They Never Came Home, Ransom, and Gallows Hill

In They Never Came Home, Dan and Larry disappear during a hiking trip in the mountains. Joan is Dan's girlfriend and Larry's sister.  Frank is is Dan's brother.  Joan is threatened by a man who claims that Larry owes him money.  She confides in Frank, and soon, the two young people find themselves caught in the middle of a smuggling ring.

The way the story develops is intriguing, and I love how Joan and Frank end up being pulled into the mystery.

This is an excellent book.

In Ransom, five students are kidnapped while riding home on the bus.  Most of the students are from wealthy families, which is why they were targeted.  The teenagers are taken to an abandoned cabin up in the mountains while their families are contacted for ransom.

For me, the most interesting part of the plot is how four of the five teenagers experience personal growth during the story.  One teenager does not, and I somehow knew as I read the book that this teenager would not change.

This book is also excellent.

In Gallows Hill, Sarah and her mother move to Pine Crest so that Sarah's mother can be with her new boyfriend.  Sarah doesn't understand what has gotten into her mother, and soon Sarah finds the entire town is against her.

Gradually, Sarah realizes that something more important is at play and forces unknown to her are the reason why Sarah and her mother moved to Pine Crest.

This book is a bit depressing.  Everyone is against Sarah, and she can't catch a break.  When other students play pranks on Sarah, neither Sarah's mother nor her boyfriend believe her.  I found it quite annoying, especially since the text is excessively wordy during many of the scenes. The concept of "less is more" would have made this story better for me.

While I overall enjoyed the book, it's probably my least favorite Lois Duncan book.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books such as the ones reviewed in this post.  Please follow this link to join.

Dark Forces #9 Eyes of the Tarot and #10 Beat the Devil

In Dark Forces #9, Eyes of the Tarot, Bonnie is told by her grandmother to put the deck of old tarot cards back in the trunk.  Bonnie disobeys and takes the cards home.  She learns to use them and finds that she is an expert.  Bonnie has dreams in which the characters shown on the cards interact with her.  Soon, Bonnie realizes that she is in grave danger and that an evil magician is using Bonnie and the cards to return to power.

I enjoyed this book.

In Dark Forces #10, Beat the Devil, Doug loves video games.  One night, Doug wanders into a new video store in a deserted part of town.  The owner has only one game to sell, Beat the Devil. In the game, the player must beat the devil or have his soul consumed by the devil.  Doug quickly becomes obsessed with the game as the devil begins to take control of his soul.  Doug's only chance is to finally win the game—to beat the devil.

The cover of this book is fun.  It shows an old 1984 computer.  The game icons are displayed above the computer and are so delightfully accurate as to how lame game icons looked in 1984.

This story plays off of the belief many people have that video games are bad for children and teenagers.  In this book, a video game is actually bad, so bad that it is evil.  I love it!

Doug describes the colors in the game as brilliant and much more impressive than what he has ever seen in a video game.  I was thinking about how games looked in 1984, and somehow, I don't think it would take much to impress someone from 1984.  That is, I don't think a game from 1984 with "brilliant" colors would come close to what we have now.

This is an excellent book.  I always enjoy the ones that feature dated computers and applications.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books such as the ones reviewed in this post.  Please follow this link to join.

Third Eye and Locked in Time

In The Third Eye, Karen has the ability to see what has happened to missing children.  At the insistence of a young policeman, she agrees to find a missing girl.  Karen is devastated about what she learns and vows never to use her talent again.

Later, Karen once again agrees to find some kidnapped children, but the toll the experience takes may be too great.

This is an excellent book.  The book is quite suspenseful, and I found that I cared greatly about what happens to Karen and the others. This might be my very favorite Lois Duncan book.

In Locked in Time, Nore goes to live with her father, new stepmother, and new stepbrother and stepsister.  Soon, Nore notices strange behavior between her stepmother and her children.  Eventually, Nore realizes that they want her dead, because she has the ability to uncover their deception.

I don't have any particular comments to say about this book, but I enjoyed it greatly.  This book is also one of my favorite Lois Duncan books.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books such as the ones reviewed in this post.  Please follow this link to join.

Dark Forces #7 Unnatural Talent and #8 The Companion

In Dark Forces #7, Unnatural Talent, Andrew wants to be an excellent basketball player. Andrew's father is the coach of the high school team, and he is under intense pressure to be the best.  Unfortunately, Andrew has no basketball ability—until he performs a spell from a book he purchased.

The spell summons a demon, who gives Andrew what he wants.  But  Andrew  soon learns that the demon wants payment, and the payment is more than he can handle.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as other titles in the set.





In Dark Forces #8, The Companion, Jeff has had a secret friend since childhood.  Jeff's secret friend is Kim, a little green man who insists on coming with Jeff to his new boarding school.  Jeff soon learns that Kim has been using him to gain control of his soul, and Jeff can do little to stop him.

I had trouble getting into this story.  I might have enjoyed it more if I could have understood how Jeff came to like Kim to so much that he kept Kim as a companion for so many years.  Since I wasn't able to read about the early years, I had trouble accepting the premise.

I did not enjoy the first two-thirds of the book very much, but I greatly enjoyed the last one-third of the story.

Stranger with My Face, Daughters of Eve, and Gift of Magic

In Stranger with My Face, Laurie begins having problems with her boyfriend, who thinks he saw her on the beach.  Soon, others report seeing Laurie when Laurie knows she was not present.  After Laurie finally sees the mysterious figure, she realizes that she has a double—a double only present in spirit form. Later, Laurie learns that this mysterious person is planning to take over her life.

The story is quite suspenseful.  The reader gradually realizes what the mysterious person is planning and sees the mistakes that Laurie makes that place her in danger.

This is an excellent story.

In Daughters of Eve, several girls become new members of a secret society known as the Daughters of Eve.  Faculty sponsor Ms. Stark insists that women are treated unfairly in society and that the girls must seek revenge.  Some of the girls are uncomfortable with what Ms. Stark wants them to do.

This book introduces too many characters too fast and with minimal description.  I never could keep some of them straight, and this did reduce my enjoyment of the book.

Lois Duncan revised this book by stating several times throughout the text that the small town is stuck in a time warp where men treat women like they did 100 years ago.  In spite of those statements, the text still reads just like a book about feminism written in the 1970s.  Not enough was revised to change any of that.

In this book and in Killing Mr. Griffin, I find it curious how easily the teenagers are able to avoid discovery while perpetrating criminal acts on school property.  The books were revised in 2010, but modern books would have considered the prevalence of security cameras which most all schools now have.  Cameras should have been taken into consideration in the revisions.

This is a very good book, but it would probably not appeal to many male readers due to how negatively most males are portrayed in the story.

In A Gift of Magic, Nancy and her siblings were each given a gift by their grandmother. Nancy's gift allows her to read other people's minds and influence their behavior.  Nancy begins to use her gift to force others to behave the way she wants.  Ultimately, Nancy learns a lesson about life.

On page 174, the phone would have had caller id in a modern book, so that's a flaw in this revised modern edition.  Of course, the scene would not have worked the way it was written if the change had been made.

In the interview section in the back of the book, Lois Duncan mentions that readers tend to skim so she avoids using multiple names that begin with the same first letter.  I wish other authors would realize that all names in books should begin with different letters.

I enjoyed this book.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books from the 1980s to the present.  Please follow this link to join.

Dark Forces #5 The Bargain and #6 Swamp Witch

In Dark Forces #5, The Bargain, The Coastals is a struggling rock group.  The members are high school students who want nothing more than to become famous.  One night at a club, Chort introduces himself to the group.  He promises the members instant fame if they will enter into a bargain with him.  He assures them that they will be able to pay his fee.  What the members do not realize is that the fee will be their souls.

This book moves very slowly and is quite detailed.

I enjoyed this story.

In Dark Forces #6, Swamp Witch, Linda stays with her best friend, Heather.  The housekeeper, Tubelle, thinks Linda is trying to steal a boy away from Heather.  Unknown to Linda, Tubelle casts spells to bring about Linda's destruction.

I hate it when authors imply something without coming out and stating it.  If an author is going to use racial stereotypes, then the author might as well be upfront.  I was unsure about Tubelle's race.  That is, I made an assumption about Tubelle's race and then wondered if I was being racist.  This really bothered me.

On page 3, Tubelle states, "I is getting her breakfast ready."  On page 7, Tubelle states, "Made some extra for mah baby."  Nobody else in the book speaks this way, and Tubelle's race is not mentioned.  I assumed that Tubelle is African American and was surprised to see the dialect in a young adult book from 1983.  I then worried about whether I was the one who was guilty of racial stereotyping, even though I was pretty sure I was correct.  This worried me for a good portion of the book.  I couldn't decide for sure how to picture Tubelle.

Finally, on page 100, we learn more about Tubelle's grandson, Ben.  "Ron knew that Ben was sensitive about his background.  To bring up the superstitions that many of the blacks in the area still lived with was a delicate matter.  Even among friends."  This is an indirect statement, but it does make clear that Ben and his grandmother are African American.  At least I finally knew that I had not misinterpreted the intent of the dialect.

This book reads like a book from the 1950s or before because of the racial stereotypes.

I enjoyed this book.

Don't Look Behind You, Summer of Fear, and Down a Dark Hall

In Don't Look Behind You, April's family becomes part of the witness protection program after April's father testifies in a trial that results in the conviction of drug smugglers.  April does not understand the seriousness of the situation and makes several mistakes that place her family in deadly danger.

I could relate to April, although I wouldn't have made her mistakes.  I was always a young person who did what I was told and understood why I should follow orders.  I would not have endangered my family like April did. However, I understand her naiveté, as many teens would make those kinds of mistakes.

I greatly enjoyed this book.  It is very suspenseful.

In Summer of Fear, Rachel's cousin, Julia, comes to live with Rachel and her family after her parents are killed in an accident.  Pretty soon, Rachel discovers that Julia is trying to steal her boyfriend and is turning her family against her.  Rachel finds evidence that Julia might be a witch, but nobody will believe her.

I also greatly enjoyed this book.

In Down a Dark Hall, Kit is sent away to boarding school at Blackwood School for Girls while her mother and stepfather go on their honeymoon.  Kit is resentful and doesn't want to attend the school.  Upon Kit's arrival, she senses that the school is evil.  Soon, Kit and the other girls notice strange events and try to figure out what is happening.


This book is quite spooky and mysterious.  I love the atmosphere.  I also love how the girls work to solve the mystery.  They can't figure out what is going on, so they puzzle out the situation.

I couldn't help thinking of the Nancy Drew games as I read this story.  The setting would be perfect for a Nancy Drew game.

On the subject of Nancy Drew, the back cover refers to the school as "Blackwood Hall."  I'm pretty sure that exact name is never used anywhere in the book.  The school is just called "Blackwood."  I feel like someone was having a little fun with the promotional blurb.

This is an excellent book.

Dark Forces #3 The Doll and #4 Devil Wind

In Dark Forces #3, The Doll, Cassie is drawn to a doll that is available as a carnival prize at the fair. Her boyfriend, Jack, wins the doll for her.  As soon as Cassie takes possession of the doll, she notices that it seems to resemble her but gives it no further thought.

Jack notices that Cassie is under the doll's spell and that the doll is growing larger and taking on a more human appearance.  Meanwhile, accidents surround Cassie and her friends.  Jack believes the doll is cursed, but can he convince Cassie that she must get rid of her prized possession?

Some of the events are quite unsettling.  One scene in particular disturbed me, as it involved the death of a beloved animal.

This is an excellent book.

In Dark Forces #4, Devil Wind, Peter and Mary enjoy their afternoon sailing until they enter a mysterious cove.  While inside the cove, fog envelops them, and the two young people become separated.  Peter has a terrifying experience that he cannot remember later.

Peter begins acting strangely, and Mary researches the history of the area in order to find out what is happening.

This book is a bit gruesome.  Let's just say that it involves animal mutilation.  The details are not described, but the reader can easily imagine the scene.

I enjoyed this book.