Hi, I read two fiction novels for teens back in the late 80's, early 90's, but unfortunately I don't remember the book names or the authors. Maybe you can help?

Book # 1: The main character was a teenage girl in high school. She has an after school job tutoring/babysitting a girl who is having a hard time learning in school. Both her and the girl undergo a transformation of sorts because of their relationship with each other. The teen changes from a shy, awkward teen to someone who is beautiful and confident, and the girl overcomes her learning disability from all the main character's ministrations. I think somewhere in the book, the teenager begins to date (after spending all her high school years as a shy loner). I think the main character likens herself and the girl to either the ugly duckling/swan analogy or the caterpillar/butterfly analogy. I apologize that I can't remember which animal was used in the analogy, but I know for sure this was a part of the book.

Book # 2: Main character is also a teenage girl.
She is dating a basketball player named Julio. I think she has a car,
And named it something interesting like Willie Loman, or something
Equally memorable (which I, of course, have forgotten!) :-) I can't remember if the girl character herself is also a basketball player, but I think so. I really apologize about this one too, but that's about all I can remember

Any help is greatly appreciated!

I worked for B Dalton Booksellers for a number of years. We used to have people coming in all the time hoping we could help them figure out the title of a certain book. Generally the larger bookstores have people who are knowledgeable in the designated areas. I wish I could help you, but unfortunately my area of expertise was in the Romance section. You might, however, drop in a your local Barne's and Noble or B. Dalton, Borders, etc. You might find someone who, by accessing their store computer, can help your figure out the title and author. We used to do it all the time for people.