This young adult book series from the 1980s is about a group of teenage girls at a boarding school and their friendships, adventures, crushes, and difficulties in life and school. Canby Hall is an elite boarding high school in Massachusetts, and the books focus on the three roommates in room 407 in the Baker Hall dormitory. When the series begins, the three girls don’t get along well, but their housemother helps them to become friends.

During the course of the series, the first set of roommates graduates from the school. A new set of roommates takes their place, but the original roommates still make appearances.

Also during the course of the series, the first housemother gets married and moves away. The new housemother is very strict at first, but the girls help her adjust to her new job.

The first set of roommates:

Shelley Hyde – She is from a small town in Iowa. When she first arrives at Canby Hall, she is somewhat naive and very homesick.

Faith Thompson – She is from Washington, DC. She’s a very practical person.

Dana Morrison – She is from New York City.

The second set of roommates:

Andrea “Andy” Cord –

Jane Barrett – She comes from a wealthy family that donated money to build the school’s science building, which is why it’s named after them.

October “Toby” Houston –

The name of the author is given as Emily Chase, but that’s actually a pseudonym for a collection of ghost writers.

Books in this Series:

#1 Roommates (1984)

The first set of roommates arrive at the school and begin sorting out their relationships with each other.

#2 Our Roommate is Missing (1984)

Shelley is kidnapped, and she uses a game of “I Love My Love” to give her friends a clue to how to find her.

#3 You’re No Friend of Mine (1984)

#4 Keeping Secrets (1984)

#5 Summer Blues (1984)

#6 Best Friends Forever (1984)

#7 Four Is a Crowd (1984)

#8 The Big Crush (1984)

#9 Boy Trouble (1984)

#10 Make Me a Star (1985)

#11 With Friends Like That (1985)

The girls learn that Canby Hall is short of funds and may close, but things may change after they meet the owner’s son.

#12 Who’s the New Girl? (1985)

#13 Here Come the Boys (1985)

#14 What’s a Girl To Do? (1985)

#15 To Tell the Truth (1985)

#16 Three of a Kind (1985)

Dana has a crush on a boy named Mac, but he behaves strangely. He forgets dates, and he can’t seem to remember the friends Dana has introduced him to. What is going on?

#17 Graduation Day (1986)

The first set of roommates graduates.

#18 Making Friends (1986)

#19 One Boy Too Many (1986)

#20 Friends Times Three (1987)

#21 Party Time! (1987)

#22 Troublemaker (1987)

The roommates try to help a shy student come out of her shell, but a mean classmate tries to mess everything up.

#23 But She’s So Cute (1987)

#24 Princess Who? (1987)

#25 The Ghost of Canby Hall (1987)

Canby Hall was named after Julia Canby, who died young. As final exams approach and the girls enter a writing contest, strange things start happening. Does Julia Canby haunt the school?

#26 Help Wanted! (1988)

#27 The Roommate and the Cowboy (1988)

#28 Happy Birthday, Jane (1988)

Jane is turning 16 years old, but the girls’ celebration doesn’t go as planned.

#29 A Roommate Returns (1988)

Shelley visits the school while she’s acting in a play nearby. Unfortunately, the play doesn’t go well, and she has to struggle with its failure while Andy also struggles with troubles with her dancing.

#30 Surprise! (1988)

The girls are planning for the Halloween festival, but a surprise visit from a boy they met in Texas complicates things.

#31 Here Comes the Bridesmaid (1988)

Andy gets to be a bridesmaid at Princess Allegra’s wedding, but what will happen when Andy falls in love with a prince?

#32 Who’s Got a Crush on Andy? (1989)

Andy’s crush on a prince didn’t work out, and she’s sworn off love for a while. Then, she starts getting poems and flowers from a secret admirer.

#33 Six Roommates and a Baby (1989)

The girls’ old housemother has had a set of twins, and she wants the girls of room 407, both the new and old set, to be their godmothers.

Super Editions

#1 Something Old. Something New (1986)

#2 The Almost Summer Carnival (1987)