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openBunch of kids, ghost mentor. Literature
A supernatural story from the 80's with a bunch of teens.
What I remember is - One boy is a feral child due to parental abuse, one girl is a Tsundere toward the main character and at the end the other girl (who's a Mysterious Waif type) turns out to be a ghost.
Each of the teens has some sort of symbol, with the Main Character's being a circle (or a ring?), which he's underwhelmed by, but the mentor girl explains that the circle is vital because it keeps the team together.
When all seems lost because of a traitor, the Main Character manages to make the others see sense and wonder why they were betrayed, the bad guys are beaten, and the mentor girl turns out to have been a ghost and the previous Circle, who failed to keep her team together.
So I remember all that, but I don't remember the name! Or the author! It's been driving me nuts for years!
openShort story where middle schoolers give an alien a thermos Literature
There's a short story that features an alien who comes to Earth in search of a legendary device that can keep cold things cold and hot things hot. He is given a thermos by a group of middle school-aged children. While it is rather odd that a star-faring civilization could arise without this knowledge, if memory serves it was portrayed as a rite of passage of sorts for the alien's people. I have vague recollections of reading this back in middle / junior high school, so it had to be first published before 2003 at the latest.
openMan jumps, son ceases to exist, short horror/sci fi story from a collection (still unsolved!) Literature
This is all I know:
1. Someone here said that they remember reading something like this. They cannot remember basically anything, except that the cover had a monochrome appearance, largely white with some design in the middle in darker color, covered about a quarter to a third of the cover, and was centered.
2. Someone on Yahoo answers said that Joe Hill (author of Dark Carousel) writes these type of stories.
3. I read this on a horror collection I downloaded in 2015-2017, it was fairly new then. I have tried searching on my Kindle and found nothing.
4. This occurs in the story. A man jumps off a building or balcony (quite possibly suicide), I think a father. The mother and son (how old he was I am not entirely sure) were watching news. Suddenly, the son's body slowly disappears, first I think his legs, then his arms, as this happens, his mother screams, "Eli (I think that was his name), look down at yourself ..." He was ceasing to exist. I cannot remember the ending, but knowing how these stories turn out, I think it was not a happy one.
5. I thought it was the collection, "the Seer of Possibilities - And Other Disturbing Tales" by Thomas O or "Choose Your Doom: Collected Short Stories - Picking Stories for the Apocalypse." Apocalypse seems quite familiar for some reason. Something is telling me that this is from one of the Twisted Endings books by author Timothy D Mclendon, but unfortunately, though I downloaded the entire volumes from Amazon, they were returned, for some reason, they are currently unavailable. I will check E-bay.
6. I asked this (of course here), Reedit, Booksleuth, Yahoo Answers, Do You Remember.co.uk, three horror forums, and I sent this in to my local library. The librarian who was probably the most helpful of anyone, asked this approximately to 500 librarians and not one knew.
Now, I know this is very vague, but I know this must seem familiar to at least someone here, I know tons read horror, and searching several of the queries, people here are quite helpful and have made tons of guesses, and half even led to correct answers, and the queries are even vague. Now, only TWO people have helped, and I wish more would, the majority of the responses are bumps. This is discouraging and I do not know who else to ask. I will find this out by myself if I have to, but as I said, I know several of you read horror, and this must ring bells for someone here. PLEASE HELP.
Edited by thestormtrooperopenBook I read a lot in 2008-2010 Literature
Okay, I remember a ton about this book, so strap in.
First, I read this book in a high school library, and it had a personalized handwritten dedication in the front, so I believe it was a gift to the school.
Also, in the forward, I believe that the book was published posthumously by the author's relatives, and that it was a limited release/self-publish, or something like that. So, completely possible that there aren't many/any other copies out there.
So, the book is a gentle satire of the fantasy genre. The main character is a young man who is trying to join the royal guards, because that's what his father was before the father's death. The captain of the guards doesn't want to let him in, but as a favor to the dead father, sends him to an unofficial member of the royal guards to be his personal trainer. This unofficial member is a lunatic, but his zany ideas get results, and even saved the life of the king once, so he's allowed to stick around, but no one really listens to or respects him.
The king, by the way, has died, and his wicked brother has taken the kingdom. However, the king is actually alive, being held prisoner in a distant land, and his jailer is known as "the skull" (or some close variation), because his skin is transparent from being underground for his whole life, so you can see his skull through his skin and you think he's just a skeleton. Anyway, the king determines to escape, and manages to, over the period of some long time (months? years?) train a rat to get a message to the outside world. This message eventually makes its way to the loon and his apprentice. (This part is really memorable. The apprentice has just vented that he thought being apprenticed to a hero would be exciting, but all they've done is sit around all day. The loon then says that you can't plan for adventure, and it often just walks in through the door out of nowhere. Enter a man stumbling through the door with an arrow in his back, dying just after giving the king's message. The loon then says "see what I mean?")
The two heroes go on an adventure to rescue the king, going through several hijinx to reach the fortress of the skull, with the loon training the young man all the way. They sneak in, manage to rescue the king, who then kills the skull, and they make their way back to the kingdom.
Meanwhile, the king's brother has been doing general wicked things, including the generic kidnapping of beautiful girls to pick his wife. He chose one girl in particular, but she has, in assorted clever ways, made his life a living hell for this whole time (weeks? months?), to the point that he still hasn't even managed to sleep with her. Anyway, the king, the loon and the young man return, and they confront the evil brother, who either dies or is imprisoned in the same fortress the king was kept in. The young man and the beautiful girl meet, and they end up getting married. The book ends with her doing the same vent that the young man did earlier, and her husband doing the same "you don't know when adventure will just walk through the door", with another man stumbling through on cue, arrow in his back (the young man says "see what I mean?). The book then says that the three of them went on many other adventures, but those are stories for another time.
Any help would be appreciated figuring out the author or title.
Edited by RicorumopenHorror anthology book for kids Literature
I remember checking this out from the school library probably in the late 90s. It was a horror anthology book like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The main story I remember from it was about a dog that attacked a girl in her bedroom. The townsfolk shot it and followed it to a mausoleum where they found the dogs decayed corpse. Scared the hell out of me as a kid, would love to find it again. I think the cover may have been yellow, but I could be thinking of a different book.
openAnthology of stories about fairies (Finally resolved!) 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".
Edited by rachiebirdopenShort story about aliens and evolution Literature
This was from a sci-fi anthology omnibus I read many, many years ago, but this one story stuck out in my mind particularly.
As far as I can remember, it involved an alien civilization on a distant planet that was going through its industrial revolution. One female alien who's some kind of struggling playwright discovers fossils of extinct creatures and becomes a sort of Charles Darwin equivalent, travelling around her planet and collecting evidence to support the theory of evolution while debating her theories with various religious types. At the end of the story, she stages a play about the evolution of their species, and becomes a big success.
openSad Computer Short Story Literature
I read this short story a couple of years ago, but it's probably at least a few decades old. It's a speculative fiction work where everyone has to enter absolutely EVERY detail about themselves into this computer system thing, which in turn predicts all crimes that people are going to commit. In the story, the protagonist (a guy) is an adolescent whose dad is called in because it's been predicted that he'll commit a crime, but the details that the government have don't add up. The protagonist gets a bunch of vague instructions to go places. By the end, it's revealed that the computer system thing was really overworked and sad and wanted to shut itself down. However, since shutting down the computer was a crime, it had to report that it would happen — but it purposely obscured the details to make sure its mission would succeed. The main way it did this was to pick a kid/teen to perform the action — since teens are listed under their parents' entries in the crime system thing, the dad would be called into questioning while the child went to a bunch of sketchy places to shut the computer down.
openChristian novel about a novelist, from about 20 years ago Literature
This is a novel I saw in a Family Christian store some time between 1997 and 2003. It would have been in softcover. (Edited to add: I think the cover design was dark-colored and kind of minimalistic, but I might be wrong about that.)
The back cover summary had something to do with a successful writer of "immoral" books ("immoral" probably wasn't the word used, but that was the implication) who had become an Evangelical Christian and was dealing with the conflict between his public image and his new faith. (Possibly also dealing with the moral dilemma of continuing to receive royalties for his objectionable backlist, but I don't know if that was mentioned or if it's just something I inferred.)
I thought it was by Randy Alcorn, but unless I've failed a spot check, Alcorn doesn't seem to have written a novel like this. Possibly it was shelved near Alcorn's books, so the author's name may have started with an A.
Edited by CracktopusopenBook from my childhood-deeply disturbing Literature
It was a children’s book about a kid with a tragic backstory (maybe he was an orphan?) and all he wanted was to try an apple. I think he ended up getting the apple but ultimately did not get to eat it — I think because bullies kicked it in the gutter?? It took place in an Asian country I think.
openBook about superpowered teens Literature
So, it might be R. L. Stine, might not. But what I remember was that these 6 kids all shared a Chemistry calss. When the teacher walked out of the room, the jock got up and started pulling a bunch of exotic looking chemicals out of the usuallylocked cabinet, and started mixing them all together. The concoction started fuming at an alarming rate, and some students opened up windows. The fog filled the room, then just as quickly dispersed. Afterward, 6 students received superpowers. Superspeed, x-ray vision, invisibility, walking through walls, producing water from one's fingers, and the ability to grow and shrink one's height. They become a motley crew of friends and discover the gym teacher(?) was an alien of some sort that had to consume the rubber / plastic from the gym balls in order to maintain his human form. The students fight him and defeat him and I guess go about their student lives.
It was at least 5 years ago, so that might help with the publication date. Idk. Anything is welcomed.
Edited by CloverErnestopenFantasy kids book Literature
I remember reading this rather weird kids book way back in 2005/06. It's about this boy who apparently is very special and has to be returned to his long lost parents. Some weird creatures have to help him get back as there are a lot of 'forces' [I don't know exactly who] who are trying to kill him. Now this next part I remember really well : So there's this quiet old lady knitting something by a fish pool. You know she's evil when she silently stabs one of the fish with her needle. I really hope it's part of the same book. Oh, and at the end, the boy instantly recognizes his parents and runs so quickly towards them, his feet barely touch the ground. I, as a kid, had tried running in such a manner because of this.
Edited by pirette16openYA 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!
Edited by SnowRobinopenNo Title Literature
Swedish novel, which I believe I read for school. The characters were school children, probably early teenagers. The main character was named Erik, he was in love with a girl named Pia but she didn't like him at all. He admired some Swedish athlete, might have been a skier but unsure about that, who had a famous catchprase I cannot recall (wasn't Stenmark, though). He once got said athlete's autograph with a dedication to Pia, who in response took it and burned it to show she wasn't interested. Took place not quite in the modern day, but at least in the later half of the 1900's, probably 70's-80's.
Not that I especially want to read it again, but not being able to remember the name of the book or said athlete and his catchphrase is driving me absolute nuts...
openHigh Fantasy book, the main character is an Assassin with booby traps in his office Literature
It's very possible I'm confusing multiple books. But I think this book might have been in the Wheel of Time series maybe? And maybe the main character is friends with a dragon? But again, maybe I'm mixing those parts in from other stories.
The parts I'm clear on is that it is a High Fantasy book about an Assassin. The part I remember the most clear (I think near the start of the book) the main character assassin is in I believe another assassin's lair or office I think and he thinks something to himself along the lines of, I better be on my best behavior and careful, because if he has half as many booby traps as I have in my office I'll never get out of here alive
or something like that.
openStrangely dark picture book? Literature
I may be misremembering but I was read this children’s book when I was very young and remember parts of it vividly; a disgraced baseball player takes over a town and makes everyone’s life miserable, eventually the main character’s mom’s head is seen stuck in a spiked garden roller or something because of the baseball player? I remember it being very dreary in tone and color palette, definitely not suitable for children.
openLooking for a children’s book Literature
I’m looking for a specific book, I think it was a collection from multiple authors but I can’t be sure. Mum thinks one of them was “Princess Smarty Pants”. It’s a collection of modern fairy tales and some of the stories included Cinderella, but she gets transformed into a rollerblading gorilla in a swim suit, rapunzel in a glass tower (where a suitor climbed it using plungers) and a baby who wished to be the monarch, and their parents became babies who were wheeled around in a pram. I remember so much about this book except the name! Can anyone help?
openYouth Fantasy Book Literature
I recall reading a book as a child that was about a pair of children that entered a magial world through an abandoned subway station. They had tokens that they used to pass through. They befriended amagical creature that I think was a giant turtle or caterpillar that I believe died later in the story? Based on vague memories of how the library was layed out, I would guess it was aimed at 10-13 year olds.
resolved Picture book about ghosts (Found) Literature
A long time ago, I got a picture book about ghosts that has since been lost. It had 3 short stories in it:
- 1st one was about a small ghost hotel and how its staff must try to stop a greedy businessman from taking over and turning it into his own giant luxurious hotel (with the ghosts as special attractions).
- 2nd one was about a ghost girl attending a ghost school and her efforts to become a proper scary ghost.
- 3rd one was about a ghost man who haunts a small old TV (bought for a boy after his previous one breaks) as he desires to become an entertainer. Problem is, he fails at everything he does.
I remember finding this book in a public library back, like, 9 years ago. It was a children's book about a white kid and a black kid; I legit picked it up because the drawing of the black kid was the spookiest fucking drawing I have ever seen; have you ever seen a caricature that is so racist it is actually somewhat frightening? This was it.
Anyways, so then I turn it around, and on the back cover, the premise of the story unfolds. The white kid is racist towards the black kid and bullies him; so racist, in fact, that he eventually punches the black kid. Then, a patch of skin on his knuckles turns black.
And then it begins to spread.
Like, this was, I believe, an attempt to write a book about "Look, kids, if you act racist, bad things will happen!", but the message is so ass backwards that it comes across as "Look kids, if you touch a The Blacks, you will become one of them. You will become... infected."
It is horrible and nonsensical and I don't understand who wrote it or why and I NEED it so badly, if you have seen anything about this book please PLEASE tell me the name, Google just gives me examples of antiracist books and no, mister Google, I don't want the not racist book, I want the EXTREMELY racist book.
Thanks for the help!