Treasure Trouble by Janet Lambert (1949)

Who took the treasure map from the book where Christy had hidden it? Christy has a mystery on her hands. (from The Famous Janet Lambert Books for Girls listing on a back cover)

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)

High Hurdles by Janet Lambert (1955)

The glamour and excitement of the Horse Show in New York are dimmed by the absence of Rob Wayne. (from The Famous Janet Lambert Books for Girls listing on a back cover)

Summer Madness by Janet Lambert (1962)

Ginger Johnston, finishing her junior year at high school, is uneasy about the coming summer. Her main problem, or at least so Ginger thinks, is the change that she is convinced will have undoubtedly have taken place in Spark Plug Blake, the "boy next door," pal and now, college man. The last description of Spark Plug worries Ginger most. She has overheard conversations between her mother and Mrs. Blake that indicate that Spark Plug worries Ginger most. She has overheard conversations between her mother and Mrs. Blake that indicate that Spark Plug is romantically interested in a college classmate and has invited her to visit him during the vacation. Ginger decides that the only course of action against this unknown and sophisticated girl is unobtrusive, but constant attendance to Spark Plug throughout the summer.

While Ginger is working out the details of her campaign, her parents have also been struggling over a decision about the future that will change Ginger's plans, not only for the summer, but for a long time to come. Mr. Johnston is going to take a job in another city, and the family will have to move there.

This is the situation in which Ginger finds herself. Pulled between her loyalty and love for her parents and her devotion to Spark Plug, the emotional adjustment she is asked to make proves to be the biggest she has yet had to face. What is Ginger to do about Spark Plug, about her friends, about her whole way of life if her parents move away from Cheltham.

Janet Lambert, as always, writes with a sharp insight into the continually changing world of teen-agers and with a sympathetic understanding of the problems that young people must work out for themselves. (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)

Green Eyes by Jean Nielsen (1955)

When Jan Morgan achieves the goal her heart is set on, being editor of the high school Argus, she nearly loses it by being "immature." It's true that she's a little younger than her classmates, and somehow has taken longer to grow up, but that isn't Jan's only problem. The other thing that bothers her is her family, in which she feels that her mother and her spoiled younger brother treat her like an unwanted outsider. But in her senior year Jan learns to trade "immature" loneliness and envy for responsibility and happiness, and she learns it mainly through her work on the Argus, which helps her begin to appreciate people: Dotty and Cassie, for instance, who show her that pretty girls aren't always unfriendly and superior; Mr. Larsen, who believes in her abilities; and Mrs. Abbott, who gives her a new philosophy and a hairdo to match.

Among all the friendly, warm-hearted people of Cascadeville, there are two who in very different ways become most important to Jan. Pete, the old town printer, conceals his affection for his new "assistant" beneath an acide wit, but his conviction that Jan will become a charming as well as an intelligent woman means even more to her than what he has to teach about newspapering. And there is Danny Mallory, the new boy in town, who turns out to be as much of a newspaper whiz as Jan herself, and with whom she has first a warm friendship, then a bitter rivalry.

The school year flies by faster than any year has ever gone for Jan, because it is filled to overflowing with fun and trouble. The happy school-bus trip to Seattle is followed by a miserable Christmas; the quarantine of which Jan is the heroine means that Danny is getting out the Argus much too well by himself; and the Valentine's Day excursion to Barren Mountain ends in a near-tragedy. But through it all Jan gradually becomes part of the community and of her family. She learns that printing the news is a responsibility as well as an exciting career, and decides once as for all that green-with-envy eyes can't see the full of life--that she is much better off to keep hers blue. She discovers, too, what depth of character underlies Danny Mallory's casual humor, and as this helps her get over her fear of boys and dates and parties, Jan's renewed friendship with him begins to deepen into something very special for them both. (from the inside flap)