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openFantasy book about kids in an old house Literature
If anyone can figure this one out, I'd be seriously impressed. I can't remember much but I've been thinking about it for so long that I figured I'd give it a go.
A bunch of children are living in an old house, maybe for summer holidays? They have a sort of ´coven´ going and they practice magic. I think there was an older girl who was their leader. I think there were ghosts, a haunted attic, and they might've tried to communicate with the ghost. It had the sort of vibe of kids playing with mud and things they don't understand.
It didn't feel modern and it didn't feel like a typical children's book, probably it was above my reading level at the time which drew me in. I must've read it around 2003-2005. I also read Spiderwick and the Magician's House around the same time, but this felt more mature/darker/old-fashioned than them.
Quite possibly there are hundreds of books fitting this description, but it'd be so cool if I could find it again!
openIllustrated Book Literature
I have this memory of a book, a short book, possibly for kids, that has some illustrations in it. I have a (erroneous, I'm sure) memory of the title being "Journey to the Center of the Earth." I now know that is the name of a Jules Verne novel, so I'm sure that isn't what this was called, but I suspect it does have a similar title. From what I recall, a group of people did go underground, but what I remember most vividly is the illustrations, where a prominent character, I believe the main antagonist, looks just like Dormamu.
◊ He had a red head that appeared to be on fire. There is the chance the book was published by Golden Books, which were known for the golden colouring on the spine.
openTwo Girl, Two Dolls Literature
there was this picture book about two different girls, each with a doll that looked like a little version of them, i think, or at least had matching dresses. one dress was green, the other pink. the two girls meet and spend the day together (tea parties and playing i believe) and the dolls do as well, and by nightfall they switches dresses to remember each other by.
- cantremember
Edited by cantrememberopenFantasy Book (Solved) Literature
Looking for a fantasy book I read when I was young. The (female) author came to my school sometime between 2008-2012, and I assume it was aimed at middle school/junior high ages. I think it was the first in a series. The cover was white with eyes near the top and maybe a black/dark city or castle near the bottom. I'm pretty sure "Eyes" or "Eyes of" was part of the title. The main character was female and young, I think 12-16? This is pretty fuzzy, but there may have been a system where colors were associated with how strong your magic was? And an orb/crystal ball that showed you your color.
Edited by cassy1235openChildren's book with boy who kept turning into animals Literature
It was a children's book about a young boy, who I think wore a red sweater and glasses on the cover, who kept turning or getting turned into various animals; I believe at one point he was a kangaroo, maybe a pelican in another, and in one story fairly close to the end of the book (possibly the last one in the book) he turned into a green constrictor snake; I remember the book specifically phrased this last transformation as "constrictor snake". The cover was white with a picture of him and all his animal forms on it, and each shapeshifting incident ended with him turning back into a human, with each one being a closed story within the book. It's possible the boy's name started with either an H or a G, maybe Gilbert or Hubert. This would have probably come out at some point in the 70s or 80s, although I would have read it in probably the early 2010s.
Edited by Shubni-SheoshumaopenSci-Fi/Psychological Horror Short Story; Girl Sees Machines Come To Life Literature
So, I came across this horror anthology in elementary school and got really freaked out by it. I remember the edition I had said it was made in 2009, but it wasn't the first edition of the anthology.
Anyway, the story involved a girl who would see machines around her house come to life, this would only happen if she was alone. Little me kinda blocked out the anthology from my memory, so I can't recall if the twist was that the girl was hallucinating or if it was that she wasn't seeing things and something supernatural was going on.
I also recall a smattering of other details about the rest of the anthology: There was another story involving someone becoming convinced that their loved ones had been replaced with imposters; the cover was grayish-green and had a woman on it, and the author's name was female. I seem to recall that the author had another book about a woman who goes to a different universe.
openChoose Your Own Adventure Book series Literature
There was this choose your own adventure book series I used to read in elementary school, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was actually called.
I remember two books specifically: One was a story where the protagonist is accidentally sent back in time to the medieval era during a science fair and has to get back to the present. The other one is where the protagonist is a student on a field trip to Egypt, but ends up lost and encountering undead mummies.
Edited by BlueBlazesopenNovel series about the Red Baron Literature
I am trying to remember the author and titles of a novel series (at least two books) about the Red Baron tat came out in the 1980s. The premise of the books was that the Red Baron survived being shot down, but was believed dead. He was recruited by British Intelligence and got involved with various historical events: the first one set in the Mexican Revolution, and the second one in the Spanish Civil River.
I thought the second novel was titled The Red, Red Baron, but searching on that has yielded no results.
openLate nineties fantasy anthology book for older children Literature
I remember reading a fantasy anthology book in my middle school library in either 1999 or 2000. The book was brand new so I assume it was published around that time. The cover had a heavily stylized dragon or sea serpent framed by a white border. I remember the first story being about a knight approaching a witch that turns out to be his childhood friend to request a weapon to destroy the armies of an enemy kingdom and is granted an evil black sword that causes the Earth to swallow people alive. I can't remember the other stories now.
openBook protagonist with Synesthesia Literature
I think its a YA book, possibly younger. Sound has color for them. I think letters do too. At one point they get high and can see smells, including human pheromones.
Edited by pikachu17openA girl, a boy, a land that is a chessboard Literature
This is the longest of long shots because I can hardly remember any details about the book, but I'm hoping someone can jog my memory.
It's a young adult or middle grade fantasy novel that I'm guessing was published in the 20th century - I want to say it had a 70s, 80s or early 90s vibe for some reason.
The two main characters are a boy and a girl, both teenage or around that age. These two characters do not know each other and are physically separate at the beginning of the book but end up meeting each other during it.
The setting is vaguely fantastic but I can't remember any particular features except that the land they're in has square areas of alternating color, texture, landscape, or what have you. It turns out that if seen from a great height the land resembles (or is) a giant chessboard.
I believe there may have been other chess motifs such as knights in black (or red?) or white armor.
The overall vibe/atmosphere of the book is what I remember most because unlike a lot of children's fantasy it was not extremely plot heavy (that I recall) - instead it had a dreamy, almost somber, mysterious air. For example, I believe it starts in medias res. The characters are approaching each other from opposite directions for different reasons. They may not know how they got to this land. etc. It was such a unique story and written unlike anything I had read previously. This is why I want to say it seems like a 70s novel, because although it was clearly written for young readers and about young people the plot seemed very grown-up. (I sort of want to compare it to Lloyd Alexander except I'm pretty sure it isn't him - the story had far less fantasy trappings than average, it could almost have been scifi-fantasy.)
It's been such a long time since I read this book and I'm sure I've gotten much of it mixed up or forgotten. But I do remember a boy, a girl, and a land that is a chessboard. Thanks for reading and for any help/leads.
Edited by pellycanopenBook series about spies in a school Literature
So the protagonist has to move to this school for spies after something happens to his parents or something. He's descended from great spies so he has natural talent for it. There were some fantasy elements to it too. Like some sort of knife that never misses a target and the MC's best friend was like a werewolf or angel or something. I remember the title of the first book was an acronym for the school's name. Its been a really long time so my memory of it is really vague.
Edited by ParkwayopenDid I Mandela Effect a Whole Book Into Existence? Literature
When I was a library volunteer in like 2003-2004 ish, I came across this book I've never been able to find again, even though I remember quite a bit about it, so I'm wondering if I misremembered whole chunks of it or just made it up wholesale?
Anyway, it's a paperback romance. It was a platoon of modern day soldiers (Swedish, or some other brand of Nordic possibly) who time travel to the early medieval period to win a historic battle they originally lost. Because patriotism I guess? Nationalism comes before the space-time continuum apparently lol. They accidentally time travel directly into a nunnery. Shenanigans commence and one soldier and one nun(novice maybe?) fall in love. There is a sex scene involving chocolate sauce.
So does this book exist or is it the horny hallucination if a 14 year old? XD
openReference? Literature
Hi in the benedetto character page it says that there is a musical adaptation of the count of monte cristo where he's a pretty boy tenor type. ¿What version is that?
openthree books Literature
Bumping some old YKTSs I posted years ago in a new query.
First two were novels for tweens, read by me in the mid to late 1970s or early 1980s.
1. By Judy Blume or is a Judy Blume "type." It has a male protagonist who is a high school senior (I think) and gets involved romantically with a female teacher. She breaks up with him towards the end of the book. There's a scene where he is having a picnic with her and they're drinking wine; within the context of the scene it's not treated as a big deal but I remember thinking at the time that he's underage and drinking! Or maybe, he goes out alone in a picnic-for-one after she breaks up with him.
2. Girl gets involved (non-romantically) with a rebellious girl. The rebellious girl may be living with the protagonist girl & her family for some reason, but the book starts at about the time the rebellious girl moves in. In the town where they live there's a variety store
which the family calls a "ten cent store" and the rebellious girl refers to as a "five and dime." The protagonist girl picks up this bit of lingo, and at one point mentions the "five and dime" to her older sister. The sister says "do you mean the ten cent store?" (Italics per original IIRC). The sister, who is significantly older & doesn't hang around with the protagonist girl & the new girl, doesn't pick up on her sister having adopted that slang from the rebellious girl.
3. Adult novel from the mid to late 1990s. A lower-class person (possibly American) had earned himself a Rhodes Scholarship and is studying Shakespeare at Oxford. He gets an outside job doing "contract research" for a woman and her father, who have what they believe is a lead to proof that Shakespere didn't write Shakespeare's plays, Francis Bacon [or perhaps another author] did. He is initially reluctant to take the job but he needs the money, and as the story goes along he's sucked into their belief. A couple of plot points I recall:
- A. At one point slightly more than halfway through the book a small bidding war erupts between the woman/father and another couple for a trunk they find in an estate sale: the researcher thinks there is some vital clue in the trunk, and the other couple see their interest and figure hey, if they want the trunk it must be valuable so we'll bid on it too! Our protagonists win the auction and look inside. The important items in the trunk were a letter and a manuscript. The letter says something to the effect of "the manuscript will prove that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare." The letter is loose and has survived the centuries, but the manuscript was sealed in the best that the 1700s had to offer so it has crumbled to dust.
- B In the end the researcher has been completely convinced that Bacon (or someone else) wrote Shakespeare's works and is given a dressing-down by one of his professors. The researcher is humbled by the professor. But AIR the professor doesn't really give any reason why the researcher is wrong. I don't know if this was just poor writing on the part of the novel's author or if it was purposely ambiguous.
In my previous query
it was suggested that Chasing Shakespeare is the answer to number three. I dismissed it at the time but I'm having second thoughts and have requested the book from my local library; in the meantime if someone has a good idea of the answer I would be appreciative.
openBook with child on road trip Literature
A boy is forced on a road trip with his family—two parents, brother, and sister—and he has various awkward experiences like trying Chinese food for the first time, assuming bird's nest soup is just a name but learning it's actually made with a bird's nest, and taking part in a Native American dance where they trick him and his brother into dying their skin to look Native and then it doesn't come off, and a long search for fireworks when the sale of them is highly restricted, ending with a whole bunch of them accidentally being set off at once.
I had this book as a kid but gave it to Goodwill and feel nostalgic for it but have no idea how to find it. I think the name sounded similar to the Bruce Coville book Jennifer Murdley's Toad? Jonathan Something's Bike, maybe? Jonathan Something's Fireworks? Maybe I've just got my wires crossed.
openSci-Fi short story Literature
Many years ago when I was an avid but chaotic reader of science fiction, I read a story about a sort of 'human evolution' that I don't recall in any other story/novel. I think it kicks off with a meteorite landing on earth. But that's the part I am not clear on. Anyway, a couple of men are exposed to something or other, I think from the meteorite, and they go through a transformation process. One well before the other, possibly due to the different times of exposure.
The first guy goes catatonic and becomes completely enclosed in a sort of crust/cocoon, and the doctors are taking samples from him and seeing all sorts of complex biochemistry going on. They start theorizing about what it means, but eventually (a few days I think) he just wakes up and seemingly returns to normal. The other guy is relieved as he is starting the same process.
The end of the story is what I really remember. The first guy says he can't remember anything of his time in the chrysalis/cocoon and he just wants a smoke. He takes his cigarette and goes for a walk. And once he's out in the open well away from everyone else he drops his cigarette and just 'rises into the sky', leaving earth.
That's what I remember, and now I have absolutely no clue who the author was or what the title was.
openPicture book about (not so) miracles on a street Literature
A picture book about a street where there are series of termed miracles or something helping people like person having financial problems getting money on their drop stop
The twist is that in the background of the illustrations the strong hints that the the postman is reading the mail of the street residents and helping solve their problems in their letters - like some envelopes hanging over a kettle in his window to presumably steam them open
The book never out right says the postman reading the mail but the last "miracle" is the street residents coming with food and the like to the postman who is in jail
Edited by jormis29openGerman fantasy novel about tunnel constructors that come across a time/space anomaly Literature
Those are the story elements I remember (warning, spoilers, and some of it may be not quite correct, I read it years ago):
- A tunnel construction project comes upon a time and space anomaly
- The engineer that finds the anomaly with his laser, gets framed and then kicked out of the project. His wife divorces him, as well.
- The head of the project goes to the government and IIRC intergovernmental bodies (possibly the UN) with his discovery, and gets an insane amount of power by them.
- A journalist joins the engineer, and during his investigations, gets his dictaphone ripped out of his hands and destroyed by the goons of the project head. The journalist makes comments about them not being in the Wild West, to which the project head replies not to be so sure about that.
- The team (engineer, journalist, and a woman who is looking for someone, IIRC) come upon a shaman with real powers who is connected to the space-time anomaly in the mountain
- The space-time anomaly gets out of hand, starts sucking up the oxygen of Earth and fucking around with time (e.g. rapidly aging and de-aging people)
- The aforementioned shaman and a ton of others, who joined in earlier, pull something out of WH 40 K and sacrifice themselves to stave off the space-time anomaly
- The journalist gets killed in a helicopter crash
- The engineer, project head and the woman on a quest become the world's new shaman guardians, and reshape it into a form that is not revealed in the novel

I am looking for a work that seems to be either a detective or a political or spy thriller. I only remember the beginning of the piece. A guy found a derelict computer, sat down at it and started to do something, and then he saw a man with a gun walk up to the desk, the guy automatically pressed the enter button and the man shot him back. The work came out in the 1990s.