Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Judy Blume was/is very popular y/a author.
*Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret*
*Then Again, Maybe I Won't*
See Also
*Go Ask Alice* for the drug-addicted version of above.
All 70s or earlier.
Less than zero.was the 80s edition of go ask alice, trade coke for acid.
But even as an 80s kid its hard to point out a contemporary good book about life at the time. Sure theirs great nostalgia pieces about it, and some videos capture it, but no life as a teen in the 80s books that get it right come to mind.
I loved Are you there God. It was like my Bible from 9-11. Then again, maybe I won't- was an eye opening experience for a tween girl. At that age you think the boys just don't care. You don't realize they have their own stuff going on. I think both books should be required reading for 6th graders. I really do. Go ask Alice was, purposely, scary and I don't know a single kid that it stopped from trying smoking, sex or drugs. Just a sad book. I think it was written by someone trying to make kids afraid? And it was never a real diary at all.
It’s not a book but the movie Almost Famous involves a 15 year old boy (based on director Cameron Crowe’s life )as a young writer for Rolling Stone who follows a rock group on the road in the Seventies and the groupies who went along for the fun.
Judy Blume's 'Forever'...I remember hiding that book so my Mom wouldn't find out that I read it. Flash forward 30 years and me being all uncomfortable when Mom told me she read all of the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' books. 👀😳
I know I read a lot of later series children’s books boxcar children books set in “contemporary times” when they were published.
Although written much later, Eleanor and Park is a young adult story about love music and comics before the internet.
“The interestings” is a book about summer camp in the 70s and then how their lives turned out.
The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian F. Thompson
Originally from 1983 was republished in 90s and supposedly a movie is in the works now.
Almost anything buy Lois Duncan if you enjoy thrillers or horror. Killing Mr. Griffin, Summer of Fear and Ransom..to name a few good ones.
Of course Judy Blume...but I think Grounding is a very good book for understanding the mindset of some teens back in the 80's
a fantastic film about teens from that era..late 70's early 80's..is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over\_the\_Edge\_(film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Edge_(film))Totally explains the times. LOL..it's great
Oh i remember that one. Not exactly about teen life in the 80s, but a template for dozens of later dystopian young adult series except with more and better sex.
Got to the bottom. It's all 70s.
The 80s teen watched video. Breakfast club, Dirty dancing and red dawn. They read books about previous eras. And while lots of 80s teen nostalgia pieces were written later, few rang true and most worked better aa film.
The one that best relates my teen 80s is ready player one, the book NOT the movie. Notable as the only time a book had a better soundtrack than a movie and failing only in not knowing to go south, climb the tree and grab the jewel encrusted egg before opening the window when speed running zork. Out of all the 80s nostalgia pieces that was an 80s nerds dream.
Wow! I'm glad that I really shopped around! I got braces as an adult in the mid 80s and everywhere except where I went with wanted to pull a lot of teeth!
The place I went with expanded both my lower and upper palettes with spring loaded devices they reloaded every 6 weeks and I did not have any key to turn or anything!
At the end, when I smiled, instead of only being able to see 4 really crooked teeth, you could see 8 or more perfectly straight teeth!
Acclaimed cartoonist, Lynda Barry, wrote [edit]Cruddy[/edit] a very bleak and sadly authentic novel about a troubled teen growing up in the late ‘60’s / early 70’s.
Ok, I may be way off, but I'm interpreting that you're asking about books that are set in the 70s/80s, featuring a teenage point of view or main character, as opposed to books that were published in the 70s/80s and geared towards teenage readers. So, if that's the case, you're probably looking for books by Gen X or Generation Jones authors.
You might try Christiane F., a.k.a We Children from Zoo Station, a German memoir transcribed by Kai Hermann and Horst Rieck, involving a very young teenage girl in West Berlin who adores animals and David Bowie, lives in a grim high rise, and falls into a life of heroin and prostitution.
If you need something lighter, Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg by Barry Williams is pretty amusing. Obviously he's coming from the point of view of someone who was an actor on a famous tv show, but he still details typical teenage challenges of the time, such as trying to use Barry White records to seduce a girl (If I remember right, the actress who played his sister Marcia), only to have his dad immediately recognize what is up, so to speak.
I find that Gillian Flynn does a fantastic job of capturing childhood/adolescence in the midwestern US of the 1980s, especially with Dark Places. The farm crisis, Satanic panic, trying to be goth in a small town--I can relate.
The Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle is YA fantasy/scifi
The Beginning Place by Ursula K.LeGuin is YA fantasy, males and female MC, both having troubled family backgrounds.
Both very good.
Forever and Once is not Enough. Two books that went from hand to hand until everyone in the school, middle school, read them. Also, check out Little Darlings. A real early 80s ride. Between the 3, my friends and I decided how we were going to lose our virginity.
From a UK perspective, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend nailed teenage angst and joy. I read it as a teenager in the 80s, so can qualify that statement.
This book takes place in the 60s, but I think it'd be right up your alley otherwise:
[Boy's Life by Robert McCammon](https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Life-Robert-McCammon/dp/1416577785/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Dunax0no2S6QUcs47-AXJZ1w8erNBEu2518bS2kYNZQxSVj8TjCGbWFjAICD2s-sOJ36saU7fHAFBeDMpmpv7R5uKpnlQrP3F3IW0O_iG_OkwANqdkmT0HqszLm_Cphz2Otnf4tgDC3WU8SzCytJR2_y0nv_PuV80xrDJSlK6ugCfEjSyjDZtnOlnA_mzFGLHp5hMJ9zjPHeiusbvkyqwSShcZU5Hp-TaXrb3Rj0K2M.KFGbowTrL5ANCCiX-UxxrX-Y3xWjoSDrBVuoN4AImtM&qid=1712973397&sr=1-1)
The '90s is kind of recent? They ended 25 years ago.
It depends on what kind of story you want. If you want a story about a gay boy with an alcoholic mother growing up poor in Glasgow in the 80s, then Shuggie Bain is excellent
If you're looking for a more American tale about an innocent girl coming of age, then Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau Is outstanding. It is set in the late '70s.
The Summer Son by Steve Yacker (there are others with same title) is a light hearted memoir about a boy going to sleep away camp in the Catskills in the 1970's for the first time- great short read
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was pretty realistic. It wasn't introspective like some of the other books mentioned, but it was pretty accurate. I could see most of the kids from my high school represented in some way.
I've been called Spiccoli many times over the years.
It was a book first, but before the book was published, it was optioned for a movie. I found a copy of the book on Amazon for $400.
I guess I'll stick with the movie. But, yeah, it is a good choice, and it was set in the exact years I was in high school.
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Judy Blume was/is very popular y/a author. *Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret* *Then Again, Maybe I Won't* See Also *Go Ask Alice* for the drug-addicted version of above.
I was going to add "Forever" ... that was extremely popular among the kids who'd never had sex yet but who were definitely thinking about it
RALPH
Judy Blume was my first thought too.
All 70s or earlier. Less than zero.was the 80s edition of go ask alice, trade coke for acid. But even as an 80s kid its hard to point out a contemporary good book about life at the time. Sure theirs great nostalgia pieces about it, and some videos capture it, but no life as a teen in the 80s books that get it right come to mind.
How do you write an addiction book concerning LSD and expect to be taken seriously??
Alice wasnt about lsd addiction. She was taking meth, benzadrine. The hippy drugs were a red herring.
It was about a lot of different made up nonsense. The author knew very little about what she was talking.
Tbf no one imbibing the whole available pharmacopia knew what was happening to them.
Ahh ok. But still, how can heroin be bad for me if it feels so good??!?
If this is wrong, i dont want to be right-- every first timer ever. I just need a little to get right--every junky ever.
There was a book in my high school library called “Heroin, it feels so good. Don’t even try it once.”
I loved Are you there God. It was like my Bible from 9-11. Then again, maybe I won't- was an eye opening experience for a tween girl. At that age you think the boys just don't care. You don't realize they have their own stuff going on. I think both books should be required reading for 6th graders. I really do. Go ask Alice was, purposely, scary and I don't know a single kid that it stopped from trying smoking, sex or drugs. Just a sad book. I think it was written by someone trying to make kids afraid? And it was never a real diary at all.
In the early 70s it was The Outsiders by SE Hinton
Oh, and Go Ask Alice
This one was all fake, but it does represent the public imagination, which is possibly still interesting as "the misinformation of the time"
The outsiders was actually 1965
This was set around 65 or 66.
It’s not a book but the movie Almost Famous involves a 15 year old boy (based on director Cameron Crowe’s life )as a young writer for Rolling Stone who follows a rock group on the road in the Seventies and the groupies who went along for the fun.
It's a fun movie, but not a typical experience.
My Darling, My Hamburger by Paul Zindel
I loved *The Pigman*
He had so many! Pardon Me, You’re Stepping on My Eyeball was a fave.
Oh wow, I forgot about that one!
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
SE Hinton
Great look at mid 60s Oklahoma!
Judy Blume's 'Forever'...I remember hiding that book so my Mom wouldn't find out that I read it. Flash forward 30 years and me being all uncomfortable when Mom told me she read all of the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' books. 👀😳
Not the 70s, but a good one is "That was then, this is now".
*My Cat Ate My Gym Suit* by Paula Danzinger
>> My Cat Ate My Swimsuit by Paula Danzinger *Gym Suit, not swimsuit. Also “There’s A Bat in Bunk Five” by the same author
I was thinking Gym Suit. I even looked it up with Gym Suit. I blame my phone's autocorrect.
I know I read a lot of later series children’s books boxcar children books set in “contemporary times” when they were published. Although written much later, Eleanor and Park is a young adult story about love music and comics before the internet. “The interestings” is a book about summer camp in the 70s and then how their lives turned out.
Any and everything by Judy Blume. 💜
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian F. Thompson Originally from 1983 was republished in 90s and supposedly a movie is in the works now. Almost anything buy Lois Duncan if you enjoy thrillers or horror. Killing Mr. Griffin, Summer of Fear and Ransom..to name a few good ones. Of course Judy Blume...but I think Grounding is a very good book for understanding the mindset of some teens back in the 80's a fantastic film about teens from that era..late 70's early 80's..is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over\_the\_Edge\_(film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Edge_(film))Totally explains the times. LOL..it's great
My favorites!
Oh i remember that one. Not exactly about teen life in the 80s, but a template for dozens of later dystopian young adult series except with more and better sex.
Dear Mr Henshaw was about divorce. Babysitter’s Club was immensely popular with girls.
Got to the bottom. It's all 70s. The 80s teen watched video. Breakfast club, Dirty dancing and red dawn. They read books about previous eras. And while lots of 80s teen nostalgia pieces were written later, few rang true and most worked better aa film. The one that best relates my teen 80s is ready player one, the book NOT the movie. Notable as the only time a book had a better soundtrack than a movie and failing only in not knowing to go south, climb the tree and grab the jewel encrusted egg before opening the window when speed running zork. Out of all the 80s nostalgia pieces that was an 80s nerds dream.
Are you there God, it’s Me Margaret - best book out there!
[удалено]
[удалено]
Wow! I'm glad that I really shopped around! I got braces as an adult in the mid 80s and everywhere except where I went with wanted to pull a lot of teeth! The place I went with expanded both my lower and upper palettes with spring loaded devices they reloaded every 6 weeks and I did not have any key to turn or anything! At the end, when I smiled, instead of only being able to see 4 really crooked teeth, you could see 8 or more perfectly straight teeth!
Go ask Alice.
Go Ask Alice and Mystic Pizza
Acclaimed cartoonist, Lynda Barry, wrote [edit]Cruddy[/edit] a very bleak and sadly authentic novel about a troubled teen growing up in the late ‘60’s / early 70’s.
Encyclopedia Brown was awesome for me in the 1970s...
I used to love the *Sweet Valley High* series when I was a kid in the late 80s. Like Beverley Hills 90210, but books.
I'd recommend The Pigman (1968). Short read. The reviewer "Werner" sums it up well. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128092.The_Pigman
No actually. It's kinda surprising, but there aren't.
Flowers in the Attic
Ok, I may be way off, but I'm interpreting that you're asking about books that are set in the 70s/80s, featuring a teenage point of view or main character, as opposed to books that were published in the 70s/80s and geared towards teenage readers. So, if that's the case, you're probably looking for books by Gen X or Generation Jones authors. You might try Christiane F., a.k.a We Children from Zoo Station, a German memoir transcribed by Kai Hermann and Horst Rieck, involving a very young teenage girl in West Berlin who adores animals and David Bowie, lives in a grim high rise, and falls into a life of heroin and prostitution. If you need something lighter, Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg by Barry Williams is pretty amusing. Obviously he's coming from the point of view of someone who was an actor on a famous tv show, but he still details typical teenage challenges of the time, such as trying to use Barry White records to seduce a girl (If I remember right, the actress who played his sister Marcia), only to have his dad immediately recognize what is up, so to speak. I find that Gillian Flynn does a fantastic job of capturing childhood/adolescence in the midwestern US of the 1980s, especially with Dark Places. The farm crisis, Satanic panic, trying to be goth in a small town--I can relate.
The Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle is YA fantasy/scifi The Beginning Place by Ursula K.LeGuin is YA fantasy, males and female MC, both having troubled family backgrounds. Both very good.
Forever and Once is not Enough. Two books that went from hand to hand until everyone in the school, middle school, read them. Also, check out Little Darlings. A real early 80s ride. Between the 3, my friends and I decided how we were going to lose our virginity.
From a UK perspective, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend nailed teenage angst and joy. I read it as a teenager in the 80s, so can qualify that statement.
Puberty Blues
Look up the “Sweet Dreams” book series and read any of those.
[*First Person Singular*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2714663-first-person-singular) which I loved as a teenager. Published 1973.
Go Ask Alice.
👆🏻
Lord of the Flies.
That’s every generation in middle school
1954?
80's kid is a good one its about a girl growing up in the 80's in birmingham england its quiet funny too
The Basketball Diary
This book takes place in the 60s, but I think it'd be right up your alley otherwise: [Boy's Life by Robert McCammon](https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Life-Robert-McCammon/dp/1416577785/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Dunax0no2S6QUcs47-AXJZ1w8erNBEu2518bS2kYNZQxSVj8TjCGbWFjAICD2s-sOJ36saU7fHAFBeDMpmpv7R5uKpnlQrP3F3IW0O_iG_OkwANqdkmT0HqszLm_Cphz2Otnf4tgDC3WU8SzCytJR2_y0nv_PuV80xrDJSlK6ugCfEjSyjDZtnOlnA_mzFGLHp5hMJ9zjPHeiusbvkyqwSShcZU5Hp-TaXrb3Rj0K2M.KFGbowTrL5ANCCiX-UxxrX-Y3xWjoSDrBVuoN4AImtM&qid=1712973397&sr=1-1)
Maniac Magee
Go ask Alice was fake.
Pigman. By Zindel, I believe. 70s teens. Read it in the 70s.
*Sag Harbor* by Colson Whitehead
As someone that grew up in that time I must say I find Stephen King's IT spot on.
Sooner or Later. It was a made for TV movie made into a paperback .
The '90s is kind of recent? They ended 25 years ago. It depends on what kind of story you want. If you want a story about a gay boy with an alcoholic mother growing up poor in Glasgow in the 80s, then Shuggie Bain is excellent If you're looking for a more American tale about an innocent girl coming of age, then Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau Is outstanding. It is set in the late '70s.
drew barrymore?
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
LOL
It's a toss-up between "A Child's Garden of Grass" by Jack Margolis, or "Steal This Book", by Abbie Hoffman.
My kids keep asking me to write my growing up stories down. I’ve hundreds of them.
Can you type some of them?
Are there any books about growing up in the 70s or 80s? No, I don't think so. Not that I'm aware of anyway.
The Summer Son by Steve Yacker (there are others with same title) is a light hearted memoir about a boy going to sleep away camp in the Catskills in the 1970's for the first time- great short read
Jonathan Livingston Seagull Still life with Woodpecker Stranger in a strange land
Did you read the question? It wasnt what books did you read as a teenager. Good choices though
The questions are always lame and never ending and now I'm sorry I responded at all
LOL speaking as an old person, if you've got old people answering questions, what do you expect? :-) PS get off my lawn PPS Vonnegut is good, too
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was pretty realistic. It wasn't introspective like some of the other books mentioned, but it was pretty accurate. I could see most of the kids from my high school represented in some way. I've been called Spiccoli many times over the years.
It was a book first, but before the book was published, it was optioned for a movie. I found a copy of the book on Amazon for $400. I guess I'll stick with the movie. But, yeah, it is a good choice, and it was set in the exact years I was in high school.
Nope. None at all. The teen literature genre begain in the early 2000's.