Staff Picks
Growing Up 80's
- Rebecca K.
- Thursday, July 11, 2019
Collection
If you've finished the latest season of Stranger Things and you're full of nostalgia, check out these books about coming of age in the 1980's!
The Rise and Fall of the Gallivanters
A Novel
Published in 2015
In 1983, a band led by a David Bowie lookalike prepares to compete in a battle of the bands at a possibly evil brewery, and must also cope with the fact that bass player Evan is getting sicker and sicker, much like his best friend Noah's abusive father did before his death several years earlier.
Revenge of a Not-so-pretty Girl
Published in 2013
Fourteen-year-old Faye, an African American living in 1984 Brooklyn, New York, copes with her mother's abuse by stealing with her friends, but when robbing an elderly woman almost turns to murder, she gains an opportunity to learn new truths about life.
The Carrie Diaries
Published in 2010
Tells the story of Manhattan columnist Carrie Bradshaw's high school years, her relationships with her peers, and how she became a writer.
Rose Sees Red
Published in 2010
In the 1980s, two teenaged ballet dancers--one American, one Russian--spend an unforgettable night in New York City, forming a lasting friendship despite their cultural and political differences.
The Fort
Published in 2013
"During the waning summer days of 1987, a deranged Vietnam vet stalks Grand Rapids, Michigan, abducting and murdering nameless victims from the streets, leaving no leads for police. That is, until he picks up sixteen-year-old Molly. From their treehouse fort in the woods, three neighborhood boys spy the killer holding a gun to Molly's back, they go to the police--only to have their story disregarded. But the boys know evil lives in their midst. A growing sense of honor and urgency forces the boys to take action--to find Molly, to protect themselves, to stand guard for the last long days of summer."--Publisher's website.
My Best Friend's Exorcism
A Novel
Published in 2016
1988. Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act--different. She's moody. She's irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she's nearby. Abby's investigation leads her to some startling discoveries--and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
Paper Covers Rock
Published in 2011
In 1982 Buncombe County, North Carolina, sixteen-year-old Alex Stromm writes of the aftermath of the accidental drowning of a friend, as his English teacher reaches out to him while he and a fellow boarding school student try to cover things up.
Silver Sparrow
A Novel
Published in 2011
In 1980s Atlanta, two teenage girls become friends, with only one knowing that they are in fact both daughters of the same bigamist father, and as their friendship develops their father's secret begins to unravel.
The Music Shop
A Novel
Published in 2018
"It's 1988. The CD has arrived. Sales of the shiny new disks are soaring on high streets in cities across the country. Meanwhile, down a dead-end street, Frank's music shop stands small and brightly lit, jam-packed with records of every kind. It attracts the lonely, the sleepless, the adrift. There is room for everyone. Frank has a gift for finding his customers the music they need. Into this shop arrives Ilse Brauchmann - practical, brave, well-heeled. Frank falls for this curious woman who always dresses in green. But Ilse's reasons for visiting the shop are not what they seem. Frank's passion for Ilse seems as misguided as his determination to save vinyl. How can a man so in tune with other people's needs be so incapable of helping himself? And what will it take to show he loves her? The Music Shop is a story about good, ordinary people who take on forces too big for them. It's about falling in love and how hard it can be. And it's about music - how it can bring us together when we are divided and save us when all seems lost"-- Provided by publisher.
Scowler
Published in 2013
In the midst of a 1981 meteor shower in Iowa, a homicidal maniac escapes from prison and returns to the farm where his nineteen-year-old son, Ry, must summon three childhood toys, including one called Scowler, to protect himself, his eleven-year-old sister, Sarah, and their mother.
We Are Still Tornadoes
Published in 2016
"Growing up across the street from each other, Scott and Cath have been best friends their entire lives. Cath would help Scott with his English homework, he would make her mix tapes (it's the 80's after all), and any fight they had would be forgotten over TV and cookies. But now they've graduated high school and Cath is off to college while Scott is at home pursuing his musical dreams. During their first year apart, Scott and Cath's letters help them understand heartache, annoying roommates, family drama and the pressure to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. And through it all, they realize that the only person they want to turn to is each other. But does that mean they should be more than friends? The only thing that's clear is that change is an inescapable part of growing up. And the friends who help us navigate it share an unshakable bond. This funny yet deeply moving book--set to an awesome 80's soundtrack--captures all the beautiful confusion and emotional intensity we find on the verge of adulthood ... and first love"-- Provided by publisher.
Show and Prove
Published in 2015
"Friends Smiles and Nike spend the summer of 1983 in the South Bronx working a job at a summer camp, chasing girls, and breakdancing"-- Provided by publisher.
The Summer I Learned to Fly
Published in 2011
Thirteen-year-old Drew starts the summer of 1986 helping in her mother's cheese shop and dreaming about co-worker Nick, but when her widowed mother begins dating, Drew's father's book of lists, her pet rat, and Emmett, a boy on a quest, help her cope.
Other Words for Love
Published in 2011
In 1985 Brooklyn, New York, sixteen-year-old artist Ari learns about first love.
Eleanor & Park
Published in 2013
"Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try"-- Provided by publisher.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Published in 2012
Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.
Paper Girls. Vol. 01
Published in 2016
In the early hours after Halloween on 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time.Suburban drama and supernatural mysteries collide in this series about nostalbia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood -- page 4 of cover.