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resolved Fiction Novel About A New York Garden Literature
It was a book about a garden in New York and the story took place over multiple perspectives.
resolved Children's book about gnomes Literature
I remember reading a children's novel about gnomes sometime between 1995 and 2000. It was in Dutch, but I don't know if that was the original language or if it was a translation. The story was structured fairly episodically - the one scene I remember is that the gnomes organized a wedding for two butterflies. They had named the butterflies and had spelled out their initials in acorns or seeds or something like it (or maybe just scratched it in the dirt?), but the butterflies weren't getting it and moved to the wrong letters.
Gnomes ("Kabouters" in Dutch) being very popular in Dutch children's books, Google isn't helping me out much. I get inundated with gnome books by Rien Poortvliet, but I'm pretty sure that's not it.
resolved Romance (?) novelist Literature
A while back, I remember watching this documentary series on a romance/mystery novelist that I can't remember the name of. All that I remember is that she was a British woman, and that her works were most popular in the 1980s. I also remember her sister was a popular-ish actress who also decided to write books in the same vein to cash in on her sister's success.
Anyone have a clue as to who she was?
resolved Short poem about hunting Literature
It was a really short poem, about 4 or 5 lines. Can't remeber what the original language was - I read it in english but I think it was translated.
It was about how a predator is the most vulnerable while hunting. It went something like "the mantis punds the insect and doesn't notice the talons of the bird overhead. That's when the hunter shoots his arrow"
That was the whole of it but I can't remember the animals involved - not sure it was a mantis and insect, and the bird was a particular kind - I remember cause I didn't know it and had to look it up. Can't find it from google only with this pls help
resolved Fantasy about reincarnation of an abusive man and his lover Literature
In the late nineties/early aughts (I can't remember when exactly) I borrowed a paperback fantasy novel from a library that jumped between two storylines: one a woman and her cruel boyfriend and the other a girl and her abusive father. It's determined these are reincarnations of the same people (I think it was the couple died and reincarnated as father and daughter) by mystics or gods observing them for some reason. The only character name I remember is the woman or girl was named something like Gwynn (I remember thinking it had no standard vowels) with something like Gwynnie as a nickname. I didn't finish it and I sometimes wonder what that book was. The cover might've been a blonde woman under a tree with yellow or red leaves?
resolved Children's Picture Book with Man in Wheelchair Literature
It's a children's picture book, but the main character is an adult male. I believe he's a teacher and I think he and the other characters are anthropomorphic animals of some sort, though I wouldn't 100% swear to that. If I had to guess, I wouldn't say it was a very old book either, probably no earlier than the 90s at the earliest. In the story, the character is newly in a wheelchair and somewhat depressed and out of sorts. With help from his students, friends and family, he gets back into his normal routine. Sound familiar to anyone?
resolved Book Series About Boy Band Literature
There is this TERRIBLE book series that I was obsessed with as a young teen and I have been hit with a sudden nostalgia for it, unfortunately I used to like pirate the books online so I have no physical copies. The first one is about a girl who is in college, she's kind of a lone, makes friends with two girls who are obsessed with this boy band, mc reveals she is childhood friends with said boy band but she has since fallen out of touch with them. They all go to a concert and she reunites with the band and subsequently falls in love with lead singer. The rest of the series is just about the other boys in the band falling in love with the friends and then like other random women who come onto the scene. Hope someone remembers it because I can't find it ANYWHERE
EDIT to add more details I remember: I'm pretty sure all the books are multiple PO Vs (or maybe just two; the featured boy band member and their love interest).
SECOND EDIT: I FOUND IT!! the series is called ransom :DDD
Edited by ditzykittenresolved horror short story Literature
I've read this story somewhere on the internet. It's about a family who lives in a neighborhood where everything is normal, except during the night, everybody has to be inside their house and nobody is allowed to look outside. The main character is a kid and has a little sister. One day, their newly moved neighbor kid goes to play, and invites them disobey the rules and look at what's outside during the night. Despite the main character's efforts, the neighbor kid eventually looks outside the window at night and whatever he saw left him unable to speak. His family then moved again the next day.
resolved Picture Book About Coyote and the Moon Literature
It was a picture book about an Indigenous tale from the American Southwest, where the Moon became sad that, while the Sun got to rule over many beautiful creatures of the day, she only had ugly creatures— except for Coyote. Because he was her favorite, she gave him multiple gifts, including the ability to sing and a shining silver coat like her. However, because he glowed in the dark, he was no longer able to hunt food, and had to give his gifts back. The moon took all her gifts except for his ability to sing, and she appreciated Coyote as he was.
resolved Mythology-based children's book (American) Literature
The book starts with an orphaned kid, passed around his family tree, finally ending up with a "weird uncle" of some sort. Either the uncle or the kid's name is Ned, can't remember which. They go on an adventure together with a lot of direct involvement of mythological characters.
At one point, they're driving along a long, straight road and it suddenly curves out of nowhere, as if trying to kill / derail them. At another point, they run into Medusa or a Medusa-like monster, but are saved because she glimpses herself in a shiny car hubcap.
Any ideas? I'd love to find this book, so thanks in advance! And it's not anything from the Percy Jackson series!
resolved Soccer children's book (American) Literature
This book is aimed at middle/high schoolers, and it's about a girl who wins a contest to try and score a goal against a famous female goalie, who's a bit of a cheater. She gets the money only if she scores a goal, so she starts training with a local soccer coach and a nerdy guy who analyzes the famous goalie's technique and helps with statistics. The book ends with the famous goalie calling in sick or getting out of it somehow, and the local coach ends up being the goalie for the televised contest shot.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
resolved looking for a book Literature
I'm looking for a book that I never read but came across the a tropes page for. From what I remember it came out after 2000 (possibly even after 2020) and is about a killing spree taking place in a small town/village. I think it was mentioned that some of the parents of the teens got killed in the killing spree were knowingly involved in it
Edited by dutchguy1986resolved Shapeshifting princess in a tower Literature
An illustrated children's book. A Princess is kidnapped by a wizard who turns everyone to stone, but a fairy gives her seven chances to escape and the ability to shapeshift. Unfortunately, every time she runs away, the wizard finds her using his magic book that tells hime where she is. The princess figures this out, and escapes by turning herself into a blank page in his book.
resolved Alien Email Penpal Literature
When I was in, I want to say 5th grade, I remember reading a book about a brother and sister becoming penpals over email with an alien, and towards the end, when they decide to meet up at a burger chain (I believe it was Fatburger), the alien was wearing very 90s clothing and cracking jokes about his home planet that none of the people at the restaurant understood. I can't remember the name of the book, though, but I remember that it was all text; no images. Does anybody know what this book is?
resolved Children's book with a certain tagline Literature
There's a children's book (a series I think) with a Tagline along the lines of "Are they kids? Grownups? The answer is magic!"
I think they were chapter books, but for elementary schoolers (like Magic Tree House or Junie B. Jones)
resolved Unknown YA novel about a valley of hidden people who get invaded. Literature
- YA novel from the '80s possibly early '90s. Maybe even late 70s.
- Characters are Hobbit like almost and live in a hidden valley.
- A tribe of vicious Invaders come over and through their mountains and invade them. Their enemies use poison Spears and make you some mushrooms a lot both as food and as antidote.
- At one point the characters make a hot air balloon and explore outside their valley.
- Some of the young characters are captured by the Invaders and this is how they discover the information about the mushrooms.
- The book had a fair number of illustrations demonstrating what the characters were working on.
- Early part of the book focuses on the sort of bucolic rural lifestyle of the people.
- Possibly post-apocalyptic and a pseudo fantasy setting.
- I have only seen it in hardcover.
- Publish no later than the mid-90s.
resolved silkworm humans Literature
a short(?) story about a group of human girls that had been imprisoned & genetically modified to act as sort of giant silkworms for someone (the government? freelancing evil scientists? i don't recall that part). the silk came out of their fingers & was a different color for everyone; there was a detail about how everyone tried to guess which color theirs would be and always guessed wrong, but the color was always "personal" to them (idk how to word this part). the silk had to be extruded with a machine. one girl committed suicide by not using the machine for weeks until the silk built up inside her and choked her. the story ended by the girls wrapping up the guards/officials of the place they were at with silk to kill them, like spiders, and then building themselves cocoons to become Something New, which was left for the reader to imagine.
i think this was in an anthology, but i might be remembering wrong and it was standalone, or even longform. i read it on kindle a couple of years ago.

This is a book that I read sometime between 1995 and 2000, targeted toward children - I think it was targeted at the 10 to 12 age bracket - about a medieval boy who contracts leprosy. He is sent to a leper colony and is given a pair a clappers to warn other people that he is coming. Along the way he rescues a Jewish man from robbers. The man turns out to be a doctor and after inspecting him, tells the boy that what he has is not leprosy, but a far more benign skin disease (I can't remember if the doctor could cure him, or if the disease would go away on its own.). The doctor offers the boy to stay with him and his family until he is cured. The boy is initially reluctant because he is prejudiced toward Jews, but he eventually decides to take him up on his offer.
I don't think I ever actually finshed the novel, but I remember one scene in particular. At one point the boy develops a toothache and has to have a tooth pulled. To lessen the pain, the doctor hypnotizes the boy by having him stare at his ring. The doctor may also have had a daughter who becomes the boy's love interest, but I'm less sure about that.
I read the book in Dutch, but I don't know if that was the original language or if it was a translation. When I try searching for it, the novel Schijndood by Simone van der Vlugt keeps coming up, but I've read that book, and that's not it.
Edited by Kipvis