Remember Me to Harold Square

Serendipity Scavenger Hunt #1

by Paula Danziger

Summer in New York City turns from disaster to delight.

This summer could be a disaster. Kendra's parents have invited Frank, a 15-year-old she's never met, to stay with them. And they've planned a goofy scavenger hunt for the kids, including Kendra's bratty younger brother. They have to race all around New York City and visit places like the Empire State Building and the United Nations to find answers. But once they get started, Kendra doesn't mind the scavenger hunt so much, mostly because Frank turns out to be just as interesting as all of the sights.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Juvenile, New York, Realistic Fiction

145 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Paula Danziger was an American children's author. She wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, for children's and young adult audiences. At the time of her death, all her books were still in print; they had been published in 53 countries and translated into 14 languages.

Reviews

[Kricket · Rating 4 out of 5]

My trip down Ellen Conford Memory Lane led me to detour over to Paula Danziger. I remember this book being SUUUUPER sexy (it's not) and dramatic (not really that either) and hilarious (eh. lots of puns though!) Per usual, the 4th star is for nostalgia.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cute YA story, featuring a scavenger hunt across Manhattan and a light teen romance. This came out in 1987, so I don’t know how dated it is, but the basic story is still fun.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a kid, and after my vacation to New York, I was motivated to track down a copy and reread. Overall, I found this just as charming as I did when I first read it years ago. I want to go on that scavenger hunt and have someone pay for it for me. And the romance is sweet.

I also did not realize there was a sequel and promptly ordered it for myself to read. We'll see how it works without all the nostalgia.

[Kevin Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this book when i was like 10 years old and i liked it cause the word "crap" was used

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A favorite from my "tween" years. Danziger was one of my favorite authors during this time period in my life, and I read all of her books. This one was one of my favorites. In fact, when I went to NYC when I was 17, I made sure I went to as many places as The Serendipities did that I could.

Danziger's teens were always smart and funny, but they were also human. No one is perfect in her world. I identified with her characters much more than I ever did with anything Judy Blume wrote, even though both authors targeted the same audience and wrote about similar subject matter. Danziger never preached to her audience in the way that Blume did. Also, Danziger had a sense of humor, whereas Blume decidedly did NOT. ;)

I now feel a compulsion to scour Ebay and the used book store in town to re-buy all the Danziger books I gave away at some point in my life. :P

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤❤❤

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, man, I'd almost forgotten about this book! Such a fun read! Kendra is devastated when she has to spend her summer entertaining her parents' friends' kid, Frank, by taking him around the touristy sites of New York. She just assumes that a guy named Frank is going to be a total geek. Frank, of course, turns out to be a) hot and b) charming, and the kids have an awesome summer that made me green with envy! Delighted to see it still in print!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this - I think I was 10 or 11 - and I knew I wanted to live in New York City.

[Monica Chin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, it had a lot of information about NEW YORK!! and i thought it was an interesting plot. I didnt think it was the best of books but i enjoyed reading it.

[Marti]

Borrowed from B.F. Hamilton Library at Franklin College.

[Jack Herbert Christal Gattanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5; This is one of those books that I've tried to remember the name of for so very very long, like I remembered the concept of it, about a couple of kids left to their own devices for the summer and they have to find objects all across Manhattan and they really get into it in a scavenger-hunt type scenario (whether the city was depicted as dangerous as it was then I can't fully recall), and that... it stuck out in my memory as a book that did stay with me at a time when I enjoyed reading but it wasn't my favorite activity.

... at least, I hope this *is* the book I'm remembering (original publish date was 87 so it would have been something I read in the early 90's).

(EDIT) I just saw this cover and the memory came flooding back like a tsunami. I did read this. Holy shit this was a fun book!

[Jo]

Someone mentioned this author the other day, reminded me how much I loved the couple of books I read by her. This was the one I recognized from my teen years. I knew absolutely nothing about NYC (or much about the USA except what I had read in books), had never even spent any time in a place with streets in a grid design. I would love to reread this book as an adult living in the US and maybe one day I will get to go to NYC and do my own scavenger hunt.

[Ann Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this years ago, but I re-read it before a trip to New York City. It has a lot of information about things to do in New York. I'm glad I read it, but I was disappointed to find out that Tavern-on-the-Green is no longer as described in the book. (I found out on-line before leaving Denver -- I'm glad I didn't go to the current Tavern-on-the-Green.)

[Florence Migga · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me. I remembered some parts of it from when I read it as a kid, so the 3 stars are definitely fueled by nostalgia. I’m not sure this holds up to children’s or MG books now, but I’m sure it did when it was first published. I’d forgotten about the sequel! I’ve ordered it and will look forward to more Kendra and Frank in London.

[Elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun throwback to my childhood by rereading this - I read it several times as a kid. Passed it along to my kids to enjoy now.

[Gervy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was a re-read from early years of high school, when Paula Danziger was a favourite author. This is pretty cute.

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to hear more about the scavenger hunt but this book was more about the friendship between Kendra and Frank. I did like Kendra as a person, but this book just didn't really do it for me. '

[Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, but too short.

[Madame Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about two siblings going on a scavenger hunt in NYC.

[Mary Duda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute little book. I’ve loved it forever.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite from childhood. I liked all the books set in NYC.

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book! If ever I plan a trip to New York City I’m going to use this book as my guide for things to do!

[Melissa He · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. There was a lot humor in it, and also some sad parts, such as when Kendra and Frank had to be separated. The most funny part, was when they went to the make-up section of the theater, and they got make up done on them. Frank had a fake "bullet hole" on his forehead, and when he went home, he was like, "I think my head hurts." I thought that part was hilarious because he had a "bullet hole" on his forehead, of course his head "hurt". Kendra also made her hair white and gray, and she said that she was getting old.
I read the book that was the prequel to this book. From that book to this one, I think that Kendra matured a lot. She even started wearing make-up for a special occasion. We're currently the same age, and I can definitely relate to her, such as how both our mom's definitely don't give us enough privacy, and our siblings are so annoying. I think that if she was an actual person in real life, we'd be good friends.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a favorite when I was a kid. Kendra Kaye is a 14 year old Manhattanite, facing a summer in the city alone while her BFF's escape to summer camps and family homes in the Hamptons. Kendra dreads day after day, stuck at home with her annoying little brother, Oscar. But Mom and Dad have other plans. Their friends, the Lees, are sending their son, Frank, to NYC for the summer, and together, the 4 parents have put together a city-wide scavenger hunt for the 3 kids to complete. They will travel all over NYC and learn history, culture, language, food... And if they complete their mission? They will win a trip to England.

I know, it already sounds like pretty much the greatest kids' book ever written, doesn't it? I thought so then, I think so now. And I love Paula Danziger, I love every book she ever wrote. So even better.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

As part of the reread challenge for 2017, I wanted to revisit a book I loved as a preteen. Remember Me to Harold Square is a story about three kids (two siblings who live in NY City and a boy from Wisconsin) that have to participate in a scavenger hunt over the course of a summer in New York City.

It's really the story of Kendra, a girl who is going into 10th grade and her relationships with herself, her younger brother, her Mother, and Frank, the boy from Wisconsin. It does a great job relating to what most teens at that age are going through, growing up and discovering oneself.

I didn't realize how much this book stayed with me as an adult until I reread it. My favorite word, serendipity, is a big part of this book and I still have a dream to go to Tavern-On-The-Green. Paula Danziger was one of my beloved authors as a preteen and rereading this book helped me to remember why.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in 9th grade and had the opportunity to meet and have lunch with Paula Danziger. An aspiring writer back then I was overjoyed at the chance to talk to a "real live" author and to eat lunch with her - a day that will ive in my brain forever.
Having recently uncovered my signed copy of this book brought back all the memories and the excitement of reading this book. I felt very metropolitian reading this story - of course, I knew that a Harold Square was a place and not a person, etc. Too bad my parents never sent me away for the summer!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was a total teenybopper book, but it was fun. It was basically about a brother and sister and a new friend that are given a huge scavenger hunt to go on for their Summer vacation. Their parents don't want them rotting their brains in front of the TV all Summer.
Being a Brooklyn girl at heart it was really cool to see the idea of a scavenger hunt of NYC. There was even a full list at the back of the book that you could use yourself.I'm definitely gonna do that next time I go home. So fun!

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

"This summer could be a disaster. Kendra's parents have invited Frank, a 15-year-old she's never met, to stay with them. And they've planned a goofy scavenger hunt for the kids, including Kendra's bratty younger brother. They have to race all around New York City and visit places like the Empire State Building and the United Nations to find answers. But once they get started, Kendra doesn't mind the scavenger hunt so much, mostly because Frank turns out to be just as interesting as all of the sights." (From Amazon)

I really enjoy Paula Danziger's writing and humor.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Total pre-teen girl fluff. I read this while I was trying not to die from whatever virus I had last weekend, when I couldn't handle anything above a 4th grade reading level and didn't have US Weekly handy, and it was exactly what I needed. I forgot how fun YA lit is to read sometimes. I've also been compiling a list of books about NYC for my reading pleasure, so I can cross this off the list.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl, her brother, and their new friend who travel through out New York City. The girl's name is Kendra, her brother's name is Oscer but he goes by his initials which are O.K., and their friend's name is Frank. While going around the city Frank and Kendra fall in love after Frank's girlfriend breaks up with him. Frank lives in Wisconson and Kendra lives in New York. They all get to go on vacation to Europe.