The covers looked something like this: ethereal girls with bug-eyes
Here’s a mystery for you…
Somewhere between the ages of 10 and 13, I borrowed some seriously creepy young adult novels (all by the same author) from the library. Fragments of story lines, as well as their generally twisted atmosphere, have stayed with me, but I can’t for the life of me remember who wrote them, or what they were called. I’ve asked around to no avail.
In one, which might have been a short story, a young ‘subnormal’ girl is bitten by a rabbit, with the result that she can suddenly play the piano virtuosically. In another, the teenage heroine lives in the woods with her older sister and brother. She and her brother have something vaguely incestuous going on. While out walking, she meets and falls in love with the ghost of a young man, and they start a – probably very chaste – affair. The brother’s jealous. At some point, she becomes very sick, and the brother kisses her vomitsome lips (I said they were twisted).
A third novel focuses on teenage sweethearts going to a summer camp, which suggests the books were American. It was more typical teenage fare than the others, but it did end up with the girl trying to top herself (possibly successfully) by jumping in the lake when her boyfriend dumped her for someone else.
These books were probably written by a female author in the 1970s or 80s. Does any of this ring a bell?
Could this have been a Canadian author? They can be a pretty dark lot at times… The girl and the love story/lake almost rings a bell, but not quite. I’m pretty sure it’s not Joan Aitken. I’ll keep thinking/looking.
ps – love the cover image
Thanks! The originals were even more special…
Good thinking, Selena – yes, she could have been Canadian. I liked Joan Aitken as a kid, but I agree, I don’t think she was responsible for these stories: reckon this is someone more obscure. Thanks for your ongoing interest in the search!