group of friends that seem cool and goth but end up being a satanic cult that sacrifices a cat in a dark cave. She is eventually saved by a love interest.
Details I’m unsure of: Vaguely supernatural elements as in things happen that seem magical but may not be. I think there is a scene where she escapes through the basement of a restaurant. Towards the end we learn that she moved to this town because her parents died and the parent’s dying was orchestrated by the cult. Maybe the leader of the cult is revealed to be The Devil. Maybe because we see flames in his eyes or some other devilish detail. There might be drugs involved. There might be an element where the protagonist thinks people have been killed but then they are found alive.
Thank you for the help! This has been bothering me for YEARS.

358W: Letter Seems to Lead to Boyfriend Stealer’s Death (But Doesn’t)

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I don't recall the tile or author. I purchased the book via Scholastic books around 1985 in Toronto, Canada (from school).

Cover: A blond girl (I don't remember what she was wearing)

Synopsis: One summer, the blond girl visits her cousin who lives in another city (their mothers are sisters). The Christmas before, the blond girl visited her cousin. Her cousin had a boyfriend but she was sure another girl was trying to steal him away. So the blond girl and cousin want to get back at her. They write her secret admirer love letters asking her to meet somewhere. The "boyfriend stealer" drives out that night but dies in a car crash. The blond girl and cousin are distraught with guilt. That summer, the cousin tells the blond girl that she thinks the boyfriend stealer is haunting her. Strange things have been happening lately. Anyway, we find out that the strange events were due to the new gardener who loved the boyfriend stealer. He knew about the letter and blamed them for her death. But the boyfriend stealer thought the secret admirer letters were coming from the gardener, who would stalk her, so she ignored them. The night of the crash she was actually on her way to visit her own boyfriend. She never intended to steal the blond girl's cousin's boyfriend. They were only friends. Phewph! Very long, I'm sorry, but I'm hoping you could help me find this book.

358T: Boy Coming of Age With the Edsel

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I’m hoping you can help me with the name and author of a book I started reading in 1996/97 as a teenager. I was about 1/4 of the way through it (it was a very large book if I recall) and was quite enjoying it…until my mother confiscated it because it wasn’t “church approved” 🙄 It was the story of a young boy in the 50’s. On the cover was a picture of an Edsel. The story sort of centralized on that car, and I *think* the father worked at the Edsel factory. There were a lot of coming of age themes, and I’ve never forgotten that book and wish to finish it now that I have my own teenagers. The author was a male, and he had multiple other books that I cannot remember either.

358N: Introspective Loner Girl and Her Rebellious Loner Boyfriend

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I’m having trouble finding a book I read years ago. I read it when I was a teenager so I assume it is a YA book but the characters came across as mature. It is at the minimum a duology but it could be a trilogy or more but I just never read past the first two books of the series. The second book I read when I was around 16 and it did not feel childish in any way.
Both books were written from the perspective of a girl who volunteers/works at a rest home or with elderly people. I remember the girl being a very introspective, bit of a loner type character who felt alienated from her peers to a certain extent. The male protagonist who is her love interest I believe may have been called Angus, but not 100% sure on this. He was a rebellious, mysterious type of character who may also have been a bit of a loner. In the second book, someone in the rest home dies which she has some trouble with and also their relationship ends as I think she may go away to college/university for the second book whereas she was in high school for the first book. The second-book is her former life falling apart to some extent and her having to grapple with feelings of depression, alienation.
The first book I read circa 2001-2005 and the second book I read circa 2006. The books did not feel at all dated when I read them. I read both books in New Zealand but I don’t believe the books were set in New Zealand. I have a feeling they were set in the United States as I remember vaguely that there was mention of college which is not a term we use in New Zealand. The books are completely realistic, with absolutely no elements of fantasy. I’m pretty sure the author is a female.

357N: Boy Commits Suicide Because Of Parent’s Abuse After Getting Best Girl Friend Pregnant

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I need help finding a book I read in high-school. The details I remember are:
The lead was female high-school aged. The book was based in Australia, she was good/best friends with a boy and I think they would catch up at a particular spot like a barn. I think he ends up going to private school and is good at sports or swimming. His mother’s meek and his dad is aggressive. They end up having sex and then I think the abuse from his father becomes too much and he kills himself. The girl ends up pregnant and her grandmother tried to help her by giving her an awful drink (think I remember it being described as tasting like Marmite) but it doesn’t work. She has the baby and the boy’s parents find out and the boy’s mother tries to help her somehow. I think they all end up in Sydney. I can’t remember how it ends. For some reason the name Sophie keeps popping in to my head but I don’t remember if that was an author or one of the characters or nothing.
Let me know if you think of anything it could be.