The Vine: May 20, 2011
I’m another one looking for a YA book. I checked this one out from the public library when I was around 11 or 12 (which would make it the late ’80s) and only remember fragments. Here goes:
The story is about a girl named Jenny who is maybe 15 or 16. Her father is not in the picture; her mother has all sorts of issues and moves the family around all the time. At the beginning of the book, they’ve just moved again. The mother has a sleazy boyfriend, and they may be staying at his place. Jenny is smart, but all the problems at home have made it hard for her to do well in school.
Also, her older sister (Crystal?) gets hooked on different drugs and ends up dying of an overdose. There may be a younger sibling, but I’m not sure. It seems like the guidance counselor or one of the teachers recognizes Jenny’s potential and gets her out of her home environment. At the end of the book, she’s moved in with either his family or a foster family.
Google is not giving me anything. I read a translation of the book, so the cover may not be helpful, but it had a girl in a plaid skirt on it (kind of ’70s-ish). Any help is appreciated!
Need to know I’m not just making this book up
Tags: Ask The Readers popcult
I think it’s Poor Jenny, Bright as a Penny by Shirley rousseau Murphy.
Need to Know,
Are you certain it was fiction? Is it possible it was biography/autobiography? I actually recall reading some pretty hardcore memoirs by social workers that described cases like Jenny’s. And they were in our high school library!
You mentioned it was a translation–was that from English to another language or the other way around? That might help narrow the search.
Ah, Katie, I think that’s it!! (Wow, fastest-solved Vine book question ever, right?) It seems to be out of print everywhere, and when I Google for the author in my native language now, it only gives me a hint of evidence that the book actually existed once. I’ll have to try to get my hands on a copy to see if it’s out of print for good reason. ;-) Thanks so much for your help, though!
It’s available on Amazon used or in a Kindle edition under the title “Unsettled”
Not sure how to link but you can cut and paste this: http://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-ebook/dp/B004U2TR6C/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_5
Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s book Poor Jenny, Bright as a Penny has just been issued as an ebook under the title Unsettled. It’s available in Kindle and epub formats, and can be obtained at Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, and many other online ebook stores.
Sylvia Engdahl
Webmaster for Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Wow–have we ever gotten a response before from someone directly affiliated with the author? Cool.
Awesome! I just bought it for my Kindle.
Thank you, Sylvia! I’m getting ready to buy it as well. If this isn’t fantastic timing, I don’t know what is…