Category Archives: Vintage YA Fiction

The Fourth Grade Wizards By Barthe De Clements

Posted on September 22, 2020 by

Jack and Marianne are always in trouble. So how can they become fourth grade wizards? Back to school! Appropriately late this year, but with a cast of characters who have been really familiar to me and this blog over the … Continue reading →

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Flips-ville/Squares-ville By Stan and Jan Berenstain

Posted on May 30, 2020 by

A Hilarious New Concept in Humor Last week (actually 3 weeks ago because WHAT IS TIME???) we looked at one of the oddball teen-oriented projects of the legendary Charles Schulz, who, despite his success in writing from a child’s point … Continue reading →

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Sal Fisher At Girl Scout Camp By Lillian S. Gardner

Posted on March 19, 2020 by

Fun – problems – surprises. Sharing them with Sal Fisher is like spending a thrilling summer at camp yourself! “Thrilling”? Well, the thrills are of only the most gentle and reassuring kind, which was not my intention when the week … Continue reading →

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Dear Mom, You’re Ruining My Life By Jean Van Leeuwen

Posted on March 5, 2020 by

You always say parents and children should trust each other. Well, I trusted you. This is the most mysterious book I have picked up for this project. While there are certain titles that the back-cover copy gives the potential reader … Continue reading →

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Cute Is A Four-Letter Word By Stella Pevsner

Posted on February 10, 2020 by

You are about to witness… The Year of the Clara! I wasn’t very impressed by Stella Pevsner’s Call Me Heller, That’s My Name, a pretty generic coming of age story about a tomboy becoming a young lady in the roaring … Continue reading →

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Sticks And Stones By Lynn Hall

Posted on February 2, 2020 by

One word was enough to destroy his life… “Bury your gays” is the trope in fiction which rules that gay characters die (frequently by their own hand) before the end of the story. Especially prevalent until the mid-20th century (when … Continue reading →

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Light Of My Life (First Love From Silhouette #53) By Elaine Harper

Posted on January 26, 2020 by

Now real life would be an electrifying experience! Background: I am on the record about how I’ve turned around my opinion on Silhoutte’s First Love romances (“AMERICA’S publisher of Contemporary Romance”), especially Elaine Harper’s loopy Blossom Valley adventures, especially when they … Continue reading →

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Freshman Christmas By Linda A. Cooney

Posted on December 15, 2019 by

Skiing snowmen in a frosty Montana playground! While the back cover proclaims this as part of THE HIT SERIES! I wonder exactly how big a hit this series was: I have never come across any fond remembrances of it, although … Continue reading →

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My So-Called Life: A Novel Based In The Award-Winning Television Series By Catherine Clark

Posted on November 17, 2019 by

Less than perfect… I realize I am about to alienate myself from my entire generational cohort, but: I never cared for ABC’s acclaimed, award-winning, Claire Danes-and-Jared Leto-star-making, abruptly canceled, fondly remembered “My So-Called Life”. Aggressively marketed at the time as … Continue reading →

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Going on Sixteen By Betty Cavanna

Posted on November 10, 2019 by

Fervently Julie whispered to the mirror, “I hope.” Betty Cavanna was one of the queens of the Malt Shop genre: gentle coming-of-age stories featuring young heroines facing teenage crises and growing up. Published from the 1940s through the 1960s, these … Continue reading →

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