Zev’s Comments (group member since Feb 26, 2019)

Zev’s comments from the What's the Name of That Book??? group.

This might be a long shot, but could it be "Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes"?

It's "Six Years" by Harlan Coban.

A fortunate blizzard by LC Chase.

TW: Sexual assault; death
I read this between 2000-2013.
The book is about a group of male friends from high school up until they grow up and have kids too. Trey dies near the end of the novel, and the narrator thinks, "We would have invited Ginger's dad (to the funeral), but...you know..." Ginger's dad had been part of the friends group when they were younger. They didn't invite him to Trey's funeral because Trey sexually assaulted Ginger when she was thirteen and he was forty. Her parents had her testify in court, and she was furious and didn't want to be there.

The defense was a tall, skinny man. "What's your name?" he asked. She said her name, which I don't remember, and said, "But my friends call me Ginger." "Okay, Ginger--" "I didn't say you could call me Ginger." Silence, and then questions about what happened with Trey. She didn't view what happened to her as sexual assault: "Because I had the biggest boobs in seventh grade and I wanted to fuck. He asked and I was fine with getting into bed with him." She was maybe fourteen or fifteen while testifying. She had red hair, was pale and had freckles, and was wearing a white button-down while testifying.

Before she testified, the narrator mentioned one of the guys' mother as they were teens. "We all thought as teenagers that Mrs. (Last Name, possibly Daniels) was hot. We asked Trey about it. He was more into the girls at our private school, the whole schoolgirl thing." Really? They asked Trey. "Because Mrs. (Last Name) does it for -everyone- and is so attractive." Her son rolled his eyes and was so uncomfortable, and asked Trey another question about why he was so into girls from private school. "We figured this was just because he went to public school. The allure of short skirts had worn off for us a long time ago, but he'd never been around it. We didn't know (it indicated pedophilia in Trey's case). If only we had known, we could have helped Ginger."

This was kind of a subplot in the book, but at the same time a big part of it. I think it was a suspense novel or mystery. I don't remember why it wasn't narrated by Ginger's dad. The book was hardback with a white spine but colors on the cover. The author was a man with initials M or D? When the other guys from the friend group all grew up, only Ginger's dad was married and had a kid. The narrator may have gone through a breakup? This took place in the USA. Somewhere near the sea where the sky was gray a lot. New Jersey maybe? I'll comment if I remember anything else.

I remember this as being set in the East Coast of the USA. The professor might have witnessed a murder. Someone is hiding his identity for him, if that makes sense. He wouldn't have known how all by himself. I don't remember much about his girlfriend because he never really said much about her except he missed her. He was kind of narrow-minded. The girlfriend may have been skinny and blond, possibly younger than him. I don't think she was a former student.

Yes, Juels! Thank you! Turns out it came out in 2008, so my range of years was way off.

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Could it be "Solstice" by PJ Hoover?

"A Time For Dancing" by Davida Wills Hurwin is a dual perspective YA novel.

TW: sexual assault
I read this between 2005-2013. This was a paperback and part of the cover was bright blue. I don't think it was part of a series. The protagonist was a male detective with a sister who he thought was strange and made a lot of bad choices. She may have been a sex worker, problem drinker, or drug addict. She wore a lot of bright colors and short skirts. Her brother visited her a lot to keep an eye on her. She curled up on the patio outside near the pool in the backyard and was having a PTSD freakout over being sexually assaulted a few years ago. Her brother tried to calm her down but she needed to lie there for a bit. He had an issue with this.

He finally sat down and said, "Mitzi, Mitzi, Mitzi. What am I going to do with you?" and that furthered her PTSD freakout. He hadn't realized until he said it, that it was something her assailant said to her. He hadn't meant anything sinister and felt awful, and went back to work after she went to sleep.

The author was male I think, with a name that started with R. The sister's name may have been spelled differently, or been Misty. They were each in their 30s. This took place in the United States. Given that she had a pool in her backyard, this may have taken place in California, Arizona, or Texas, or somewhere else warm. The pool wasn't a sign of wealth; it was a way to keep cool. I don't remember if the detective was trying to catch a serial killer or solve a sole murder. I don't think he was dating anyone. The book ended with the crime being solved and I think Mitzi wound up getting counseling and being okay.

I'll comment if I remember anything else.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell could work.

Curse of Camp Cold Lake by RL Stine

Yes! Thank you.

Trigger warnings for sexual assault and underage drug use.

I read this between 1998-2004. I got it off a library bookshelf. It's YA, specifically older teens. I remember when I finished it, thinking I was waaaay too young to have read it, considering the subject content. The protagonist was between the ages of sixteen to eighteen or a little older, and I remember thinking that was super old (I was a tween when I read this). It was written with similar details to Francesca Lia Block's works, but this one wasn't written by her. A close-knit group of girls go to mostly the same high school. They're all creative or performers in some way. One runs a zine and writes for it. Another plays guitar in an amateur band. The protagonist helps them both, but her creativity is in something else. She loves a band and is excited to see them perform in a hole-in-the wall venue. She has a huge crush on the guitarist, who I think is named Kyle. I think he's met her a few times before, just to say hi.

She meets with him after the performance. I think for a date, maybe? He takes her hand and she thinks, "Kyle is holding my hand. I'm never washing it again." They wind up in a car together and he tries to assault her. She panics because he locked the doors and she can't figure out how to unlock them. They were probably automatic. Two of her friends smash the windshield with a baseball bat, screaming, "Kyle, let her through!" meaning, "let her out of the car!" She runs away with her friends, crying. Kyle hates her now and she's horrified that she ever had a crush on him and liked his music.

I remember liking the beginning of the book because the friendship between the girls was so strong, and how they were all creative in some way. The ending was low-key and had a sense of resolution to it. The main character was going to be okay. Someone's name started with A. One of the characters was Asian-American. One of the girls wore plaid skirts, or possibly a school uniform even though she was eighteen and was almost graduating. There was underage drinking and some drug use by older teens; I think maybe crack or ecstasy. Something you'd get at a club.

I'll comment if I remember anything else.

I found it, and I changed the subject line since the surfer girl book was clearly another one entirely. In broad strokes, I remembered the book of this post but every single detail, I got wrong.
No one's name is Rebecca. The person who dies is a rich old lady who wants kids to stay virgins in order to get a hefty college scholarship. The country club adults are actually in an old folks' home, and they find the entire thing hilarious. The person who was mad was one of the teenagers. The reference to virginity loss I was thinking of was on page 178 of the edition I read, and wasn't as angsty as I thought--it was barely there.

Nobody turns religious, but they make references to it. Everyone has a boyfriend and one girl gets a specific ending, which is probably what I was thinking of.

The book wasn't written by a man, but by a woman author with a man's last name: the book is "The V Club" by Kate Brian.

It is not "The Unbecoming of Mara Dwyer" or "The Secrets of Boys."
I read this between 1998-2004. At the latest, it was 2004. The book had been written in the early 90s or late 80s. It was a paperback, and the cover was bright and cheerful. It had orange on it against cooler colors, I think.
It took place somewhere on the coastal USA--California or New Jersey. Rebecca surfed with her mostly male friends a lot. She lives in a beach town. They recently added a country club, or a rich family recently moved there...something "new" happened to set the plot in motion. The adults around her pressured her to stay a virgin and made her feel bad for having normal hormones. I think she took a purity pledge, but back in the 90s the term wasn't widely used, and wasn't used in the book.

She talked to kids at her school about staying virgins and not dating, and sincerely believed it was a good idea. She's interested in a boy who just moved to her town. His mom hates Rebecca and somehow knows Rebecca is lying. She confronts Rebecca at some kind of town hall or meeting about it: "You talk to kids about waiting. Are you sexually active?" Rebecca hems and haws, goes back to another topic, and won't answer the question. "You didn't answer me, Rebecca. Are you a virgin?" the boy's mother hisses at her.

Rebecca is not, and mildly regrets losing her virginity to a one-night stand on the beach at midnight a year or so ago. They both consented. She became super Christian afterward, I think because someone died. She doesn't want anyone to know she dated or had sex because it would undermine the purity message. She blames herself for being "too willing" to "go with a boy who talked sweet," or something along those lines. The book ends with her dating the boy.

I'll comment if I remember anything else.

Yes! Thank you all! I've pulled it up on the archive link and I'm eager to read it.