You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!
This HaBO request comes from Mandy, who is looking for a YA romance she read in the 90s:
I’m looking for a teen romance book that I read in the 1990s. It was probably published in the late 80s or super early 90s. The heroine was in marching band, and she played the saxophone. She had named her sax “Horatio” and referred to it by name all the time. I think she was a freshman in high school.
There’s a guy in band with her who clearly likes her (I remember him offering to carry Horatio and other such lovesick puppy stuff), but she’s got her sights set on someone else. Besides, he’s shorter than her, so she’s not interested. She’s never been kissed, and I remember that when she eventually kisses her crush, there’s a distinct lack of the fireworks she was expecting. Of course, when she finally kisses short band guy, there are fireworks and an “orchestra playing in the bushes” and all of that kind of stuff.
I don’t remember her name, but his name might have been Joel or something similar to that?
It’s not a lot to go on, but I remember loving this book and want to read it again! Endless Googling has brought me nothing but pain.
A sax named Horatio! Someone knows this!
IT might be music from the heart by Pamela Laskin that has Horatio.
Hi! This is my request – so excited to see if we can figure out what this book is.
@Amanda I checked out Music from the Heart, and that’s unfortunately not it. Thanks for looking, though!
One more thing I remembered, which I’m about 99% sure is from the same book: It’s marching season, and the band is working on “Proud Mary.” There is a sequence in the marching choreography where most of the band is the boat while a few others are the steamboat wheel, and they march down the field like that, with the wheel turning. It does not go well.
I wanted to mention that just in case there are any CCR/Tina Turner fans who might remember that scene!
@Mandy: Originally, this description did not entice me; however, after reading your update re: Proud Mary, I’d read this just for that scene. Hope someone names it.
I don’t know this book as I wasn’t big on books when I was a kid, but I’m just here to day that “Proud Mary” was my high school’s unofficial song. The band played it at all of our events and when the band director retired my senior year, the chorus finally learned to sing it, so we could dedicate it to him.
I adore Proud Mary and I thought this book sounded adorable befire that detail was added. Unfortunately, I’ve no idea of the name of the book but am curious as all get out why she would choose Horatio to name her sax. And a young woman plaing the sax, gotta love that.
Oh yay! My request was retweeted a few times, and Twitter user @RabbitRodney found the book!
It’s Key to My Heart by Victoria Althoff. I’m off to find a copy!
@Gloriamarie I can’t remember if she specifies why she’s named him Horatio, but I wonder if it’s a subtle reference to Horatio Hornblower?
This HABO (for which I had no clue) and subsequent comments gave me flashbacks to two 1990s tv shows:
1. An episode of “Frasier” where Frasier and Niles bemoan their father’s uncouth girlfriend: “She treated us to a series of bawdy limericks about a man fortuitously named Horatio.”
2. An episode of “The Simpsons” where band member/sax player Lisa begins with a soothing rendition of “My Country ’tis of Thee” and then tears into “Proud Mary”.
I’m glad this book has been identified. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. And, yes, I’m old!
I am in awe. That’s all.