Best of
Teen

1981

P. S. I Love You


Barbara Conklin - 1981
    Now she's lost her special summer, too. Instead of fulfilling her dream to become a writer, Mariah has to help her mother with a house-sitting job in very rich, very snobby Palm Springs. People with a lot of money make Mariah uncomfortable. Until she meets Paul Strobe, the rich boy next door. Paul's not a snob and he doesn't act superior. In fact, his sandy sandy hair and piercing blue eyes break down all Mariah's defences. With Paul, Palm Springs becomes the most romantic place on Earth.But Paul has to go into the hospital for some tests and then an operation. He's seriously ill and all his family's money can't help him.Will Maraih lose Paul, too, just when she's found her first love?

Homecoming


Cynthia Voigt - 1981
    It's still true that their mother has abandoned the four Tillerman children somewhere in the middle of Connecticut. It's still true they have to find their way, somehow, to Great-aunt Cilla's house in Bridgeport, which may be their only hope of staying together as a family.But when they get to Bridgeport, they learn that Great-aunt Cilla has died, and the home they find with her daughter, Eunice, isn't the permanent haven they've been searching for. So their journey continues to its unexpected conclusion -- and some surprising discoveries about their history, and their future.

The Island Keeper


Harry Mazer - 1981
    But when she finally decides to return home, her canoe has been destroyed, and she faces the ultimate challenge in surviving the Canadian winter.

Hoops


Walter Dean Myers - 1981
    His coach, Cal, knows Lonnie has what it takes to be a pro-basketball player, but warns him about giving in to the pressure. Cal knows because he, too, once had the chance--but sold out.As the Tournament nears, Lonnie learns that some heavy bettors want Cal to keep him on the bench so that the team will lose the championship. As the last seconds of the game tick away Lonnie and Cal must make a decision. Are they willing to blow the chance of a lifetime?

A Circle in the Sea


Steve Senn - 1981
    Through the powers of a ring, a 13-year-old girl with problems adjusting to her new school enters an undersea world where she becomes a dolphin and aids the whales in retaliating against slaughter by whalers.

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives


Ruth Bell - 1981
    Everyone else knows what's happening and I look around and say, Duh."Of course, the truth is that no one has the script because there is no script to follow. Chances are you'd find that almost everyone else has questions and worries a lot like yours, if you could get them to admit it. This brand-new, completely updated and revised edition of Changing Bodies, Changing Lives is full of honest, accurate, nonjudgmental information on everything teenagers need to know about today.Am I the only one whocan't get up the nerve to ask someone out?got my period so early?doesn't even know the right way to kiss?feels pressured to use drugs?still hasn't hit puberty yet?wants to avoid the gang scene?worries when my mom doesn't come home at night?is scared that I might have AIDS?can't decide what form of birth control to use?has no idea how to tell my friends I'm gay?goes on eating binges?has never had an orgasm?is shut out of the popular crowd?Changing Bodies, Changing Lives has helped hundreds of thousands of teenagers make informed decisions about their lives, from questions about sex, love, friendship, and how your body works to dealing with problems at school and home and figuring out who you are. It's packed with illustrations, checklists, and resources for the answers you really need. Best of all, it's filled with the voices, poems, and cartoons from hundreds of other teenagers, who tell you what makes them feel worried, angry, confused, sexy, happy, and, yes, even excited and hopeful about their lives. (Check out the first two pages for a sample of the quotes you'll find inside.)Being a teenager is tough. With the information and the ideas inside this book, you'll have what you need to make these years the best they can be.

Rainbow Jordan


Alice Childress - 1981
    "Powerful, eloquent, revealing...the memory of this exceptional heroine is likely to linger a long time."

Stranger with My Face


Lois Duncan - 1981
    Her family insists they see her coming and going when she's been out of the house for hours. Who--or what--is taking over Laurie's life?

This Was John Calvin


Thea B. Van Halsema - 1981
    A fictionalized biography of John Calvin, who was an influential pastor and theologian during the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, first in France and, later, throughout Europe.

What Happened to Mr. Forster?


Gary W. Bargar - 1981
    When new teacher Jack Forster, takes an interest in Louis, he gives Louis one-on-one softball coaching and helps him develop his writing talent. However, parents in the community, are suspicious of the teacher who lives with another man. Eventually, some of the children’s parents start a witch-hunt against Forster.

Coming Back Alive


Dennis J. Reader - 1981
    Two teenagers, both recently devastated by personal tragedy, abandon civilization for the isolated mountains of nothern California where they hope to survive on their own.