Forgotten Teen Treasures: Young Adult Books from the 1970s-80s

Still circulating 1972 copy!
(staff photo)

Here at abcreads we tend to wax nostalgic for the books of our youth, so we were delighted to hear that a new imprint, Lizzie Skurnick Books, will be launching in September to “bring back the very best in young adult literature, from the classics of the 1930s and 1940s, to the thrillers and social novels of the 1970s and 1980s,” according to publisher Robert Lasner.

Lizzie Skurnick, herself an author, thinks that these books will prove irresistible to women who came of age in the 1970s and 80s, and have been disappointed that their favorite teen reads are out of print - unlike books of the same era written for boys.

The first book to be released will be Debutante Hill by Lois Duncan, first published in 1958. Subsequent publications will include A Long Day in November by Ernest J. Gaines (originally published in 1971), Happy Endings Are All Alike by Sandra Scoppettone (1979), I’ll Love You When You’re More Like Me by M.E. Kerr (1977), Secret Lives by Berthe Amoss (1979), To All My Fans, With Love, From Sylvie by Ellen Conford (1982), and Me and Fat Glenda by Lila Perl (1972). All reissues, but later the imprint hopes to include current writings by writers of the 1970s and 80s, according to Publisher's Weekly.

Would you like to re-read or collect some of the books from your youth?  Here at abcreads we were happy to note that all of the authors mentioned above are still represented in our catalog, albeit mainly by newer titles or by books aimed at an adult audience.  There's still a copy of Me and Fat Glenda floating around, however!  If you'd like to take a walk down memory lane or introduce someone you know to a new author, try:

Sandra Scoppettone

Ernest J. Gaines

M.E. Kerr

Berthe Amos

Ellen Conford

Lila Perl

Lois Duncan


We at abcreads are rooting for the reissue of Ellen Conford's Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood, I Love You, Stupid! by Harry Mazer, and Sleepwalking by Meg Wolitzer, and we are still scared of Lois Duncan's Stranger With My Face.