Friends

Vaguely medieval-esque world. Girl and her younger brother - girl is early to mid teen-ish, brother is maybe seven? Their parents died. The kids are running scared because they have "talents" - pretty sure the girl can communicate with animals and I know the boy, we find out later, is a persuader and can get people to do things for him if necessary. (At one point he "persuades" his sister to eat meat (or possibly human meat, at any rate, she was squicked out) because he needs her to look after him. I think he gets gradually more self-interested and sociopathic as time goes on.)

I don't know if children with talents are killed or taken away to be "educated", but the two of them have the sense to not want any of that. Some of the people with talents are used in wars... I think there's one kid used to burn people up?

At some point in the past there were dragons, now believed to be all extinct. The kids get to some guy's castle (he wears gloves all the time) where they find out that "every child born in this castle has a talent". He has one son. This leads us to think the talents are genetic in origin, but the big reveal is that he has a dragon living in his castle and their scales do something to the water that mutates babies. The local governments are implied to have known this, and the extermination of the dragons is thought - by the few who know enough to realize this - to have really been a cover for ultimately eliminating the birth of children with talents, and the everlasting wars are a cover to keep talented children occupied (and hopefully killed) in battles so they can't do anything crazy like take over.

There may have been a romance between the guy in the castle and the girl, and they have to flee the castle by the end of the book. I think there may have been supposed to be a sequel, but I don't know if there ever was. I certainly never read it. The little brother chooses to be left behind in the castle, but his sister (who has been persuaded to take care of him his whole life) isn't too concerned, realizing that he's got the one talent that can keep him safe and alive no matter what.

Spoiler alert.

This one reminds me a whole lot of Neal Asher's runcible books, Tony Daniel's Grist books, John C. Wright's Golden Age books, Walter Jon Williams's Aristoi universe. Far future, people (and aliens) are all over the universe; some have modified themselves to be pretty alien. Technology is available to carry a unit (one character has a necklace) that will record you, such that if you die, you can be re-made from the recording. A married pair of the characters are in a war on a planet; one dies, one is saved and tries to find his partner's unit but can't. You spend time with those roles reversed (you thought the other one was going to die). Someone, possibly him, is sent on an assassination mission. Another (captured?) personality is loaded up into his brain, to keep him from sabotaging the attempt. The personality ends up sabotaging the attempt himself. Another character in a completely different part of the universe finds out the attempt, is destroyed in doing so, is re-created from the unit and tries to warn people, only to find out that it is one complete galactic rotation later, and his unit has been floating in space and only just now recovered by the same place he was on before.

There is a short story I can almost remember.
A group of people are trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean, with no hope of rescue, and little water.
One of the stranded tells them all that he has a way out... he can help them all create a world. He has been searching for this path for years, and has found out how to use it.
He hypnotises them, controlling the creation and becoming a sort of god to this reality. Unfortunately for him, he is also not entirely in their created world; he still feels the effects of the real world, and is slowly going mad with thirst.

Can anyone help me find out what it's called?

1. Found! Being of Two Minds

I read this probably mid-late 90s. It's an older kids or young YA novel. An American girl and a boy (crown prince) from one of those backwards nations where a monarchy is actually important for more than just looking pretty share thoughts sometimes. They have shared seizures - if one of them has a minor one, they know the other just had a major one and is sharing their body right now. (That sounds a LOT pervier than it is!) They have auras before their seizures. The boy's uncle is scheming good-naturedly to remove him from inheriting the throne for the good reason that he thinks the seizures have made him stupid and a risk. The kids are in touch with each other through the method of writing notes or speaking aloud when they know the other one is seeing through their eyes, and they're thrilled that the boy's family is coming on a diplomatic visit to the US because they plan on actually meeting up in the flesh. They're like 13 - they seem to think of themselves as a cross between penpals and siblings, not as romantic partners or anything like that. They suspect other people may have had this problem in the past, but pride themselves on being smart enough to not be locked up for absolute insanity.

And they DO meet up, and shake hands, but there's a kidnapping plot and they find their little episodes get worse when they're not halfway across the world from each other and... I have no idea what happened next. SO frustrating, it was actually an interesting book.

2. FOUND! Mara, Daughter of the Nile

An Egyptian slave in the time of the Pharoahs, and she finds herself embroiled in intrigue and politics, getting paid on all sides to... something about the Pharoah. She's supposed to spy on this foreign wife of the Pharoah, and manages to convince her to go along with the main plot (the one we're supposed to root for) on the grounds that if she does, when the current Pharoah is deposed she'll be sent home. We see some scenes from the foreigner's point of view, she's very amused by the fact that the slave obviously has a sweetheart and is clearly lying about the sweet nothings he's saying by periodically turning to her and saying "Oh, he just said your customs are interesting and asked after your family" or whatever. (But we know he's not actually saying sweet nothings, he's giving her instructions as to her spying, and threatening her, although I think he never intended to carry anything out because awww they're so much in love ♥.)

2 Short Stories in Children Sci-Fi Anthology
-The story I remember better is about a drug that increases a person's intelligence. The society gave the drug on a small group of people first as a test, and then to everyone. For some reason the main characters in the story are immune to the drug. Their parents are in some type of support group, at least a magazine or something is mentioned. The kids want to prove they are just as good as a the smart people so they create a plan to disrupt some government, Madagascar's I think.
( Cut for length )

Found! "Was It A Dream?" by Guy de Maupassant
-It wasn't very long and in a supernatural/ghost anthology
-The plot is that a man is going to see his fiancee's grave. For some reason the skeletons come out of their graves and start writing on them. One man writes that instead of being a good husband, he was a horrible one. The man's fiancee writes that she got pneumonia (?) when she was walking to see another man and that is why she died. I think the guy faints in the end.

A Children Fantasy Story
-The premise is that the "real" world reflects a magical world. The main character is a girl and a boy from the other world talks to her through a mirror. The boy mentions he could see her through the bathroom mirror, but didn't watch when she was taking a shower or something (I remember this creeping me out). He takes her to the magical world.
( Cut for length )

Found! "The Obnoxious Jerks" by Stephen Manes
-The characters go to a really strict school. Part of the dress code is that guys must wear pants and girls have to wear pants or knee-length skirts.
-A group of guys make some kind of club. One of the things they do is wear skirts to school to protest. I remember that they had trouble finding skirts to wear. They got them from a used clothing store and there were only ugly skirts. One of the skirts had palm trees on it.
( Cut for length )

My mom was telling me about a book she wants both of us to read. I guess it's about a mother and daughter who own an inn, or bed & breakfast? And characters from novels come to life there? She mentioned _Little Women_ as an example of the characters who came to life. Any ideas? Of course she can't remember title or author. She thinks it came out in the last two or three years. We're in the U.S.

I once read this book about a tribe of all women.
I think there was some connection to horses but I wouldn't bet on it...

The main character was the daughter of the chief.
I remember that they would go out and fight other tribes bringing back male captives if they were victorius. They would have a victory feast were the women would seduce the men in order to give birth to new tribe members.

The plot was either the chief had a son or the daughter of the chief had a son and the daughter had to take it away and kill him.

I think she eventually leaves the tribe or her mother dies and she takes charge, but the boy returns to his father???

I really don't remember too well. I want to read it again.

Abigail Dawning

Sadly, that's pretty much all I remember about the book. It was part of a series, I think, of maybe 3 books? The main character was a girl (and I think there was a boy too, either in all or just one of the books) and I have a feeling it was about seeing ghosts or haunted places.

It's not the 'Mediator' series by Meg Cabot/Jenny Caroll, but its something like it.

And I seem to remember an old Church being involved in one of the books. The girl and the boy were locked in there or something. And for some reason I keep thinking of 'Cornwall' or some costal town; either that or it was a small village where this took place.

I would have read this early 2000's, but it was probably published late 90's - early 2000.

Any and all help would be appreciated :D

Not the Mennyms, though that was an awesome series.

I read a YA book in '97, probably published sometime in the mid-nineties, about an unhappy orphan girl. It may have technically been a children's book, but it was so steeped in depression, I got the impression it was for older readers. I remember it being a softcover, about 300 pages, with the yellow Scholastic border around the cover illustration, but I could be wrong about this.

The orphan girl ends up living with an older woman in a dilapidated mansion in the country. The older woman is a tea-drinking Victorian lady type, though I think the book was set in modern times. The girl didn't get much attention. She had a bad temper, and her hands were always cold and chapped--she chewed her cuticle skin. In the house, she found a dollhouse full of living dolls who became her only friends. They had sweet, silly, whimsical personalities. I think she got mad at them and stopped visiting them for a while because they were too silly.

Eventually, the girl leaves the dollhouse people behind. Maybe she breaks them? Or she makes a real friend so she doesn't need them anymore? Or the lady she lives with takes them? I remember the girl had to keep it secret that she played with them. I don't think this book had a very happy ending--It made me cry.

*Got it-- Behind the Attic Wall

...apparently a better-known book than I thought, judging by the Amazon page.

I am trying to remember two separate books, not related. [The first is a request from one of my non-lj relatives.]

#1 -- Found! "The Grey Horse" by R.A. MacAvoy.
( Read more... )

I read this book last year and for the last couple months have been searching for the title and author. I cannot remember any names and the details might not be accurate because I read at least 50 books a year. I cannot remember what the cover looked like. 

The story is about a girl who's father passes away in homicide. Either her or her mother decide that it's best for her to go to a different school where no one would recognize her. A boy gets to know her without knowing that his family was involved in her father's death. The family had some sort of history of feuds. I'm not sure if a diary of some sort is involved. Also her family owned land that they didn't want to sell to his family. His family is rich and owns a lot of commercial property and wants turn that land into some mall or something. 

There's one more detail, either in the book or on the back cover it mentions something about it being a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Please help! 

Any details about it will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
NeNa

* Got it! Thanks Lemondrop 217

I am always so loathe to come asking for help here because I am never sure if I am thinking of one book, or if several got jumbled up in my head.

I have two (I think...?) today, one middle reader and one a YA novel along the lines of Ellen Conford.

The middle reader book:
Probably late 70s, early 80s, Scholastic Club sort of deal. A girl had vaguely hippish/ alternative parents, who always made her eat super healthy stuff. Somehow, in a Tom Sawyer like turn of events, all the other kids decide that the natural sprouts and stuff are super cool, and she ends up hiding under the bleachers. The kids all form a club called GHOST or something? Maybe?

The YA novel was probably late 80s, also featuring freaky parents (I am pretty sure they are different books... LOL). The family moves to a college town, the dad is a professor. There is an overweight teen girl who lives in that town, who befriends the daughter of the professor. Clear things I remember: a turret bedroom, the mom batiking and sketching cobwebs, sushi (the mom says something along the lines of "It's not raw, the lemon juice cooks it, of course"). Very early in the book, as the Freaky Family is entering the town, the parents turn down the university-provided housing because it looks "like a saltine box" (maybe "cracker box"?). I remember there was a sequel that followed the overweight friend the following year, after the family had moved away, which began with the overweight friend getting a letter from the daughter. FOUND: Me and Fat Glenda. Thank you!

Between the years of 1986 and 1989, I was an avid reader of Sweet Dreams, Wildfire, and Crosswinds/Keepsake books. There are a few I'd love to read again, but I can't remember the titles or authors.

Book 1: Either a Wildfire or Crosswinds/Keepsake, I think. It was about a spoiled girl who was talked into going camping and/or white water rafting by her best friend. The friend has a crush on the girl's brother, who is into outdoorsy stuff and I swear they nicknamed him Ranger Rick. The girl is scared to part with her hair styling equipment and makeup. The tour guide is her brother's friend and the guide picks on her for being such a princess. The end up falling in love. I think she tries to run away because she feels like she's just being a burden, and the guy goes to rescue her so she doesn't end up lost in the wilderness. He has an accident and she keeps him awake all night because she's afraid he has a concussion. I think he's afraid he isn't good enough for her because he doesn't have much money and they talk all night and work out their differences. I think in the end, the best friend and brother end up together too. I found someone else looking for the book and they describe the cover (which I would only remember if I saw it): "The cover of the book is a photo of a blonde girl, laying on a bed of pink satin with a white phone twirled around her finger. she is wearing white trouser pants and a hot pink/white striped sweater." Found: Princess Routine by Tonya Wood

Book 2: Is a sort of mystery/paranormal YA romance. A girl moves into a house and I think there's a ghost in the turret or something. I remember a hatch in the ceiling that people are afraid of. There's two boys in the book named Carey/Kerry and Loren, I think they might be brothers and rivals for the girl's affections. The book Haunting Possibility by Susan Fletcher sounds like it might be the book, and I requested a copy on a swap site so I can read it and find out. Update: I found a reprint of Haunting Possibility on Amazon with an excerpt and it seems really familiar. I'll update again when I get my copy in the mail.

Book 3: This one was pretty gruesome. I read it either during or just after the 1988 Winter Olympics because that's when my mom and I moved to a basement apartment and I got a really bad flu, so I read a lot while I recovered. I think this might have been a Point book (I was obsessed with Christopher Pike, so I started getting other books from his publisher). A girl moves to a new town, I think and falls in with some spoiled rich kids. She has a crush on the bad boy leader of the clique, who I think has a sister. They go boating one day and I think they are drunk. The boat crashes and I think a girl gets cut in two by the accident. This isn't one I want to re-read, it's actually one I want to avoid reading again. LOL

Thanks for any help.

I am looking for a young-adult lit series about a girl or woman who wrote in the upstairs of her home (mayber her attic) only by candlelight. She may have been in a city like London. She had to smuggle candles into the attic in order to keep writing. I have never heard of it, but was hoping to find out the name or the author for someone. If you know, I would really appreciate it - and so would my friend! THANK YOU!

I read this book over and over, and I cannot remember the title, and my google-fu is failing. I seem to remember the title being something along the lines of "This is (name), She's (age)". I THINK that was the title, but I definitely remember the main character narrating that this is how her parents would introduce her, since she has no talents. Her older brother plays the piano, her older sister bowls, and is an actress, I think, and her little brother... counts a lot? And memorizes commercials? I think the main character is just starting high school when all of the sudden these psychic predictions start coming to her. I know that she gets involved in the drama club, and she makes a friend at school whose home life is all calm and organized and neat compared to hers. I remember her commenting on the fact that at home, even though they are dining among total clutter, her mom always insists on setting the table with a full service. Her dad is a scientist of some sort, and her mom is an author. She sets up a psychic service in her house, but gets busted by the cops almost immediately.

Ringing a bell with anyone?

ETA: Found-- "And This Is Laura" by Ellen Conford

#1. Two children, girl and boy, get sent to Ireland (I think) because their parents are going somewhere and the girl's horse vanishes. She goes on some crazy quest to find him, gypsies or something like that were involved. Pretty sure he's cream or Palamino. Found: Phantom Horse Goes To Ireland by Christine Pullein-Thompson

#2. This one's even vaguer. The copy I read was soft cover, black with a blueish-grey horse and misty trees, I think it was a puffin book. It was about a ghost horse that did something, I think it hurt people but made friends with a young boy/girl? It is not Stanley's Ghost Horse (1999), I get the impression it was older and i think I first read it in '97 or '98, definetely no later than '99 and the book was taped up and battered when I got it. Horse's name was something weathery, Storm or Thunder maybe?

These are all children's/YA.

1. I read this series in the mid-90s, but I think it was from the 80s or early 90s. There was a group of friends - Linda Jean, Krissy, Aimee and possibly another friend whose name I don’t remember. They were somewhere between 10 and 13 years old. Krissy had a sister named Kitty who was a child model or something, and she thought her parents preferred Kitty to her. I also think one of them had a male friend who couldn't read, but I may be mixing that up with another book.

2. There were three kids - Frog, Sarah, and some other kid - and the mystery took place in a cemetery, and I think they ended up sneaking into a mausoleum for some reason. The only thing I remember clearly is that it was Halloween, and the main character put on an apron and went as a chef, but he was made fun of because of his lame attempt at a costume.

3. This is another book I read in the early to mid-90s, but I think it was way older than that, maybe from the 60s or 70s. The main character’s name is Alice Martha (Turner, possibly?) and she hates it. She was named after her two maiden aunts, Alice and Martha, who call her by her full name. I think the book is about her spending the summer with someone and she meets a guy. At the end of the book he suggests she go by Ali.

4. Two girls, a popular girl and a not-so-popular girl, switch bodies somehow. The popular girl (while inhabiting the body of the not-so-popular girl) is appalled at having to eat cornflakes for breakfast because she thinks only poor people do that. There might have been some issues with a guy. I think the cover was pink, or at least partially pink.

Thank you in advance!

This was a book I once thought was called "Horse on the Hill," except I just bought a book with that title from an Amazon.com seller and it wasn't the same at all.

It can't have been newer than the early seventies, since I remember it in the grade school library. It was set in Scotland in the town of Nairn. The hero was a young boy trying to catch a wild horse, a black filly that lived on a hill, and eventually he also met a girl named Morag. I don't remember much else but I am looking for any fiction set in this region.

I remember the tone as being realistic and at times quite bleak, but compelling.

Thanks in advance.

I found an interesting looking book fairly recently (well, within the last couple of months) but for the life of me I can't remember it. What I do remember is that it's YA and the main character is named Beatrice. The plot revolves around theatre and the stories of Shakespeare are used frequently. Ring any bells?

Alright, this book was one of my favorites in the late 80's/early 90's when I was a kid. It was written almost in the form of a dictionary, but I don't think it was one. It had all sorts of monsters/goblins/scary things in it with cool pictures and descriptions about the monster etc. I have really no other details...any help would be appreciated!