Showing posts with label Best Loved Girls' Books series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best Loved Girls' Books series. Show all posts

Always Anne by Holly Wilson (1957)

Anne Fraser longed to emulate Glory Hoffman, the most popular girl in high school, for Glory was everything Anne wanted to be--gleaming and goldenly beautiful, popular with the boys, always gay and self-possessed, and a leading spirit in the most important group in high school. When Glory suddenly offered Anne her friendship, she was overjoyed and refused to listen to Claire Durand's frank criticism of Glory and her motives. Anne loved her best friend Claire, but she idolized Glory.

At the Sophomore Dance, wearing her first formal, Anne felt sophisticated and happy to be one of Glory's crowd, though she knew deep down that her present popularity was a reflection of Glory's shining orbit. When Tom Magoon, attractive literary editor of The Blue Pencil, danced with her and then asked for a date without any scheming or maneuvering on her part, she felt she was really beginning to live. They began dating regularly, and Anne found that with him she could be quite independent in her ideas and opinions, and this gave her confidence in her own judgment.

As Anne gradually learned the means Glory employed to maintain her popularity, she realized what a shallow, shoddy thing it was. But it was through Glory's final horrifying downfall that Anne rediscovered the fact that in building a good life, what counted most was the way you left about yourself, and that in friendship--even love--you needed to be natural and not a pretender.

Because girls will identify themselves with Anne's gradual rejection of the false and her acceptance of new values and standards, they will love this deeply probing story of Anne's emotional growing up. (from the inside flap)

One Small Voice by Bob and Jan Young (1961)

Gina Morgan's ambition was to be an opera singer. All her spare time was spent in practicing, till suddenly, in her senior year, she realized that her music had become a wall that had shut out friends and the stimulation of school activities. She auditioned for the lead in the Granada High operetta, hoping in his way to achieve popularity, but another girl won the role! Gina's world shattered, and the year which should have been happy and challenging was dull and dateless.

The, miraculously, Walt Kennedy asked her to the Valentine Dance, but the most wonderful evening in her life ended in misery. Walt's care collided with an improperly park car and he was forced to pay a bribe. For the first time Gina was made aware of city corruption. She had never been remotely interested in politics; now she found herself boiling mad. There ought to be something she could do, but how could one girl alone fight graft?

The answer came when her class in American Government decided on a campaign to get out the vote. Nobody wanted to head the project, and Gina saw it as her one chance to salve her wounded pride and gain her classmates' respect. Her Future Citizens Committee were only teen-agers, but perhaps democracy needed fresh young blood to make it all work. Walt seemed impressed as Gina planned her all-out campaign, and she found herself making new friends and gaining new confidence. Her triumph and that of the Future Citizens came on election day when their car pools, teams of baby sitters and good citizenship banners for every voter resulted in the biggest election turn-out in Granada's history.

For Gina the victory was greater than just the town election. In teaching the townspeople that an ideal is worth working for, she discovered that no dream or ideal has value unless you are willing to work for it. Armed with this knowledge, she was able to judge honestly her own musical aspirations and decide on her own future. (from the inside flap)

Sunday Dreamer by Bob and Jan Young (1962)

The letter from Grandmother Demarest arrived just as Nancy was indulging in her favorite dream--she was living in a new town and people were saying as she passed, "Who is that attractive girl?" Now she and her mother were moving to Cordoba to live her with her wealthy, socially prominent grandmother and she, Nancy, would make her dream come true.

It was easy to adopt the role of a gay and charming sophisticate. She knew the Arcadias would pledge her for their sorority, and it was a heady experience to be liked by Doug Holden, a popular man on campus. Riding on a wave of popularity, she was suddenly shocked to discover that her grandmother was penniless, living on her past glory as a grande dame.

To keep a roof over their heads, Nancy's mother went back to nursing in the small Cordoba Community Hospital and converted Cliff's Edge, the family mansion, into a boardinghouse for nurses. This violated the zoning ordinances, stirred up feelings among new and older residents and, worst of all, Nancy's friends began to avoid her. Confused and hurt, she drew comfort from unexpected sources. She learned to confide in Mark Bonner, a college man who worked as a gardener, and she spent rewarding hours with the Nightingales, a group of volunteer girls at the hospital.

In the midst of her personal problems, Nancy was caught up in the vicious rivalry between Cordoba and Southside, the two local high school. As the tension mounted, both at home and in school, she was forced to choose between Doug and Mark and what they represented in terms of her most cherished beliefs. A tragic accident in Cordoba created chaos in the town, and from the crisis Nancy emerged confident about her future.

This is the story of a sensitive girl, town between two ways of life, who learns in the process of growing up that you prove your worth and maintain your dignity by what you give of yourself to your school, your community, your friends. (from the inside flap)

Champlain Summer by Marjorie Vetter (1959)

Who would let an oar float away without paddling anxiously after it? Kit Turner wondered as she fished the blade out of Lake Champlain. But in a little while, she came upon a drifting gray skiff and a handsome boy sprawled lazily and unconcernedly in the morning sun. Kit, who only the week before had argued with her mother against buying a formal dress, who preferred sports to parties and dances, who disliked silly, "fluffy" girls like Elaine Lester, momentarily regretted her disheveled appearance. Bates Cunningham's poetic thanks for the returned oar made her aware, for the first time in her almost fifteen years, that perhaps it wasn't so foolish to take time to primp and fuss and be feminine. Of course, Elaine, her nearest neighbor, couldn't replace Marge and Babs, her sports-loving pals, and having regal Great-aunt Charlotte as house guest appalled Kit and made her feel uncomfortable.

Summers at Lake Champlain had always thrilled Kit. She knew all its romantic history, from its early discovery to the days when Admiral Macdonough built the fleet that defeated the British in the war of 1812. Surprisingly, her fund of anecdotes about Vergennes, Vermont, the Turners' summer address, was just the key that gave her Bates' companionship. Kit's enthusiasm for the area charmed bates and he asked her to be his guide. It was great fun touring in his cream-colored Jaguar, rowing on the lake, and picnicking near historic sites.

Kit realized that she was growing up--slowly. She began to look outside herself and try to understand others: her mother's loneliness when Mr. Turner had to be away on business trips; Great-aunt Charlotte's weaknesses; and even Elaine's good points. But it wasn't until a treacherous storm endangered Kit's life and the lives of others for whom she felt responsible that she really understood her own development into a young woman, and the ways and needs of other adults.

The historical pageant which Kit inspired proved that she had left childishness behind. "Brick Top" Kit could toss her head happily in the knowledge that her Champlain summer had brought her her first romantic interest in boys, her first compassionate interest in people outside her family circle, and her first appreciation of the heritage that had come down to her from her country and from her own ancestors. (from the inside flap)

The Hundred Steps by Holly Wilson (1958)

Marcy McKay grew up to the sound of ore boat whistles and the pounding surf of Lake Superior. Her father was first mate on the North Star and she was proud of his job. But her mother wanted a different life for Marcy and discouraged her friendships with waterfront families.

At sixteen Marcy was aware of the gulf between her people and those who lived up the Hundred steps on the hill. She knew the exclusive hill crowd in high school but was never asked to their parties. This didn't particularly bother her, but her best friend Jeannie was adamant. Why shouldn't Marcy be content with her own kind? She'd only get herself into trouble running around with a bunch of rich, spoiled kids. Their continued arguments widened the break between them, till Marcy found herself without any friends from the Lower Town, except Bill who shared her heritage of the sea.

When Gwen Ellis asked her and Bill to doubledate for the Peppermint Ball, Marcy was delighted. This would prove how wrong Jeannie was. But her joy was shortlived. She realized that Gwen wanted Bill and was using Marcy's friendship for him as an entering wedge. She was stuck with wealthy, thrill-crazy Walt. When the dance was over three couples piled into his car, and an evening of fun ended in terror. Before the night was over Marcy was to recall Jeannie's remarks and be inclined to agree with her--for she was in real trouble, torn between loyalties. Bill, steady as an anchor, held her on her course.

Then disaster struck, and Marcy's world was shattered when her father's ship was caught in a hurricane. Throughout the long night neighbors from both sides of town hurried to help the McKays. Marcy learned that people were mixtures of good and bad, that neither wealth nor poverty were yardsticks of character, and that the Hundred Steps did not divide the town--but united it. (from the inside flap)

Four-Party Line by Dorothy Gilman Butters (1954)

This unique and charmingly-told junior novel traces the intermingling patterns in the lives of four girls who work as operators for the telephone company.

There is FRANCINE, with whom snobbery was a rule until her at-first-sight-love of Tom gave her a compassion for all people; and PEGGY, whose restless ambition brought her marriage to the brink of ruin; and TIPPY, who, in her loneliness, looked with despair even upon her own good disposition; and MARY, who came from the wrong side of the tracks with a secret wish, and attained it.

Although their backgrounds are varied, a common bond results from working side by side in the oft-times dramatic atmosphere of the switchboard room. For one girl somehow touches the life of the next and, in so doing, adds understanding where there was none before.

Here is a new setting for the problems of human relationships, happily resolved in an intriguing way. (from the inside flap)

Summer of Surprise by Helen Reynolds (1960)

Not finish art school! Such a thing couldn't happen to her, Penny Warburton, could it? She had planned to spend this summer vacation in her usual leisurely fashion--riding her horse Goldie, swimming, and helping out in the family orchard. But helping out meant more than just picking fruit this year, for the crop was a failure. Penny has to find some way, somehow to make the money to cover her expenses for that senior year at art school.

Unexpectedly, Lyn, her neighbor, asks Penny to teach her pottery-making. Could an art studio be the answer to the problem of raising money? Lyn's friend, Susan, also wants to learn, so perhaps there are even others. Excited and a little frightened about the undertaking, Penny, with her family's approval, converts the drawing room into a studio for rug-weaving and pottery-making. But how much should she charge for instruction? Can she buy equipment reasonably? Will she be able to sell the ceramics? And how will she get more students?

In spite of her doubts, Penny's class grows as one neighbor tells another about it, and Penny is encouraged to advertise. She never expects her ad to produce a boarding student, but Tony Lestrange writes that he is willing to camp on the veranda, if he can become an expert at pottery-making and design. And, without even waiting for a reply from Penny, Tony barges in in his noisy sports car. Seeing Tony's Great Dane and squeaky violin, Penny Wishes he could camp -- elsewhere. However, Tony is there to stay.

Teaching is fun and creative, but it demands diplomatic skill as well. Conflicts and jealousies, common to every classroom, arise and Penny has to cope with varied personalities and talents; Susan, who is all thumbs; and Tony, brash, outspoken and, it appears, in love with Penny.

Conscientious Penny is determined to be successful. Exploring the possibilities of selling ceramics to Esselmont's Gift Shop, she meets handsome, young Garth Esselmont. Now, more than ever, Penny wants to return to art school in downtown Vancouver, for Garth is attending the university there.

As her arts and crafts conclude, Penny's goal seems more attainable. In reaching her goal, Penny reveals the understanding, warmth,  and maturity that are some of the fruits of a wonderful summer--her summer of surprise. (from in the inside flap)

Halfpenny Linda by Jean Nielsen (1963)

"You can't run away from yourself," Linda Duncan's father tells her one warm September night in Los Angeles as he puts her on a jet for London. Spoiled, stubborn Linda refuses to admit that it was her own carelessness and laziness that landed her on the "flunk" list at South Palms High the spring before. She's sure that in a different environment people will appreciate her more, and Aunt Iris, her mother's twin sister, has often invited her to spend a year with them in the London suburb of Upper Hinchley. So, with the help of her mother, who had never before let them see how homesick she was for England, Linda overcomes her father's objections to the plan.

Even before she is off the plane the next day, Linda begins to have uneasy suspicions that while London is as different as can be from Los Angeles, she still hasn't solved her problems. Her aunt and uncle and two cousins, Icy, a year older, and Roger, two years younger than herself, are kind and welcoming, but their quiet reserve makes them strange to her. She soon finds out that the Lady Phillipa Grammar School for Girls is just that--there are no boys. Furthermore, the students wear unbecoming uniforms and take their lessons most seriously.

During her first difficult days, her main comforts are Mrs. Maxwell, her aunt's housekeeper, and Kath Hollister, a fellow schoolmate. Like Linda, Kath prefers to look on the lighter side of life, but still she is level-headed. In spite of Kath's good-natured guidance, Linda makes one mistake after another until finally a row with her unsympathetic Maths teacher sends her storming to the American Embassy, determined to borrow money to fly home.

An understanding embassy aide encourages her to stay and be an ambassador for her country, and after that things become somewhat easier for Linda. The old monuments of London cause her to take a real interest in the study of history. At a Christmas reception at the Embassy, she finally meets some boys--Andy and Jack, American students at Cambridge. She meets them again in Scotland where she is enjoying vacation with her newly met grandparents, and in Cornwall where she goes for the spring holidays. The high point comes when the boys extend invitations to Linda, Kath, and Icy, too, for May Week at Cambridge.

There are many more surprises and discoveries in store for Linda before her year in the British Isles in over--among them the realization that hard work results in very satisfying rewards. (from the inside flap)

Boy Wanted by Janet Lambert (1959)

In this captivating novel, Janet Lambert once again proves her gift for telling a lively story with warmth and rare insight into the world of young moderns.

Beautiful Patty Palmer was demanded and totally self-centered. Her best friend, Ginger Johnston, was a cheerful second-fiddle, absorbed in other people and the world around her. As sophomores in high school, they were wondering about popularity, personality--and boys.

Patty didn't like it when her brother compared her unfavorably to Ginger but she had to admit that both boys and girls preferred Ginger to her. Nor could Patty understand Ginger's interest in "Spark Plug" Baker who concentrated on his 1914 touring car far more than he did on Ginger.

Tim Ford was a different matter. Patty thought that she and Tim were practically steadies, and when Tim didn't share her feelings, she blamed Ginger.

The story of how Ginger takes her first step in emotional independence from Patty, and how the girls learn to evaluate their friendship will delight all teenagers. (from the inside flap)

Stardust for Jennifer by Jane S. McIlvaine (1956)

Beginning from her first year at Briar College Jennifer looks forward to another summer of work on the Collingwood Herald, and dates with Jim, the boy next door. Instead she finds that the usually peaceful town has exploded with excitement over the coming of a Hollywood film company. the director, Jerret Pelham, explains that he is to make a movie based on the experiences of the newspaper and Jennifer's first summer as its cub reporter.

Disappointed over Jim's sudden decision to work on a research project in New York, jennifer is caught up in the glitter of notoriety and the easy association with the famous stars, Sarina Swift and Jon Wiley--who are to play the roles of Jennifer and Jim. Then Jennifer, on her horse Chance, doubles for Sarina in a jumping sequence for the movie, gets her picture in Life and appears with Jon on a popular television program. She begins to feel as if she is on a merry-go-round, whirling faster and faster until the familiar details of life are nothing but a blur.

The dazzling effect of the unaccustomed publicity on the town, Jennifer and Jim brings unexpected complications yet Jennifer does not regret her brush with Hollywood. For it has given her greater perspective, a new humility, and she sees that she has grown up considerably during this exciting, if tempestuous, summer. (from the inside flap)

Follow Your Dream by Marjorie Holmes (1961)

So what's wrong with a girl's wanting to be a veterinarian?  Especially when she's Tracey Temple, who has been loving and caring for all kinds of animals since she was a little kid. Even now, a junior in high school, she really prefers animals to people, and her idea of excitement is being curled up with a good book on hoof-and-mouth disease.

Of course, the male D.V.M.'s want very much to exclude women from their ranks. That hasn't stopped Jane Baldwin, though.  Dr. Baldwin is outstandingly successful, and to Tracey the opportunity to work a whole summer in her idol's hospital is sheer ecstasy.

Not unmixed ecstasy.  Dr. Baldwin has a medical assistant, a young vet-to-be.  Tracey is normally quite at home with boys -- in so many endearing ways they remind her of animals. But Whit is not exactly a boy. He's not even an ordinary man. He is the tallest, handsomest, most terrifying member of the adorable sex she has ever seen.

He is something less than impressed with the clumsy "puppy" whom he derisively calls a canine Florence Nightingale. Yet, for all his sarcasm, he is always ready to help, to teach, to console when the newcomer lets a valuable dog escape -- and to be basically glad, too, that she is the one chosen for the trip to the zoo to help set a lion's tail. In a word, Whit is all bark and no bite, although there's nothing fake about the chunk he takes out of Tracey's heart.

From Dr. Baldwin the intense, gamin-faced girl gains deeper insight into the profession she yearns to follow. Through the glory and the misery of loving Whit, who is not hers to love, Tracey's dream of a career turns into a fuller, richer dream of life. Here, even for girls who shudder at snakes, is a sparkling, romantic, completely intriguing novel about highly animate humans and humorously human animals. (from the inside flap)

Saturday Night by Marjorie Holmes (1959)

 Carly is wearing a green Paisley skirt and an off-the-shoulder peasant blouse which she has bought with the first pay from her job at Deal's general store in the little Midwest town of Windy Lake. She is a junior in high school, but somehow her girl friends have outgrown her. She is timid adn feels left out of their fun, but she is terribly eager for life. Especially for whatever strange thrill may lie in wait for her during the hours of this magical Saturday night. "Something might turn up," she says when her mother asks her why she has changed to her new clothes.  And, sure enough, something does, "turn up": Danny Keller discovers her.

Danny is the most popular boy in town, a Peter Pan who won't grow up, with faunlike ears and merry, carefree chatter. He takes her to the Copper Kettle, where the high school crowd hangs out, for grilled cheese and a Coke. Carly knows that the really popular girls have in turn all been his steady dates, but he sweeps her off her feet and she now becomes "his girl." As such, she finds that she has become popular ... she belongs. She feels, however, a strange misgiving in the welcome she receives from the others, and her forebodings prove to be all too well founded.

Much of the action of the story centers about the lake, beautiful, fascinating, but able to assume a dark and tragic aspect too, as Carly learns to her horror.

The reader who follows this typically American girl through the experiences of her first love will learn, as she learns, the truth of what her father says to her: "Hurt is simply a part of growing up.  It's as inescapable as -- as cutting teeth." (from the inside flap)

The Paris Hat by Mary Cunningham (1958)

Ever since Rex, already a professional ballet dancer at eighteen, had complimented her on her gracefulness and asked for a date, Cathy Darfield had dreamed only of dancing with him. Rex's dancing seemed inspired and excited her imagination. Now Cathy knew that the ballet was the career she too wanted to pursue.

If she hadn't been able to vacation at her Aunt Faith's, Cathy would never have had time to think about being other than a "mother hen"--a role she had had to assume when her mother died. The four youngest Darfields were in camp, and only her twelve-year-old sister, Bettina, was with her. So for this vacation time Cathy was free to dream, to practice her plies and jetes in anticipation of Rex's dates when they would dance together, and to plan a career.

All that was fine until the day a delivery boy arrived with an unexpected, golden, heart-shaped box from Chapeaux de Paris containing an enchanting hat for her beautiful young aunt. The gift could come only from her husband, and implied that Uncle Pat was returning from a diamond hunting venture in Africa and would soon be back in San Francisco. Two years ago another Paris hat had preceded his return from the Air Force, so it looked as through this significant present must be announcing his homecoming. Aunt Faith was stunned, Grandmother furious, and Bettina agog. But Cathy was worried about the family scene Uncle Pat's impeding arrival might touch off at the exact hour Rex was due to meet the family for the first time.

A hidden letter, prowler's footprints in the garden, and other curious happenings further complicated matters. Uncle Pat was notably undependable--Grandmother wouldn't let Aunt Faith forget that--but why should he be so mysterious?

When Rex didn't show up or telephone, Cathy equated him with Uncle Pat--talented, adventures, magnetic, but hardly reliable or realistic. She felt that Walt, her dependable high school pal, wouldn't understand her desire to be other than a "mother hen," but she was sure that Rex would encourage her to follow a ballet career. was Cathy just a hero worshipper as Walt hinted? Her glamorous cousin Gerry, a commercial artist and Cathy's confidante, also warned her that this could be true. A telephone call to Rex started a chain of exciting events that gave Cathy insight into the answer to her career problem, and solved the mystery of the Paris hat. (from the inside flap)

Julie Builds Her Castle by Hila Colman (1959)

Why in the world, thought Julie Hartman disconsolately, do we have to travel all the way across the United States to Cape Cod because Dad wants to paint the ocean? California would have been much nearer and just as good.

Julie began her summer on the Cape by building a dream castle and ended it by making plans for a real one. Although Julie, at sixteen, resented her artist father's nonconformity, she actually owed to it many of the summer's happiest moments. For as his daughter she found it completely natural to go out with the young son of a Portuguese fisherman. Peter was a boy you could rely upon, but his older brother Joe was a problem. And when Joe got into trouble, it was Julie's father who straightened him out. During this crisis Mr. Hartman told Julie his creed. "I believe in not going along with the mob for the sake of joining in; I believe in thinking things out and having your own integrity." But Julie had already begun to think out her own program for the future. (from the inside flap)


Skates for Marty by Barbara Clayton (1959)

Sports had little appeal for Martha Ann Fuller.  Although her beautiful mother had been an excellent ice-skater in her teens, Marty--plump, awkward, and self-conscious--never had any inclination to follow in her mother's footsteps. When Mrs. Fuller's job takes her to California, Marty is thrust into a new world. Moving to her grandmother's old stucco house in Ringport, Massachusetts, demands serious adjustments. Well-meaning grandmother is convinced that Marty can be transformed from a lonely, withdrawn girl into a social butterfly. And one way to accomplish this is for Marty to become a champion figure-skater!

Poor Marty resists in vain. The figure staking lessons she takes with Josef, a famous professional at the nearby Skating Club, are drudgery, and for a long time the rink is unbearable to Marty.

Besides, she has other pressing problems to solve. At the private girls' school she had attended, she never had to think about how to act with boys and they are a real puzzle to her. Now that she has had to transfer to Ringport High, she is really on unfamiliar "ice." Because she is so shy, her first real date is almost a catastrophe. The girls, too, are different, and Marty's unintentional blunders create friction with the prettiest and most popular girl in school, Taffy Wilson.

Yet, when Mrs. Fuller visits Ringport at Thanksgiving, she is impressed and pleased at the change in her daughter. With a glow in her cheeks and several pounds slimmed off from exercise, Marty appears more attractive and outgoing. Too, she is winning some friends, one of whom, a United States champion, kindles some enthusiasm in Marty for skating. But it is not until the Skating Club is host for the National Championships that Marty sees the fascination of figure-skating. She is captivated by the experts who have come from different parts of the country, and she begins in earnest to try to overcome her shyness and to develop as a skater.

Surprisingly, she has competition from her school antagonist, Taffy, who decides to begin skating again. Can Marty handle Taffy and resolve her conflict between school and skating? Why is she suddenly so anxious to sin the coveted figure skating scholarship offered by the Club? And will she be successful? The answers to these questions lie in the suspenseful climax of a story that sparkles with the flash of skate blades, the glitter of the ice rink, and the brave determination of its young heroine. (from the inside flap)

Second Best by Barbara Clayton (1963)

Lucy Ritchard felt that she was always second best.  Her older sister Meg excelled scholastically and socially, her younger brother Brad was a baseball star, and to everyone in Berkshire, Massachusetts, Lucy was sure she was known as "the undistinguished Ritchard girl." Because Lucy and Matador, her golden retriever who is always recovering the wrong things, are involved in calamity after calamity, Lucy's brother has sarcastically labelled her "Lucky Lucinda."

When Professor Ritchard decides to spend the summer months writing a geology textbook on the coast of Maine, Lucy is delighted.  In Maine she'll have a fresh start.  She'll feel different, be different, and--maybe--finally shed the hated badge of second best.

Despite Lucy's dreams, her mortifying introduction to the Kettle Cove Yacht Club starts the summer off on the wrong foot.  Determined to erase that first bad impression, Lucy agrees to take sailing lessons with the Commodore of the Club.  Too late she realizes that sailing involves more hard work and discipline than she had bargained for, and that all of her old difficulties have traveled along with her the four hundred miles from Berkshire to Kettle Cove, Maine, where first is all-important.

A nearly disastrous accident forces Lucy and Marsh Norton, one of the young crackerjack sailors at the Club, to work off together the cost of the damages they have caused. Then, strange lights and happenings on spooky Witchpaw Light tempt the two of them to investigate the deserted island lighthouse and unravel a tantalizing mystery.

Labor Day brings the last exciting race, and as the summer of work, sailing, and racing on Penobscot Bay comes to an end, Lucy finds some of  the answers to her problems.  She discovers one important area where she can be first--and stay first! Armed with this new understanding, Lucy is ready for the return to Berkshire, confident that in the future she can be other than Second Best. (from the inside flap)

Angel on Skis by Betty Cavanna (1957)

Angela gazed down at the powdery new snow with a rising sense of anticipation.  Frost had turned its surface into crystals that glittered in the sun like sequins. She knew exactly the light swishing sound her skis would make as they lifted it in a sparkling cloud. This was her world--a white world of snow and speed and excitement. But to enter it, Angela had traveled a hard road.

When her mother moved to Vermont to support the family by running a guesthouse for skiers, Angela knew there wasn't a penny to spare for buying skis. But that did not lessen her almost fanatic determination to learn to ski. How she really did learn is a major theme of this novel. Because the author is intimately acquainted with skiing techniques, it is completely authentic. Because she knows so well how to re-create the breathless wonder of the ski slopes, it is enchanting. But that is not all. Miss Cavanna's story is warm with the glow of happy family life, and shining with romance; for the ski trails lead Angela to the glory of first love. (from the inside flap)

The Look of Love by Denise Cass Brookman (1960)

Candy was Kirk Stock's girl, and to be Kirk's girl was to be admired and respected--even envied.  For he was a letterman in football, president of the Senior Council, a good mixer, a good dancer and the most popular boy at Ryder High School.  Although they had similar tastes and backgrounds Candy found, oddly enough, that they had little to say to one another when they were alone.  All their friends shared the same comfortable standards and all of them conformed to the same safe, snug pattern that sometimes seemed to stifle Candy.

She had an indefinable yearning to find her own sense of values, and it was this quality that Joe Czierwotni recognized.  Joe's world was different.  Experience had made him realistic and truculent, but he was attracted to Candy even though common sense told him that he was remote from her life and therefore all wrong for her.  But the moment was right, and--feeling that she had everything, yet nothing--Candy was drawn to him regardless of her family's concern.

In this new junior novel about two people who are different--yet somehow the same--the author of The Tender Time introduces a sensitive, levelheaded young heroine who tries her own wings for the first time.  (from the inside flap)

Say Hello, Candy by Bianca Bradbury (1961)

Candy didn't start out by saying hello.  In fact, she felt she was saying goodby to everything; to the only home she'd ever know, to all her friends, and most of all, to Tom.

For Candy the world had stopped turning and the bottom had dropped out of life.  Here she was heading for Maine with Mom and Dad.

They had often spent summers in Maine, but this was for keeps.  Ever since Dad's accident, which confined him to a wheel chair, money had become a problem for the Andrews' family.  They were trying to solve the problem by moving to the house they owned in a small Maine town.

But loneliness can be deeply rooted in a teen-age girl, and Candy was not to be thawed by the friendliness and sympathy of a small town. She was there, all right, but she didn't have to like it!

Bianca Bradbury has written a deeply understanding story of loneliness, and a young girl's growing up.  Every reader will understand Candy's search, and will share her glow when "that certain boy" comes into her life.  (from the inside flap)

Christy by Carole Bolton (1960)

When the doorbell rang, Christy was wearing faded jeans and big fat curlers in her hair.  She was in absolutely no condition to meet her fate, but here he was, standing at her door.  Gideon Myles was a successful writer; he was dashing and glamorous--and he was almost as old as her father.  But he made her feel as though she had passed from one room to another, where a blue light was burning instead of the pink one she had left behind.

Christy soon became caught between her teen-age world and an impossible dream.  She found herself saying catty things about Julie, the thirty-year-old librarian who had always been dear to her--until Gideon's arrival.  She quarreled with Frank, a wonderfully solemn student of archaeology, whom she denounced as a callow youth.  And she learned, finally, that even when love goes away, its sad, sweet poignancy remains.

Christy's efforts to win Gideon are sometimes childish and absurd, sometimes agelessly feminine.  In this delightful book, which introduces a fresh new writing talent, Carole Bolton describes them with a keen awareness of the rue and humor and touching reality of love at sixteen.  (from the inside flap)