Best of
Young-Adult

1971

The Ghost Next Door


Wylly Folk St. John - 1971
    So when Sherry came to visit her Aunt Judith, no one could explain the odd things that started to happen. Who was the elusive friend Sherry said she saw in the garden? Was she an imaginary playmate - or could she be the ghost of Miranda who had drowned in the pond years ago? Uncanny reminders of Miranda began to turn up - a blue rose, a lost riding whip... Lindsey and Tammy, who lived next door, decided to delve into the meaning of the apparent psychic phenomena. They soon found themselves drawn deeper and deeper into an intriguing mystery.

Drujienna's Harp


Ellen Kindt McKenzie - 1971
    She found herself an unwilling part of the destiny of the land, a destiny that had to be forestalled if she were ever to return to her own land. She gradually learned the forbidden lore of T'Pahl: its Histories spoke of an ancient curse; its Prophecies, of bloodshed and doom. And under the sway of a fiercely tyrannical ruler, in ignorance both real and pretended, the people of T'Pahl awaited the playing of Drujienna's harp.

His Own Where


June Jordan - 1971
    His Own Where promises to be one."—New York Times Book Review (1971)Nominated for a National Book Award in 1971, His Own Where is the story of Buddy, a fifteen-year-old boy whose world is spinning out of control. He meets Angela, whose angry parents accuse her of being "wild." When life falls apart for Buddy and his father, and when Angela is attacked at home, they take action to create their own way of staying alive in Brooklyn. In the process, the two find refuge in one another and learn that love is real and necessary. His Own Where was one of The New York Times' Most Outstanding Books and was on the American Library Association's list of Best Books in 1971.June Jordan was a poet, essayist, journalist, dramatist, activist, and educator known for challenging oppression through her inspirational words and actions. She was the founder of Poetry for the People at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for many years. The author of over twenty books, her poetry is collected in Directed by Desire; her selected essays in Some of Us Did Not Die. Sapphire is the author of American Dreams, Black Wings & Blind Angels, and Push, which has been made into a motion picture called Precious.

The Runaway's Diary


Marilyn Harris - 1971
    A diary of a young girl's experiences during the three months she spends in Canada after running away from her troubled home.

The Maude Reed Tale


Norah Lofts - 1971
    I want to be a wool merchant."           In those two sentences young Maude Reed expresses her most burning desire. But in fifteenth-century England, girls of good family do not go into business.          Instead, they are often sent to live in one of the great castles, where they do needlework, play the lute, and are taught the complicated customs and manners of that age of knighthood.          At Beauclaire Castle, Maude meets two people who are to have a lasting influence on her - the beautiful Melusine, who serves Lady Astallon, and Henry Rancon, destined one day for knighthood.          Nevertheless, the moment comes when she can face life there no longer, and on Christmas day she mounts her pony, steals over the drawbridge and starts on the long perilous journey home.Then her real adventures begin ...

Incident at Hawk's Hill


Allan W. Eckert - 1971
    One June day in 1870, Ben wanders away from his home on Hawk's Hill and disappears into the waving prairie grass. This is the story of how a shy, lonely boy survives for months in the wilds and forges a bond with a female badger. ALA Notable Book. Newbery Honor Book.

The Sweet Running Filly


Pat Johnson - 1971
    It wasn't until later, after she had nursed the horse back to health, that Julie realized the filly might be a championship thoroughbred racer. How had a valuable horse like Bonnie ended up up at a junk dealer's? What was the secret of her heritage? Before Julie found the answers to these questions, both she and Bonnie would be caught in a tightening net of mystery and danger, in which Julie's dreams and Bonnie's life were desperately at stake. Followers of the adventures of Julie Jefferson and Bonnie will want to read more about them in A HORSE CALLED BONNIE, also available in a Signet edition.

The Haunted Cove


Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton - 1971
    Three children become involved in the exploration of a secret cove that is reputedly haunted.

Hello, My Love, Good-Bye


Lenora Mattingly Weber - 1971
    A teenage girl, popular with boys, begins to worry that her friendliness is misinterpreted.Stacy narrowly avoids an assault. Carlton Buell helps Stacy manage the difficult circumstances.

The Little Dark Thorn


Ruth M. Arthur - 1971
    Later, her father marries a kind Birgit, and she lives with them although remains resentful of her father. When she is seventeen, she visits her stepmother's parents in Norway, and finally begins to confront old conflicts and bitterness, and to clarify goals for the future, including a better relationship with her father.

War Beneath the Sea


Frank Bonham - 1971
    Rescued by an American submarine, Keith determined to become a submariner himself. The rigors of training were followed by assignment to the U.S.S. Mako, about to start her last patrol in the dangerous waters of the Pacific. And aboard the Mako Keith came face to face with the fact that a submarine was a hunter, and he had to be one too, if he and his mates were to have the slightest chance of survival. An action-packed story in torpedo-filled waters!

Cool Cat


Frank Bonham - 1971
    THERE WAS HIS HAT. AND THERE WERE THE PILLS."As if things weren't hard enough in Dogtown! Trying to stay out of trouble and earn some money, too, were keeping Buddy Williams, Little Pie, Cool Hawkins, and Rich Smith busy full time. Blue Eyes Infante and his Machete gang were equally busy complicating matters. Had they set Little Pie up? He said he was just hanging around, but there was a suspicious aura about him, and he always showed up when trouble did.

Mystery and More Mystery


Robert Arthur - 1971
    

Dreams of a Young Girl


David Hamilton - 1971
    

Me and Jim Luke


Robbie Branscum - 1971
    When they discover the Klan is responsible for the dead man they found stuffed in a hollow tree, two boys find their own lives endangered.

What Happened in Marston


Nancy Garden - 1971
    The book "was so well-received that it was televised in 1981 and 1982 as an ABC After School Special called 'The Color of Friendship.' "