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[May. 13th, 2008|01:27 pm] |
I was wondering if you would be able to help me find a book. I read it while I was living in London in 2006, and I don't think it would have been published earlier than the mid to late 90's.
The story is set in England during WW2. A young woman from the country joins the WAAF, and works with Barrage Balloons. A young American man is in the Air force (I think he joins the RAF as the US hasn't joined the war yet, a-la Ben Affleck in 'Pearl Harbour').
She gets injured in a Balloon accident, becomes crippled, and returns to her parents home. I think she has a brother who is in the RAF, and he becomes friends with the American. They get some time off, and go to the country, where the American meets the girl. She has been very depressed (as she is stuck upstairs, bed-bound, the physiotherapist is a bitch). At first he thinks she is much younger, and just feels sorry for her, and she doesn't like him much.
He visits again a few times whenever he has time off, and becomes friends with the girl. He organises for her bed to be moved downstairs so she is not so isolated, and gets a wheelchair for her as well. She starts having feelings for him, but he sees her more as a friend (and I have a feeling that he wants a 'rich' girlfriend). She is slowly learning to walk again. They share a kiss at some point, but there is some misunderstanding - they are still friendly, but now he is unsure of what he wants. He returns to the war. She ends up becoming a teacher at the local school. He returns after the war finishes, they resolve differences, and end up together.
I read a lot of books set in Liverpool/England during WW2 while I was over in London, mainly by Katie Flynn (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/katie-flynn/). I thought this was one of them, but having read the blurbs of her books, none of them fit this description. I can remember some other bits, but I can't say for sure that they are from this book or the others I read(like brother getting killed on a mission, American nearly getting killed in a mission).
Thanks in advance! |
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| Children's Book, Set in Warsaw during WW2 |
[Apr. 8th, 2008|07:42 pm] |
hey!
So I was wondering whether anyone could help me with this. I read this book in year 6 which would have been about 6 years ago.
From what I can remember it was the story of 3 children living in Warsaw either before or during the breakout of WW2. They became separated from their parents and began making their way across Europe. Eventually ending up in Switzerland I think. From what I remember it ended fairly happily and they found at least one of their parents, maybe even both.
I'm sorry I can't remember more, but any help is much appreciated! thanks!
EDIT: Thanks- book found! The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier |
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| SF - first contact with pussycat captain |
[Jul. 9th, 2007|03:13 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | cats, war | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Earth | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  satisfied | ] |
Found: Trouble With Treaties by Katherine MacLean and Tom Condit
I could not find the earlier book, but I did read the story in the collection "The Trouble With You Earth People"
In a discussion on a bus, someone mentioned a science fiction story of the first contact between a pacifist race and a bellicose one. In the story, the pacifists pretend to be very frightening in order to scare off the war lovers. At one point, pacifists portray the ship's cat as captain.
The story may be a short in a collection.
Would anyone tell me the title and author of this story?
Thanks. |
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| Two books |
[Jul. 9th, 2007|09:40 am] |
These are two books I read when younger that I'd like to reread if I can find them:
1) It's about a boy with cancer, and I don't remember much except that I think he is high-school age, and he collapses during a basketball game near the beginning of the book (before he knows he has cancer). I don't remember much else, so that might be a long shot.
2) This second book has something to do with a boy in some war-torn country. I think it's set in the early 90s. It has something to do with newspapers or reporting, and I don't think he is from the country but is travelling or stranded there for some reason. Sorry, that one's kind of vague as well, I know.
Both of these books are fiction as far as I remember. |
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| polar-bear scif-fi strangeness, Jewish girls in WW2 |
[Jul. 9th, 2007|11:24 am] |
1) I've been trying to recall this one as a while...I read it as a child in the 90s but I'm certain it was one from the adult section of the library, at the time a white paperback possibly with purple writing. I haven't a clue of the author or title but I've had a
feeling for a while that the section of shelves was around the H/I/J/K area.
It was sci-fi/futuristic type setting. The one character I remember clearly had some kind of relationship with the female main character. She was covered in white fur and possibly was some kind of polar bear, or maybe it was a result of some sort of futuristic radiation/mutation - I remember she thought that she was ugly. They loved each other and then were parted tragically - I think perhaps the "bear" character died. I remember something about living in caves, or mines or something.
It's a really long shot considering I remember so little, but you never know.
2) This one has a lot of books with similarities, but I've never found the exact one. Another library book, but for children. Set in WW2 - I think in Holland - definitely not Germany. Two/three girls, sisters I think, were hidden in a house by female characters (possibly also sisters) to avoid the Nazis. I'm pretty sure it ends well. I remember lots of extracts of the language that I didn't understand. |
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[Nov. 13th, 2006|05:15 pm] |
I need help finding two books, both historical fiction. I read the first when I was in elementary school.
1. Took place during the Civil War. It was about a girl who lived in the north, and her brother went off to fight for the Union. His name was Ted or Tad or something like that. It seems like her name was Katy, but I could be wrong. At some point I remember her standing on a path looking at her brother.
2. Took place during WWII. It was about a girl, and she had a friend from Germany. For some reason the German friend advocated brushing her hair a hundred times a night. I remember the girl had an uncle who featured in the story somehow. And at the end she was signing up for clubs or classes at school and she met her friend at the Latin booth, and he was wearing a toga...
Sorry to be so vague! Hopefully someone will be able to help me! |
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[Oct. 31st, 2006|12:27 am] |
I'm finally getting around to posting; the main reason why I joined this community, although I also figure lost books make for a great recs list. I also found some books that would have been on my list otherwise, like Gypsyworld. As with many people here, these are ones I came across many years ago and I may accidentally be merging them. All help is gratefully appreciated.
Book One:
This was read out to a class of eight and nine year olds. I was seven at the time, moved up into the class along with some of my peers (small country school and they didn't want me with my sister). I never actually heard all of this one. All I really remember is shades of blue and grey; may be the cover, could be the language used. There was a boy who was also a grandson or a nephew, and there was an old fisherman who may or may not have a) been his uncle b) been his grandfather c) died at the end of the book. There was an old knitted jersy, which may be where the colours came from. It may even have been a short story in a book. I moved into the class at Easter, so it took up to from Febuary to shortly after Easter to read. Unfortunately, it belonged to one of my classmates and I never got to borrow it.
Book Two:
Same time period. There was a silver mirror and hairbrush set, which belonged to the main character's mother. His mother turned out to be the sister of the nice woman who tried to look after him. He lived in a caravan with his possibly drunk father who never got over the death of the woman he loved or something like that. I think there were horses. Probably had a happy ending.
Book Three:
Again, read or listened to about fifteen years ago. A girl was staying with some people (relatives, I think), might have been set during the Blitz, and she wasn't very happy about this, so she explored the old house she was living in and found a tunnel (probably through the attic) to the next house which then went to the old church. They knew she liked the attic, so when there was a huge storm and a tree dropped on the attic and they couldn't find her or her friend, they were really upset. Only they'd gone through the tunnel and found it went to the church, and found the old silver collection belonging to the church. Candlesticks, probably.
Book Four:
Probably read this a year or two later. Main character taken to live in big house. She often went out to collect thistledown to put in pillows, which I totally didn't get because wouldn't it go flat really easily? I think there were also horses and a huge train set.
Book Five:
This girl is sent away to school, and ends up adoring the headmistress (I think her name was either Elizabeth or Flora) and they have a secret society based on Hiwatha. The end of the book has a pagent put on by the school children based on a visit Elizabeth I made to their school, and the main character's father having had some sort of history with the headmistress; he'd like her back, but I think she was wedded to the school or her students.
Again, any chance of finding these would be much appreciated. |
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| two YA books |
[Oct. 31st, 2006|11:19 am] |
I read both of these boooks around the same time, 1995-1998ish. Both were in my school library. Both were set in the future, but I'm pretty sure I'm not mixing up the details of the two. Can't remember for the life of me what either one of them was called but they come to mind frequently in conversations about the destruction of the world/society as we know it.
( Pretty long description of the first book )
Found: The Lake at the End of the World by Caroline MacDonald
( long description of the second book ) |
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| er... |
[Oct. 31st, 2006|01:31 am] |
I have a question about two books (can I do that?). Anyways, one is based on Greek mythology. It's about a red-haired girl who is taken from her home to be a playmate of some king or lord, but there's some attack and everyone is gone or killed except her because she hid. She is later found by Menelaus (I think) who thought her red hair was endearing, being red-headed himself. And he brings her back with him, but soon after, his wife Helen runs off with Paris and then the whole Trojan war happened. Hope that makes sense to someone besides me.
The other book was about a girl who worked/lived in some palace. Her mother was nobility and her father...wasn't, so she was taken care of but overall, disregarded. But then when she became older, she was sent to another kingdom or something, after a man shows up with a certain flower from the desert, in a hot air balloon.
Both these books are children's books (...) and I borrowed and read them a few years ago (4, maybe 5?), but I hope someone can help! |
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[Oct. 30th, 2006|05:44 pm] |
( This )
[edit]
Yes! It is "Belle Prater's Boy" by Ruth White. Thank you! ^_^
[/edit] |
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| lost book |
[Oct. 27th, 2006|12:28 pm] |
I read this book around fifth or sixth grade. It was about a group of kids who went back in time to the Revolutionary War, and I remember that they had to cross the Delaware. I guess people must have thought they were soldiers (?), but I don't remember them fighting - I just remember them meeting two "Hessians" and some Native Americans. I think they also got back in time by getting into a boat, and there was something about the name of the lake that meant "time travel". Could anyone help with this? I think it might have just been one of those generic history-themed kid's books. Oh, and I think all the characters were boys except for one girl. |
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[Oct. 24th, 2006|05:13 pm] |
I'm looking for a "historical fiction" book that my dad read to me when I was young. I'm thinking it's at least a young adult book and possibly just for adults. I could be wrong.
It took place in Europe and all I remember is that the main character fell in love with a girl named Regan. (Reegan? Ragenne?)
I also think there were battles and/or fighting in in.
Maybe the main character was a soldier?
At one point a tribeman comes up to the main character and says "Regan wants you" and holds out a lock of her hair.
Sorry I don't remember more!!! |
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| x-posted |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|04:57 pm] |
It's about a vampire created during WWII (or WWI) who is part of a movement that eventually leaves the whole world a bunch of vampires. Blood is produced somehow, and everything is suited around vampires. They spend the day indoors and night outside. Anyway, he finds this little human girl and ends up raising her. I think her name is Suzi? Or Suzuki? Or something.
Anyhow, it was a really great read. Anyone know anything about it?
Been trying to find it forever. |
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| lost book |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|11:21 am] |
Found. Thanks guys.
I read this book when I was in middle school. I really loved it, and have been looking for it ever since, but without any luck.
It was a fantasy book. The main character was a girl. The society had split off into two groups of people- the wealthy & the slaves. The whole world was perpetually dark because of these fires that had been going for so long, filling the sky with smoke, and cutting off all light. By the time of the girl most people didn't even beleive the sun or stars or anything had really existed. The slaves had to go into the mountains and caves and bring out the rocks that kept the fires going. They had a certain quota that they had to meet every day. The girl got in trouble for something, so her quota was doubled, a thing that generally kills people.
The girl had a connection with the ore that they had to dig up. She could feel where they needed to dig and such. She didn't tell anyone about it, though, I think because they either wouldn't have believed her or they would have killed her; I'm vague on that point. There was this man (not a slave or one of the wealthy class- he was in his own category) who could feel the ore like she could. He travelled all over the world performing ceremonies and showing people where they should dig. He was getting, old, though, and had promised some sort of lord that the lord could take over when he died; he had been training the lord to replace him. What he didn't realize was that he didn't get to pick his replacement- I don't remember if he got a message from a god or what, but it wasn't his decision.
He was told to go to a certain spot, and there he would find his replacement. He went and found the slave girl. He was extremely upset because no one would accept a slave in this position of power, but he didn't have a choice. So she went with him, but neither of them told anyone that she was going ot be the one to replace him.
I remember them trying to make it across some bridge in the winter. She told him about a vision she had, and that is when he knew that she really was the one to replace him because it was of a special place. He ended up dying, though, and no one was told that he had changed his choice of successor. She had the ability to see things in her mind so clearly that they almost became reality. When she started freezing, she would picture the sun, the warmth, birds flying, etc, and she would be warm.
I'm fuzzy about how she found them or they found her, but there was a resistance movement, people fighting against staying as they were; I don't remember if their main goal was to get rid of the slavery, to put out the fires so that the sun would come back, or both. A scene I remember from this part is that there was a lady that had gotten hurt; the doctor there had to do something really painful to fix her (surgery or something? or maybe she was just pregnant and having problems?). The main character was watching, but she couldn't stand to see this lady in so much pain, so she held on to her and started picturing warm summer days, birds, the sky, the sun, etc. As soon as she touched the lady, they were both "gone" and neither could feel any pain until the doctor was done and she let go.
The next part I remember is the end. There were two armies- people who wanted to girl to have the position the old man had had, and people who followed the lord who had been promised the place. I'm unsure who won the actual battle, but she ended up getting the position. She started teaching everyone to do what she could; they got to where they could stay warm and everything by their imaginings. She ended up the hero because of the things that she was able to teach the people. |
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[Oct. 18th, 2006|08:02 am] |
Hello
I'm looking for a book that I read ages ago-- (aren't we all?)
I do know the title; but not the author and so I can't find this particular book. The name is Primrose and it's set in WW2 Englad. The main character of the book is called Primrose and she lies about her age to get into the Land Army.
During the course of her studies, she meets up with one of the instructors, named Peter (I believe) and he's basically a jerk to her. But she graduates and goes off to work on a farm in Wales. She meets lots of interesting people along the way and it gives you a really interesting view of life in Wales during that time, especially for the crofters and other poor families of the area.
I would give the ending, but it'd spoil it all. ^.~ I hope I gave enough to go on, though.
Please help me find this book? |
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[Oct. 17th, 2006|12:14 pm] |
I am so glad I heard about this group! There is a short story I read in highschool that I need to find again, but I haven't had any luck tracking it down in Google searches, or even by contacting my old teachers! This community seems to be doing an amazing job of helping people, so I hope someone out there knows this story!
I believe I read this story for an American Lit. class in highschool. It was in our textbook, which was navy blue with some kind of quilt like pattern on the front. I would have read it in 2000, but the textbook was much older than that, and I'm not sure when the story was from.
I believe the setting of the story was a train. In the train there were several parents of soldiers who were fighting in a war (I think it was one of the world wars, but I'm not positive on that). Each parent believes their suffering is worst. A quote I remember is something similar to, "A father gives all of his heart to each of his children," or something very similar. There is one father who keeps telling all the other parents that they should be proud of their children, and keeps talking about how wonderful his son is. But at the end of the story, he breaks down crying, saying, "My son is dead."
This story had a huge impact on me as a teenager, and it would mean the world to me if someone could help me find the title or the author.
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Found!!! It is "War" by Luigi Pirandello. Thank you! You guys are AMAZING!!! |
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[Oct. 16th, 2006|01:44 pm] |
I originally flipped through this book in a Half Price Books about 3 years ago, so it was probably published sometime in the late 90's/early '00's.
I think it was part of a Girls in History sort of series, where each book was about a differnt girl at a difernt point in American History.
It was set in Minneapolis in 1917, and it followed the life of a 14 year old girl over the the course of the year. It talks about the start of WWI, and touches on things like unions (her family was supporting unions in the the factories where her parents work, and that cuased some issues) The girl also works to support womans sufferage. I've looked in bookstores repeatedly, and I haven't found this series currently in any of the stores. |
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[Oct. 14th, 2006|08:17 am] |
I hate to be a repeat but YAY for this community!!! This has been bugging me for years!
Ok there are these children and hey are going for a field trip or hike of some kind in to the mountains and they have I think at least one adult with them who is either injured or dies in a cave on the trip. Upon their arrival back to town the children (Young Adults) find the town in is empty there is no sign of anyone. I think the town is in shambles and there is no electricity. They are forced to have to ry and survive and I think I remember this whole scene about rotted sausage or meat. In the end I believe the parents and town people come back.. I think there had been some type of war, or evacuation and the roads had been blocked. I really would like to find this my teacher read it to me in the 5th grade. I will update if I can remember more about it.. Thanks! I think also that the cover was very dark
Book was found thank you! It was Hills End by Ivan Southall |
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| a book |
[Oct. 13th, 2006|03:43 am] |
I read a book back in middle school, I think 7th grade or so that I only read a chapter of.
I was tryig to tell a friend about it but I could only remember the very beginning.
The title is Red something. Like The Red Line? I dunno. Red 'insert more title here'.
The beginning is about some sort of biological warfare.
There is a teenage girl who is going to school one day, feeling ill. She is at school for a short time before she excuses herself from class to go to the restroom because she wasn't feeling well. And really all I remember is while in the bathroom, she starts convulsing and stuff really badly, proceeding to bite off and swallow her bottom lip, lose control of her bowels and bladder, and crack her skull on the floor a few times and finally curves her body into the air, her heels and head are all that's touching the ground.
I know that sounds terrible, but when I read it, it made me sick to my stomach. I never picked it up again. It's been about 5 or 6 years since then, and I can't remember the actual title for the life of me!
I found it while at the library one day when I sat down to read it. It was probably a Stephen King novel or SOMEthing because I was getting REALLY big into scary books in the 'adult horror' section, but there's a good chance it wasn't. Tom Clancy maybe?
Please help me remember! |
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| Just to add to the mayhem |
[Oct. 10th, 2006|10:48 am] |
I feel almost guilty posting because of the previously mentioned influx of new members and posts.
I too am new, and hopefully this will be somewhat easy because I only have 2 small "Lost" books... through the joys of Google and friends and 3am Eureka! moments I've managed to track down the others on my list.
1. - Y/A, One of those wonderful Scholastic Gems I picked up in the mid 80s. Plotline involved a girl finding an injured Golden Retriever on the side of the road, she and her [father?] rescue the dog and take it to the town vet. She ends up volunteering at the vet hospital to help pay for caring for the dog; who ends up being shy and fearful because of abuse. She sings to the dog "K-K-K-Katie" and the dog wags her tail; so she starts calling her Katie. Eventually the dog gets better, turns out she's a Pedigree Show Dog and the owner tracks her down and wants her back; the dog is obviously fearful of him and shies away and the girl ends up getting to keep the dog.
I remember bits like describing the vet's wife, how she looked much younger because she didn't wear makeup and had her hair pulled back... and at one point they needed to operate on a broken bone and the girl nearly passed out and the vet made her sit outside; then comforted her later and said he understood, it was because it was her dog...
FOUND: "The Shy Ones" by Lynn Hall
2. Possibly Y/A, a period novel set in either the Revolutionary War or maybe French/Indian War. taking place somewhere in Northeast, NY or round abouts. A woman, who's name I want to say is Tamsen, ends up tending to a soldier who arrives wounded on her doorstep. There's tension and sparks and abrasive personalities and then they fall in love and then he has to go back out to the front lines, and she leaves a candle in the window for him to find his way back; and i want to say just as she's given up hope he returns.
I read this book about 6 times, got it out of the school library in Jr. High (I can even remember where in the stacks it was; but that was 20 years ago!!) It was my most favoritist love story at the time; strangely if i ever wrote a book report about it i couldn't find it (i'm a horrible packrat)
FOUND: "Candle in the Night" by Elizabeth Howard |
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