A Dream for Susan by Janet Lambert (1954)

Susan Jordon simply could not believe her ears! All her life she had dreamed of having a home and family like her friends. Going to Turkey with Dad and keeping house for him had seemed like a dream come true. But now General Jordon was calling to say he had to go to Japan instead, and once more Susan was to be thrust back into the boarding school she loathed.

But there's much to be said about wanting something badly enough. And when a girl has a twin brother like Neal and an older sister like Alice, she can't feel miserable and homeless for very long.

First, Neal has a wonderful idea to be followed by an even better one from none other than Tippy Parrish's mother. With the whole Parrish clan joining forces with the Jordons to help Susan realize her dream, she soon finds herself with a home, a family, and a very ardent admirer.

Janet Lambert has a very special touch when it comes to the people she loves. Her books are chock-full of wonderful, fun-loving, very-much-alive young people, and Susan Jordon is one of the most charming and lovable of them all. (from the inside flap)

The Boy Next Door by Betty Cavanna (1956)

Everyone in town took it for granted that Jane Howard was Ken Sanderson's girl, but Jane felt that they were just good "pals." The night Ken tried to show her that he was not at all happy with is unromantic role, Jane instinctively rebuffed him. When her vivacious younger siste, Belinda, began to date Ken, Jane found herself going through a period of bitterness and jealousy. But with new interests at school and an exciting young English boy, Jane finally gained a greater understanding of herself and the world in which she lived. (from the back cover)

Sister of the Bride - Beverly Cleary (1963)

"Don't tell!" said Rosemary. "I'll come home and tell them myself. But I'm sure Dad will be furious anyway." Barbara hung up the phone in a daze. How could Rosemary possibly get married? She was only nineteen--why, she still had braces on her teeth! And Greg was still in school--he couldn't support a wife. Dad certainly would be furious. "In fact," Barbara told herself, "we can get ready for a first-class fight!" (from the back cover)

Carol on Broadway by Helen Dore Boylston (1944)

Fresh and eager from the success which she scored in her small parts at the Winasset summer theater, Carol Page comes down to Broadway determined to find a part. She is ready to take anything, even the lowliest walk-on, for her dander is up; her father has taunted her with the remark that she will "go bust in two months." She has saved nearly $400 from her summer salary and she means to stretch this until a producer has given her the nod.

With her friend Julia, who is looking for a part in comedy, Carol finds a room in a theatrical boardinghouse.  She finds Herbert, a pet skunk, and his vaudeville trainer on the floor above.  But week in, week out, she finds nothing but discouragement in the casting offices.  "Sorry, but you are not the type--perhaps we can let you know later."  Those turn-downs drive her frantic.  When her money has dwindled to the point of desperation, Carol is lucky to find herself a job as an usher in the balcony.  The she picks up a little work on a radio program, she gets a walk-on part in a play which soon flops, and at long last she comes to her real trial on Broadway.

The story of Carol's and Julia's adventures on Broadway, the story of what they bring to the theater and of what the theater grudgingly gives to them, has the true ring, the warmth and the color, which one looks for in the work of Helen Dore Boylston.  This is a book to be read by every girl who ever dreamed of "going on the stage."  (from the inside flap of Carol Plays Summer Stock)

Sue Barton, Rural Nurse by Helen Dore Boylston (1939)

"Hello darling!" It was Bill on long distance from New Hampshire. Yes, everything was set for the wedding. Honeymoon. Back to the hospital. Bliss. Then his father's sudden death throws a burden on Bill; postpones the marriage. Sue, to be near him, persuades the townspeople to hire her as their first visiting rural nurse. A hurricane, a typhoid epidemic, and community suspicions give Sue and her fiancé plenty to do among the salty characters of Springdale.

Another novel by the writer who knows both nursing and people--Helen Dore Boylston. (back cover)

Carol Plays Summer Stock by Helen Dore Boylston (1942)

Her apprenticeship at Phyllis Marlowe's Repertory Theater behind her, green-eyed Carol Page now faces her first real job as second ingénue at the Richards Village Theater, Winasset, Maine. Along with her go her former classmate Julia Gregg and clever young Mike Horodinsky--Julia as apprentice, Mike as assistant stage manager.

In a rambling old house by the sea, Carol, Julia, and Mike live with the other members of the Richards Theater.  Here their days are filled with learning parts, attending rehearsals, painting scenery, and absorbing as much as possible about the business of a summer theater; nights are filled with the excitement of performance.  Here, too, Carol learns what it means to combat such forces as townsfolk who frown on the stage as evil, Maine fog and rain which seem intent on keeping away an audience.  She learns how to meet discouragement and how to cope with a girl named Orchid, a professional member of the cast whose training gives her an advantage over Carol and whose glamour is as effective as her technique. 

Most of all, Carol and Mike discover the meaning of the theater--its demands, its disappointments, its rewards--and it is with a deeper realization of their love for it that they turn their eyes towards Broadway.  (inside flap)

Passport to Romance by Betty Cavanna (1955)

Now that the farewells were over and the big ship was gliding out of New York harbor, Jody stood at the rail and wondered forlornly whether a year at school in Switzerland was really worth it after all. It's time you were on your own, her father had said, but she would miss his gay, easy companionship terribly. Her friends were sure she would meet some perfectly fascinating boy, but what good would it do her if he didn't speak the same language. Jody felt miserably alone and uncertain.

That "scared rabbit" feeling was one that returned to Jody again and again during the first months at school.  Because of the language barrier, it was hard to make new friends, and Mary Lou, the sophisticated Southern girl who had been her cabin mate aboard ship, went out of her way to make Jody feel young and childish.  Even an unexpected meeting with Timothy, a lanky, serious-minded boy she liked, only embarrassed her, because of his ungainly appearance.  The school year stretched ahead endlessly--and then, one day, it snowed.

Snow means skiing in Switzerland and, for Jody, skiing became a passionate new interest.  Absorbed in perfecting her skill, Jody began to forget her self-doubt.  Soon she was happily caught up in a tentative romance with the handsome instructor whom Mary Lou coveted, a gay Christmas vacation in Geneva, and her growing friendship with Timothy.  Then all her new assurance was suddenly shattered and it was only after near tragedy that Jody realized, once and for all, that she had become a person in her own right.

Betty Cavanna's understanding of girls and her ability to talk their language have made her one of the most popular writers in the country.  In this engrossing novel, based on the real letters of an American girl at a Swiss school, Miss Cavanna has perceptively re-created all the conflicting emotions of that most trying period in a young girl's life--the year in which she begins to accept growing up.  (from the inside flap)