Another book identification question

June 23, 2005 1:51 PM

I'm looking for a particularly grim (young adult?) book that was published sometime in the 70s, I believe.

As I recall, it concerned a teenager who ran away from home and lived on the streets. Her mother wanted her to come home, and placed a personal ad to that effect in several newspapers where her daughter was sure to see it. I seem to recall that the title of this book was the text of the personal ad. Anyway, the ending as I recall had the girl abducted and locked away before starving to death when abandoned by her captors. I seem to remember this being a young adult book, despite the depressing conclusion.

Caveat: some of the details I listed above could be off. The only things I'm positive about are the newspaper ad and the girl dying.

Although my Google powers and abilities are far beyond those of mortal men, they have failed me here. Can anyone else help me out?

posted by sun-el to media & arts (9 comments total)

Damn, that sounds really familiar. My brain is telling me it was something like "[Somebody somebody] please come home" but that's all I can get and that may be off too.
posted by matildaben at 2:04 PM on June 23, 2005

Is it "Kathleen, Please Come Home" by Scott O'Dell?
posted by jrossi4r at 2:11 PM on June 23, 2005

This sounds like something Beatrice Sparks would have done as long as she ended up running away because she discovered drugs or anorexia.
posted by drezdn at 2:13 PM on June 23, 2005

I'm pretty sure it is "Kathleen, Please Come Home." If I could find a picture of the cover or detailed synopsis, I'd know for sure.
posted by sun-el at 2:23 PM on June 23, 2005

it's on his webpage.
posted by crush-onastick at 2:44 PM on June 23, 2005

Amazon, ABEBooks. (You'll probably have more success with the latter.)
posted by WCityMike at 2:44 PM on June 23, 2005

Google-fu, schmoogle-fu. If you go to Amazon and type in "please come home" (it was a total guess), the book is right there in the first returns ;)
posted by iconomy at 2:58 PM on June 23, 2005

You think I would have remembered that, since it is my real first name. At least I was first with the tag phrase.
posted by matildaben at 3:34 PM on June 23, 2005

schmoogle-fu?
posted by growabrain at 1:14 AM on June 24, 2005