Writing on the Wall by Lynne Reid Banks

This is a book that I got from the library when I was in about fifth grade- actually my mom checked it out and I read it. As an adult I was trying to remember what it was called, but all I could recall were a few details of the plot and the cover. When I read it as a kid, the cover made a huge impression on me because it had a naughty word on it- the boy and girl are standing in front of a wall which she has just graffitied, and so are partially blocking out where she sprayed "Kevin is a bastard". I thought that was the ultimate in badness and slightly cool as well. Anyways, after an extensive search for the book last year, I found out the name and that it was by Lynne Reid Banks, who I've always liked for not only the Indian in the Cupboard books, but also her other J and YA novels. So I was really excited to get a library's discarded copy for Christmas.

It's about a London girl who gets into the punk culture in the early 1980s, and whose new boyfriend, Kevin, is more of a handful than she is really ready for. On an end of school year bicycling trip through Holland with friends, Kevin convinces her to break away from the group and go with him to Amsterdam. Although she starts to realize that Kevin is really not the greatest guy, she's not ready to lose him and is still willing to go along with his ideas. However, what he puts her through in Amsterdam makes her realize that she needs to get back with the group and get back to England, but it's not as easy as she expects. It is a good story, although amusingly dated, and while my main reason for reading it was to recapture a childhood favorite, it's definitely worth it if you can find it at one of the local libraries.