Spell the Month in Books – July

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews from the Stacks and occurs on the first Saturday of each month or maybe later. This month, I chose books I read when I was about sixth grade.

Just Dial a Number by Edith Maxwell (1971). I don’t think any teen who read this book ever forgot it:

“Someone tried to kill me,” Cathy gasped into the phone. It was only a prank call dialed at random – a joke played by four teenagers fooling around. But what happened afterwards plunged them into a nightmare. By the next morning two people were dead because of that phone call. Keeping their guilt secret, Cathy, Todd, Paul and DeeDee had to live with the terror of being found out.

 

Do you remember this book? I think it gave me nightmares.

The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss (1972). Since my visit to Holland in May, I’ve been thinking about this book set during WWII in which Annie and her sister Sini are hidden from the Nazis in the upstairs room of a remote farmhouse – for three years! My review.

Luvvy and the Girls by Natalie Savage Carlson (1971). For years, Luvvy has longed to accompany her older half-sisters to the Catholic boarding school they attend in Maryland. Finally, Luvvy is old enough to attend and while she is homesick at first, soon she makes friend and develops her writing skills. One memorable thing: one of the nuns tells Luvvy it is a sign of weak character not to finish a book. It has taken me many years to get over that mantra.  This is a sequel to The Half Sisters and is a lot more lively.

The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L’Engle (1968). The family from Meet the Austins is now living on the Upper West Side of New York and has befriended a blind pianist named Emily and Dave, a former gang member who assists Emily with homework. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the backdrop for this odd but intriguing story, which involves a mysterious Episcopalian priest; the Alphabats, Dave’s former gang; and a dangerous technology everyone wants.

This cover is creepy but memorable!  And as I have mentioned before, The Young Unicorns saved me when I had to write an essay on Coriolanus in college - but hadn't had time to read it!