HaBOs: They’re Good for your Health!
Today’s request comes from Debra, who is looking for a YA novel:
I’ve been a lurker on your
blog for a while, and I hope some of your followers can help me find
that title of a contemporary YA book I read back in the mid-80s. I’m
not sure if it would be considered a romance, but this is what I do
remember: the female lead was very, very tall (over 6 feet with
clogs), blond and she laughed all the time.
The boy she meets asks her
to join him at a beach party, where he uses her to try and make his
ex-girlfriend jealous. The female lead calls him out on his behavior,
but can’t keep a straight face and bursts out laughing even as she
tells him off. He’s properly contrite and I believe they start dating
after that. I can’t remember exactly how it ends, but I do remember
that she confesses that the reason she doesn’t drive (or maybe she
just doesn’t drive over bridges – I’m not sure), is because her
parents were killed in a car accident earlier that year. She’s afraid
that if she stops laughing all she’ll do is cry. At which point she
bursts into tears and blubbers all over him. I vaguely remember him
consoling her while trying protect his feet from her clogs.This was a cute, fun read and I wouldn’t mind revisiting it if I can
find it again. I think it was published around the time Sweet Valley
High was popular.
Oooh, do you think it might be a “Sweet Dreams” novel? I had quite a few of those, though the SVH was my gateway drug to romance. Anyone remember this novel?
Bonus materials I would actually like: an index (especially for non-fiction books, yes even with “word find” capability), interview with author, first chapters of author’s other books.
I have no idea what this is, but I just had to second the notion that SVH was my gateway drug to romance!
I don’t if this link will help – but I started out my road to romance with the “First Love Series from Silhoutte” – they were out at the same time as the SVH and I liked them better. The books listed with covers of the books and some of them have synopsis’s. Hope it helps.
http://www.goodreads.com/series/59392-first-love-from-silhouette
Ugh…let me try this again and add another link…
I don’t know if these links will help – but I started out my road to romance with the “First Love Series from Silhoutte” – they were out at the same time as the SVH and I liked them better. Both sites have the books listed with covers of the books and some of them have synopsis. Hope it helps.
http://www.goodreads.com/series/59392-first-love-from-silhouette or
http://cliqueypizza.wordpress.com/category/all-series/first-love-from-silhouette/page/2/
Thanks for the links, Holly. I check the First Loves list, searching for the word “beach” hoping that would track it down. All the girls in those books have jobs. I don’t recall either the female or male leads in my book working. I got the impression the the female lead was local, and the male lead had moved to town recently, but not so recent that he couldn’t find and get dumped by another girl.
@Jennifer: totally agree about SVH leading me down the path to romance.
I’m waiting for someone to come up with the title to this book. It sounds pretty good.
The girl that operates this website is a fount of knowledge when it comes to 80’s teen books.
http://cliqueypizza3.wordpress.com/
She has helped me find some of the obscure books I read as a young girl, when I thought there was no way I’d ever find them again. 🙂
Looking at the link and I suddenly remembered reading those as a teenager! Thanks for that trip down memory lane, Holly!
Thanks for the links Tiffani and Holly – I’ve already spent wwway more time than I meant to wandering down memory lane. I’m pretty sure I read books from Silhouette’s FLS – the series name rings a bell, but none of the titles or covers seem familiar – probably because I read romance covertly as a teen, esp as a young teen, never buying them or checking them out, just borrowing my friends’ books and flipping through for the swoony bits. But the other ya books – the ones I read out in the open – omg, just looking at the covers triggered tons of memories.
I hope someone figures out the HaBo while I wallow here in my memories of young book love
@Tiffani- thank you thank you thank you thank you for posting that link. There are 3 YA romances I have been searching for several years, and I have already found one of them in my thirty minutes of browsing the site. (Norma Klein, Just Friends for those inquiring minds). Have contemplated writing HABOs for them for several months but wasn’t sure of the status of YA books. Thank you again for making my night!!
Tiffani! Look what you’ve done. Tossed another time suck into my path. Never mind the books – it’s the covers! That hair! I’m having nightmare flashbacks. Heehee. I’ve only put a dent in the list, but I’ll see about posting a message on the message boards this weekend.