What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Years ago (easily could have been more than ten, perhaps even twenty), I read a book about a girl, who was going to college or perhaps a private boarding school. It *might* have been in Britain. Or New England?

Somehow, her everyday life was getting crossed up in mythology or paganism or perhaps even camelot.

I feel like there might have been something to do with some sort of rite to Bacchus. Maybe...! Like maybe some of the other kids at the school were actually Greek deities or pagan demi-gods.

There was also a guy, who might have actually been Pan (or someone like Pan) and something to do with birth control. And I feel like there was some sort of cross-over between our world birth control like the pill and herbal lore birth control. But I am not sure about this part.

I think this was probably some sort of young adult book. I probably read it in paperback, but I do not remember what the cover looked liked. My *best* guess is this was at least 15 years ago. But I am not even sure of that part.

I am laughing at myself because I realize how little this is to go on. But it has been driving me crazy for years, so I thought I would give it a shot.

Thank you!

Waking the Moon?

Don't remember anything about birth control though.

Hi -- Thank you. I don't *think* that's it, because I don't think the characters left college/boarding school before the end of the book. It is enough of a possibility, however, that I am going to download a sample chapter. But I still think it was something else...

Thank you,
Sarah

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean maybe. Set in the 60s, small Midwestern college - a group of friends get mixed up with the Queen of Faery. I know the girls (3) take an herbal birth control. The ending follows the original story fairly closely.

You mentioned the girl gets "crossed up" in mythology. What sorts of things does she get mixed up in?

does the story take place entirely in the real world or partly in the fantasy world?

What time period is the book set in?

Avalon High?

A Great and Terrible Beauty, maybe?

Thank you to all of you!

I am now pretty sure that it is Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. I ordered it from Amazon just now. Unfortunately, it is not in digital format, so I have to wait for the mail to bring it. :-)

The mind is a very funny thing: When I read this book, which I now think was closer to twenty years ago, I had never heard of Tam Lin. So I would never have been able to make that connection.

Over the years, I have wondered about this book occasionally, wished I could find it and reread it. But I was never compelled enough to find a forum that exists exactly for that purpose. Until now.

And why is that significant?? Because literally a week and a half ago, I finished reading Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones for the very first time! And it is a retelling of Tam Lin!

Ever since then, I have been obsessed with finding this book I read so many years ago.

Anyway, thank you again to all of you. I am not sure how to move this to a "solved" category. So I will look for instructions now, but if I don't manage to get it done, will someone post a link and tell me how??

Sarah

At the end of the title of this post, you should see a tiny "edit" hyperlink. Click on the "edit." That will bring you to a page where you can use a drop down menu to change the folder from Unsolved to either Adult fiction solved or children's/YA fiction solved. Also, add [s] to the end of the title of this thread.

You also need (please) to add the book to the group's bookshelf. When you get a screen with a large text box that asks why you are adding the book to the group's bookshelf, paste in the URL for this thread.

You might also like The Perilous Gard -- another Tam Lin retelling.

Oh good, I love this book. I never went to more than a community college, so reading it was like having the most amazing college experience I ever dreamed of :)

Hope you enjoy the reread!