Can I start a thread about nostalgic Young Adult/Children's books we used to read in the 80s/90s?

[guineaholic11]

I love going to second hand bookshops or charity shops and browsing the children's sections to see if I can spot any books I used to love reading then?

I used to love anything by Jean Ure, (anyone remember the Peter High school series she wrote?) Anne Digby's Trebizon series, Noel Streatfield, Antonia Forrest's school books with the Marlowes, and endless pony books by Patricia Leitch (anyone remember Jinny and her Arab horse Shantih?) Also went through a serious Sweet Valley phase...goodness knows why, looking back those books were full of fat shaming and bitchiness!

[SimplySte]

I read all the David Eddings books while listening to Belinda Carlisle and Meatloaf on repeat

[modifiedmummy13]

Jinny and Shantih! I’d forgot all about them! Rushing onto Amazon now...

I also loved:
The Chalet School series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer
Malory Towers, The Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton
Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh
Truckers, Diggers and Wings by Terry Pratchett
The Box of Delights by John Masefield
Ramona Quimby by Beverly Cleary
Anything by Judy Blume

Walking down memory lane now, thank you! 😍

[TossDaily]

I used to love Lois Duncan, Betsy Byars and Judy Blume.

I was also a bit of a fan of the Sweet Dreams series.

[NannyR]

I used to love reading
Judy Blume
Nancy Drew mysteries
Paula Danziger (the cat ate my gymsuit etc)
Chalet school, trebizon, malory towers, any boarding school books really
Choose-your-own-adventure books

[KeithLeMonde]

YES! I ended up doing a search for a set of books that I loved as a teen, they were Pan Horizons. Just looking at the covers in a google search brought back the feeling of excitement when I spotted a new one in the library that I hadn't read.

I also loved Lois Duncan, Paula Danziger etc.
Francine Pascal (not Sweet Valley but I loved "Hanging Out With Cici").
Jean Ure.
"My Darling My Hamburger" - anyone read that?
Easy Connection/Easy Freedom

Also did anyone read "Beginners Love" by Norma Klein? Like "Forever" but fruitier!

[KeithLeMonde]

Oh plus

Margaret Mahy (The Changeover, The Tricksters - I loved those)
Diana Wynne Jones (started these when I just started secondary school - Crestomanci series :) )

[aaahhhBump]

The point horror unleashed series. Blood sinister and The Vanished by Cecelia Reese and In Spirit by Nick Turnbull. Annette Curtis Klaus Blood and Chocolate and the Silver Kiss. LJ Smith's series Forbidden game, Vampire Diaries, Secret Circle, Dark Visions and Night World.

Lots of horror.

[Ballyhoobird]

😆*SimplySte are you me?

[SimplySte]

@Ballyhoobird Hehe, Eddings and music were my escape from reality (which was shit), I loved those books, I have them all as both ebooks and audiobooks. They, along with R.A. Salvatore's amazing collection are as good today as they were over 20 years ago.

The Belinda Carlisle and MeatLoaf albums are still pretty good too!

[BabCNesbitt]

N@KeithLeMonde I have Beginners’ Love on my shelf here, right next to Tunes for a Small Harmonica by Barbara Wersba (another Pan Horizons title)! The latter is my comfort read; whenever I’m in a reading slump, I reread it and it gets me into reading again.

[BabCNesbitt]

@KeithLeMonde, that should have been. Oh, for an edit function here.

[Ponyboycurtis]

keithLeMonde agree - Easy Connections/Freedom & Mel by Liz Berry and anything Margaret Mahy. Love SE Hinton too - The Outsiders/Rumbelfish etc.

[Ponyboycurtis]

Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian is my comfort book and film. Can't wait to introduce it to my daughters. That and the Outsiders are 2 of the few books I always go back to for a 'quick read'.

[MargoLovebutter]

Oh, love this thread!

A Stitch in Time by Penelope Lively

The Flambards Series by K M Peyton

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

All the books by Jilly Cooper about young women, Octavia etc

Daisy by Judith Kranz (we used to phone each other in the evenings to read out the rude bits, very quietly as we all used to have to use the phone in the hallway and pretend we were doing homework)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

All the Claudine Books by Collette

The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis

[KatsutheClockworkOctopus]

Great thread. I loved Children of Morrow, a futuristic young adult book - and loads of others here.

[OneOfTheGrundys]

The Changes Trilogy by Peter Dickinson.
I’m an English teacher now and I noticed my colleague printing an extract off for analysis with her class. Took me back instantly!! X

[CreamCrackerundertheSettee]

I used to love Paula Danzinger books!

My dd is 8 so I got her the first two Trebizon books out of the library. I read them both before her! I wish I’d kept my collection, I had them all.

[EllieQ]

Did anyone else read books by Caroline B Cooney? Most people remember the 'Whatever Happened to Janie?' series, but Among Friends was always my favourite, along with I'm Not Your Other Half and The Girl Who Invented Romance.

[CourtneyLoveIsMySpiritAnimal]

Loved Sweet Valley High books, even though they were ridiculous.

And another lot along similar lines, about a rich, spoiled girl called Caitlin (I think. Googling brought up Caitlyn Jenner 😳). She paralysed someone so she could steal their boyfriend Jed.

Utter tosh, but they made me want to go to high school in America. Everyone had a phone in their room and got a car for their 13th birthday.

Also all the Judy Blume books, especially Forever.

[StewPots]

I used to love the Point Horror books, like Beach House and the Boyfriend. My mates and I would get them when the trolley shop thing used to come round to the school. We were all excited as we'd fill in the little order form, pick them up and have a mini book club going for the next few mo this until the trolley can to school again.

Sometimes I would go to the little bookshop in Hythe with my saved pocket money and get a new one though as I read so quickly and the next order was aaaaaaages away

They started a love of Horror books and movies that remains lifelong and I would love to read them all again :)

[StewPots]

Oh I just had to Google Point Horror now. Thanks for this thread OP, all those feelings of excitement and anticipation I used to get from reading them flooded back seeing the covers. The Snowman might have to go on my Xmas List from DH

[Rainatnight]

great thread. I have to do something now but place marking to come back!

[Giraffeski]

Ooh I loved Point Horror books!
Does anyone remember the one set in some sort of underground cave and involving sulphuric acid? I’m sure the cover had a skull on the front

[DailyMailFuckRightOff]

So many good memories here.
I remember all the Point Horror rip offs including one particularly grim one called 'flight 116 is down' where a girl was home alone and her parents were out of town, and a plane crashed in the woods behind her house. Terrified me for years.

I'd forgotten about the other Caroline B Cooney books and want to re-read now.

Want to give Chalet School a go.

Loved Sadlers Wells books by Lorna Hill. Also sweet valley books though as a PP said, they're pretty crap looking back.
Babysitters club etc.
I remember those really sad ones set in a hospice / children's hospital and they followed the lives of the teenagers there. Always made me cry.

There must be so many more. I was a voracious reader and need to start making time to be so again.

[IrenetheQuaint]

Anne McCaffrey Dragon books! And Flambards