Category Archives: Vintage YA Fiction

Windswept Mystery-Romance #26: The Secret By Carol Beach York.

Posted on March 31, 2024 by mondomolly

Was the ghost of a dead girl seeking revenge? Teen romances with a photo cover were a staple throughout the 1980s: we have variously looked at Wildfire, Sweet Dreams, First Love and Caprice’s versions of this YA staple on a … Continue reading →

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Choose Your Own Adventure #42: The Mystery of Echo Lodge By Louise Munro Foley

Posted on March 6, 2024 by mondomolly

Be on the lookout! Echo Lodge is surrounded by danger. You may be attacked by a killer hawk, get trapped under a roaring avalanche, or save the day by solving the mystery!  I truly appreciate that readers indulged my flight … Continue reading →

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Generation X: Tales For An Accelerated Culture By Douglas Coupland

Posted on February 23, 2024 by mondomolly

“Everyone’s such a mess. Nobody turned out normal.” When selecting titles for this space, I try to think of “young adult” in as expansive a way possible: not just as a marketing category as to who publishers thought would read … Continue reading →

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Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley Saga: The Wakefields of Sweet Valley

Posted on January 30, 2024 by mondomolly

Follow the riveting stories of the women who came before Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield… Did any 1980s series spawn more sub-series than Sweet Valley High? Even excluding the hundreds of books featuring the Wakefield twins at different ages (your Sweet … Continue reading →

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Sunset High: The Night Before (#10) By Linda A. Cooney

Posted on December 19, 2023 by mondomolly

Will they spend the holidays apart, or will they set aside their pride in time to start the New Year right? I am starting to run low on holiday-themed YA titles (whither Elaine Harper?) so I’ve been reaching for a … Continue reading →

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James Budd #2: The Secret of Operation Brain By Dale Carlson

Posted on December 7, 2023 by mondomolly

Brilliant scientist Shepherd smith seems to have gone berserk: he’s been blowing up missile bases all over Europe, bring the world to the brink of nuclear war… As an epilogue to Whitman Season, I thought we’d revisit the James Budd … Continue reading →

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Nurses Three: Tracy’s Little People (#6) By Jean Kirby

Posted on November 20, 2023 by mondomolly

And how could she defend herself against an accusation so terrible that it could end her career as a nurse, even send her to prison? Continuing our annual fall retrospective of Whitman girls’ series books with the 6th volume in the … Continue reading →

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Robin Kane (#5) Mystery In The Clouds By Eileen Hill

Posted on October 22, 2023 by mondomolly

“Who’s going to shoot at a girl? Don’t be so scaredy. Come on!” Mindy sighed. “I might as well. If you get shot, I’ll just get shot, too.” Background: Usually, fall means a look at the “girls’ series” published by Whitman in … Continue reading →

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The War Between The Pitiful Teachers And The Splendid Kids By Stanley Kiesel

Posted on September 17, 2023 by mondomolly

The Status Quo Solidifier, the insidious plan of scheming Mr. Foreclosure, would turn kids into Perfect Young People before they knew it… I am approaching the back-to-school title this year with a lot of trepidation. I am the first to … Continue reading →

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Crazy Mary By John Benton

Posted on August 13, 2023 by mondomolly

The dramatic story of a young girl’s faith that conquered alcoholism and insanity… As far as I’m concerned, John Benton’s YA Christian-scare novels of the 1970s and 80s are legendary around here: in 2014, we were introduced to Debbie, a … Continue reading →

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