• R.I.P. David Roth, 79, in April 2020 (YA novelist: "River Runaways," 19

    From Lenona@21:1/5 to All on Fri Sep 8 10:52:40 2023
    Not to be confused with the 40ish essayist on sports and politics. Or the Pennsylvania novelist David R. Roth. Or the picture-book writer.

    Or the magician who died in 2021.

    https://www.laconiadailysun.com/community/obituaries/david-b-roth-79/article_1258cbec-897b-11ea-8e21-577c2aa51a25.html

    BRISTOL (New Hampshire) — David B. Roth, 79, died Sunday, April 26th after a brief battle with cancer. David was born in New York City in 1940 and grew up in Acton, Massachusetts. He spent time on Vinalhaven Island as a young adult and it was there
    that he married and had two daughters, Katherine Roth of Thomaston, Maine and Sheila Silvestri of Thompson, Connecticut. He moved to New Hampshire in the late 60s. In 1978 he married Cilla Sheehan and they moved to the Newfound area where they have
    resided ever since.

    He was the author of six young adult novels published by Houghton Mifflin in the 70s and 80s. He had many interests in which he was self taught such as computer programming and art, using various mediums. He had a successful career as an outsider artist
    in the 1990s, showing and selling his work throughout the Northeast. He and his wife Cilla renovated five homes in the area over the years. He loved reading, tennis, hiking, snowshoeing, Newfound Lake and Cardigan Mountain.

    He was a gentleman, kind, loving and generous and he will be greatly missed.

    Donations in his memory may be made to The Mayhew Program, PO Box 120, Bristol, NH 03222 which is a mentoring summer camp program for underserved NH boys.

    Due to the pandemic there will be no public services. Arrangements are under the direction of Emmons Funeral Home of Bristol.
    __________________________________________________

    It's possible he also wrote a 1990s biography of Colin Powell (Sacred Honor), but I can't prove it's the same author. I doubt it.

    https://www.amazon.com/stores/David-Roth/author/B001HQ0I30?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
    (scroll halfway down to see four book covers)

    WORKS (all from the early 1980s):

    The Hermit Of Fog Hollow Station
    "Lonely after his family moves from Boston to the country, 12-year-old Alex befriends an old hermit."

    A World for Joey Carr
    "This is a book for age twelve and up. Enroute to his grandparents in Vermont in search of some answers, a lonely teenage hitchhiker meets Hannah who claims she is a witch. Hannah is dying and searching for her own special cure. They join forces, and
    Joey is suddenly swept into a dangerous and fantastic world of magic and miracles as they comb the silent New England countryside. A touching novel of self-discovery, awareness and love."

    River Runaways
    "Unhappy with their family life, two fourteen-year-old boys decide to take a canoe downriver to the sea and seek their fortunes."

    The Girl in the Grass
    "Strange flashbacks involving a blond - haired young girl and wind - swept fields by the sea have haunted Tom Stevens's childhood . But when the seventeen - year - old boy actually sees these same images on canvas in an art exhibit , he is dumbfounded
    and determined to unravel the mystery . Reluctantly , Aunt Belle and Uncle Carl admit that the painter is his older sister Sylvia ; she saved Tom from a fire in which their widowed father died but left him at age five with their aunt and..."

    (I couldn't find the rest.)

    https://www.amazon.ca/GIRL-GRASS-David-Roth/dp/0449700925
    (book cover)

    Best of Friends
    "Left alone with his older brother John while his parents are in Europe , Matt Zaharis plans to spend the summer bird - watching in the pine barrens near Lake Craddock . The relationship between the brothers is strained. John, a natural athlete and
    obviously their father's favorite has just finished his first year at college . Aggressive and popular , he makes life uncomfortable for Matt with his constant ridiculing and his beer parties . Terrified of the water because of a near - fatal accident
    when he was four , Matt keeps to himself . But he soon meets Andrea Stafford , whose father owns a summer home near the lake , and begins spending time with her . Their friendship deepens , and when things get worse at home , the boy moves into the
    Staffords ' boathouse . Matt learns a lot that summer about the joy and the pain of love ; about the truth behind his fear of the water ; and about his brother's hidden feelings . Because the depth of Matt's own personality comes through so well , the
    book has a subtle yet powerful atmosphere . Unfortunately , Andrea's return in the fall to close up the house seems to lengthen the story unnecessarily . But the author writes sensitively , whether he is dealing with the boy's emotions , the sexual
    relationship of the two young people, or the natural surroundings."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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