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Alternate Universes, Einstein as a fighter, and more Literature

This book involves some sort of experiment. One test results in a scientist's kid disappearing. It turns out each time the machine runs, it creates a (smaller) copy of the universe; that's where the kid went. The size of each sub-universe depends on the amount of energy put in; it's centered on Sol with everything 'outside' being "not copied" (and this includes stars and star light — the stars might not be copied, but any starlight already in the sphere is allowed to continue on. But once all of the light finishes traveling to earth, the effect is the same as the star going out). Time passes at different rates depending on universe size, so that the Real universe reaches a certain year, but one sub universe may be 5 years ahead in effect, and another is 7.2 years ahead, due to being a little smaller than the first sub universe. One has Einstein fighting a copy of the kid with an energy weapon.

School for powered people Literature

I don't remember much, but the main character had some speed boost + regeneration power and his best friend (a girl) had a power where she could take on the qualities of any metal she's touching. Oh, and the protag becomes the sidekick of a superhero who has a drinking problem?

YA Sci-Fi Book Literature

I read a book many years ago and I'm attempting to track it down now to re-read it.

Here's what I remember: The protagonist is a woman who works for some sort of agency (I think it's intergalactic) and she's captured by an enemy race. She makes a comment about having her hair cut short when she's imprisoned because in the enemy's culture that is a way to humiliate or shame women, though it doesn't bother her. The part I remember is from her point of view and she continues to tell the story from what she can see/learn while locked up.

That's the most specific thing I recall, but there is also something about her working with another agent, a man who is either inexperienced or has done something disgraceful, making her unhappy to be stuck with him (the story may flip to his point of view for some chapters?). In the end, he takes their ship and uses it to somehow defeat the enemy, I think by self-destructing the ship to blow up their base or city, killing himself in the process but saving the female agent and presumably everyone else...

Any ideas? I believe it is a young adult novel and it may be out of print. Also, I can't promise it was ever published or available outside the United States. Not a lot to go on, I know, but I'd appreciate any titles anyone can suggest. Thanks!

Weird adult fiction book set in Central Asian/Middle Eastern city--lot of plot centres around museum Literature

I think I was in my mid-teens when I read this (so mid-late 2000s)—unfortunately all I can remember is a mess of details that have not so far helped me to track it down (you should see my google searches lol). It was in English and seemed like a fairly recently published book.

From what I remember the plot itself was quite bizarre/unclear and the overall tone of the book was quite surreal, starting out semi-realistic, but with more (possibly?) supernatural/fantasy elements coming in toward the end.

It started with a Western man (I think) arriving in some Asian city in a presumable contemporary time period. I think he had taken on some sort of role in a museum. The city itself is multicultural, with Westerners, Muslims and a rather enigmatic native people group, who (and this is the detail I remember most clearly) have a major cultural thing about 'hanging up the bones of their ancestors', like, they hang them up in the doorways of their houses, and in various parts of the museum, and its a major taboo for an outsider to enter those forbidden areas.

There is a woman belonging to this native group who is some sort of guide/friend (employee?) of the protagonist, though, like the people group as a whole, her character feels somewhat ambivalent and mysterious.

I remember towards the end of the book is when it began to get really strange—various groups began arriving at the city, including some sort of pseudo-Christian jogging cult who wore tracksuits and "plexiglass crosses", and a group of hippie Middle-Earth cosplayers, led by a guy dressed as Gandalf. The protagonist encounters these sort of giant, mobile (sentient?) water-sacks, which are apparently for the native people, who have to begin some sort of epic pilgrimage through the desert.

I wanna say it was called something like Midnight in Kandahar?? or something? But I really don't know. Thanks in advance for your help!

A book about a long term magic duel in a circus (Found) Literature

There is a book I heard as an audio book a few years back.

The premise was that two mages set up a duel of sorts between their apprentices. One mage had a young boy who he had picked up through an orphanage I think or maybe off the streets. The other mage was using his daughter. The duel was not symmetrical, the boy created the environment of the duel while the girl knew who the other participant was, however it was not really explained what the conditions were. The girls father/master by the start of the duel had done some sort of spell wrong and was now confined to a hat or animal or some thing like that.

The environment the boy created was sort of circus with truly astounding performers. Everything part of the circus was black and white, even the food. The girl joined the circus as one of the acts. Various other odd characters join on and start noticing strange things about the circus. I never got to the end but the last thing I think I remember was that some were realizing that they were not aging and that one or two of them had disappeared.

If I can think of anything else I'll add it on.

No Title Literature

There was a book I read about a decade ago. I think it was about the lady from Bones' niece and a couple of friends? The main character was really big about forensic science, and a bit into the book she and her friends got turned into werewolves or something. It was all on an island, and there were some dogs or wolves the main characters had a kind of bond with.

Weretank Kid, other is Girl with Dragonskin Literature

These are two different books I read as a kid (about 2008-ish).

One had a tech-loving boy growing up in a family of werewolves but he turned into a tank (actual military tank) instead.

Other book series had a girl (I think her name was Ruby?)who came from an old family of dragon-hunters and all their relatives had dragon skin on some part of their body. She had a patch on her elbow. She instead befriended a dragon, who ate treasure like it was chocolate, and went on adventures. In one book, she went to this place in need of an answer and it would take away what you wanted most. Her grandma/aunt lived there and when she went to leave, Ruby said she'd return only for the grandma to now say it was impossible since she wanted to the most.

Anthology of stories about fairies Literature

I read this as a child - probably in the early 2000s, but it was probably published (way?) earlier. I'm assuming the stories were written by various authors, since they didn't use a consistent mythology about fairies.

One story involved a fairy and a young blind girl. In this story, humans could hear fairies, but were unable to see them. Since the girl was blind though, the fairy was able to to befriend and play games with her, without her realizing that he wasn't just another child.

Another involved a fairy who kept playing pranks on a girl, and making her late for school. I know one thing he did, was transform himself into a baby in a baby carriage, and roll out into the road so that she would save the "baby".

Laura-Ingalls-Wilder-Style picture book series Literature

Not actually related to the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, but I think set in a similar time period, and also following the daily life of a young girl. I'm pretty sure there were at least two of these books, but I'm not positive.

At one point in one story, someone who I assume was a German immigrant came to town. Even though the townspeople kept trying to help him and offer him stuff, all he would say was "Nein danke." Everyone thought he was asking for nine donkeys, but at the end of the book, they realized he was actually saying "No thank you."

Kids book about a kid dreaming that he was different animals Literature

I have a faint memory of a book I read when I was 5 years old. I believe it was about a boy dreaming himself as different animals. The only parts I remember was him dreaming that he was a "sad dinosaur" and on the last page was something like "waking up, back to me." Not word for word, but it was something similar to that. I know this is very vague, but any help would be appreciated.

all american boys Literature

Children's Totally Radical Choose Your Own Adventure Literature

Looking for a 90's children's full color picture book (of the expensive kind, with hard cover and plastic pages), in which you would solve puzzles in order to decide which page to move on to. One example I remember was that on one page there were a lot of people on a park, and if say, you found the caveman, went to # page, if you couldn't, to # page instead. The protagonist was a blonde teenager in jean shorts, a white shirt, a red vest and cap, and maybe a green skateboard, and went for the name of Roland Rocket-Orlando Cohete or something alike, whose dream was to become an astronaut. One page I vividly remember was that of a docked ship totally bound out in ropes, and the puzzle was to decide in which order to unbind them. Thanks in advance for any help!

Children's book about a sentient ocean wave Literature

I recently recalled a kid's book I once read as a kid but for the life of me can't remember its title. I wonder if any of you guys would remember it?

The basic premise is that this kid who loves being at the ocean manages to take a sentient ocean wave back home with him after a vacation. The book then details the kid and the wave's antics until the wave gets homesick for its ocean home and becomes depressed. I distinctly remember it raging in the kid's bedroom (while the kid watches in horror) and either it or the kid having a nightmare depicted in a full spread illustration of freaky sea monsters.

So...anybody else remember this book or its title? Repeated Google searches for kid's books about ocean waves didn't really turn up anything.

Dog Knows Owner is Dating Ghost Literature

I remember a story about a dog that could tell his owner was dating a ghost, and he tried to bark to warn him, but he couldn't understand him. The dog said something about digging up her bones too.

Children's Book Where A Girl Dies At The Start Literature

Anyone know which book this is? The protagonist dies and becomes an angel in heaven. She ages backwards and reincarnates as a baby in the end.

Man moves to Africa (Khartoum I think?) Literature

I remember a book about a man who is dissatisfied with his life, and he sees something about a total eclipse in Khartoum so he decided to move there. There's mentions of something called the singing sand where the desert is cooling after soaking upheat all day and the sand releases this high pitched noise which supposedly drives people mad, so they take off their clothes and run into the desert.

The guy ends up getting involved in some dangerous shit with local intrigue, but I can't remember much more than that. There was one part where a woman is leading him through the cramped pathways between buildings because someone wants to kill them or something.

Would appreciate it ifin anyone could solve this for me.

Novel about a young boy who finds people living in his grandmother's attic Literature

A boy (i think at oldest 13) lives with his grandmother. His bedroom is on the top storey of their house and there's a door from his room into the attic. At some point, he discovers that there are two people (i believe a father and daughter) living in there. From memory, they aren't human and are significantly shorter than humans are. The boy befriends them while trying to keep their presence a secret from his grandmother, though it's insinuated she knows that they're there and has for some time.

Children's Picture Book read in early 2000s Literature

When I was in elementary school, a teacher or a librarian read our class a story about a kid (I think it was a boy) that came home from school each day and told a parent what he'd learned that day. What he'd learned tended to sound kind of random, and I think the parent wasn't sure how the information really applied to anything, but the boy used the information in his own life. In particular, I think one day he said he'd learned about how plants spread (i.e. by seed pods), and left a big pile of dirt in the backyard. Soon wildflowers took root in the dirt after their seeds were dropped there (by birds/the wind?), and he had a flower garden. I think he might've also learned about telling time at one point, and developed his own time-keeping system that might've been based on breaking the day up into thirds or eighths.

Anti-colonization SF story Literature

A story I read in an anthology at least fifteen years ago. A human ("Smith," I'll call him) is out solo-exploring the distant galaxy and has some accident that leaves him stranded on a far-off world. It's a pleasant place, though, and the humanoid natives are friendly, so he makes the best of it, adapts a native name ("Baratu", or whatever) and settles down. However, he knows that sooner or later someone from Earth will officially find the planet, so he carefully teaches his hosts what to do when that happens. He lives out the rest of his life and dies.

At some point after that, sure enough, more humans finally arrive, with the villain of the piece plotting to swindle the inhabitants out of their world and turn it into vacation resorts or somesuch. Thanks to Smith, however, the natives know all the proper bureaucratic details needed to get their planet officially declared a galactic wildlife refuge. The villain skulks off defeated, and a sympathetic human witness to all this hears they are officially naming the refuge "Baratu". The human says they should have named it "Smith". The last line of the story is one of the natives saying "Smith? Who is Smith?"

flying kids Literature

I'm looking for a book that starts with a boy waking up to find himself flying for a moment. He eventually teaches a girl how to do it, who teaches her cheerleaders I think they were. The boy is detected by a friend and some government officials I believe. The friend was upset when the boy said the "alien" would appear and didn't.

Middle School Monsters Literature

I'm remembering this book series I read when I was younger, but I can't remember the title. It was about this middle schooler who befriended four new kids–while I think it was treated as somewhat ambiguous in-story, the kids were pretty clearly a vampire, a werewolf, and a pair of Franken-kid siblings. One of the book plots revolved around them finding the vampire a suitable family recipe to bring into school for a Thanksgiving party (since all he seemed to eat/drink was some red liquid in a thermos...how was he getting that stuff, anyways?), another involved the male Franken-kid finding/building a robot dog, and the last one I remember was about the kids investigating a pizza parlor that turned people into zombies after their teacher goes missing. Does anyone remember this?

Children's book Literature

This was a kid's book. I read it back in the late 80s I think. I started watching "The House With A Clock In It's Walls" last week and at first I thought this might be based on the book, but although there were similarities, there were also massive differences so I'm fairly sure that's not the book I'm looking for.

The main points I recall:

1.a young boy, not yet mid-teens 2.living with a male relative, not his dad 3. there's an adult female involved as well, who knows the male relative 4. I think there was a big strange house 5. there's some sort of magical opponent involved 6. the adults are aware of the existence of magic 7. there's a player-piano in the house the boy is living in

HOWEVER, the reasons why I don't think it's The House With A Clock In It's Walls is that I don't remember the boy's mother seemingly turning up as a ghost, nor I do recall anyone being raised from the dead.

If anyone can think of any OTHER book that has all the above.....I'm all ears (or eyes, or whatever)

POSSIBLE STORY BY JOHN STEINBECK Literature

Finally solved!

There is a family, dad is an alcoholic, mom is verbally abusive. She has a son, who she spoils (I already searched the trope "my beloved smother"). She has a few sons and a daughter, one of her sons is disabled, Benjamin I think his name is. He is treated nicely, only by the nanny of his family (her name starts with D, maybe Dana), his sister (the smartest of the family, Lauren?), and he is also looked for by one of his older brothers (David maybe) but merely out of obligation. There is a film based on the book which strongly differs. Can anyone please help me? Thank you.

Moon steals a baby Literature

A friend is looking for this one. A children's book in which the moon steals a baby (sounds a bit like Sendak's "Outside Over There" but it isn't) and carries the child across the sea. As the moon becomes smaller over time it can no longer hold the child and thus drops it, exclaiming, "Fiddlesticks!". The child is rescued but the moon remains weeping for it.

A young children's book Literature

In kindergarten (1996-97), my class put on a play where we each recited a short poem about an animal from A to Z. They were all at some sort of birthday party, and I remember my line as the moose and have searched for it with no luck:

I know the play was a book, because I had the book on my shelf at home. I can't remember what it was called, and my parents barely remember the whole thing at all. If Googling actual text from the book gives me nothing, my only chance is finding someone else who remembers it.