Category Archives: Unsolved

375E: Very dark YA, MC teen boy dies saving girl he kidnapped

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Published date2002-2007 at least that is when we had it in Australia
Story– MC is a teen boy who doesn’t have any friends and is in high school, he is “good” however he is timid and very unsure of himself – he has a crush on a beautiful popular girl from school but she doesn’t know he exists- he makes friends with a boy who is nice to him and a little weird who has a group of friends outside of school so he introduces MC to them- the friends are all boys and they have extreme views and want to act out violently, however MC doesn’t care about this as he doesn’t think the boys will act on it and it’s better than being alone- one day the leader of the group devises a plan to kidnap someone from school to hold them hostage (for reasons I cannot remember sorry), the leader has a car and weapons and makes MC get involved as he is a weak character- it turns out the leader of the group wanted to kidnap the girl from MCs school who he has a crush on and he feels very conflicted about this but doesn’t know how to voice this and get out of the group or tell the police- they kidnap the girl and hold her hostage in a friend’s house but the kidnapping makes the news and it becomes a full blown investigation which escalates the situation quickly- MC had thought that they would just release the girl after the leaders demands are met however due to the kidnapping becoming breaking news he realises there is no way out- he tries to come up with plans to help her escape and make her feel less distressed without getting caught by the leader but it doesn’t work- the leader of the group decides that because his demands are not taken seriously by the police he will take the girl into the woods at night and kill her by hanging her- they tie her up and take her into the woods and put a noose around her however something happens and i think she slips and she suddenly becomes hung – at this point the police have found them and they all run away except MC who desperately tries to cut her free- he manages to save her however there’s a siege and the police find him and start shooting at him and so he runs- the story ends quickly after this chase as he is shot dead.
As you can see this is an incredibly dark story and I was super surprised that it was YA and in my school library! The book absolutely wrecked me for weeks when I was 15. I think it must be out of print as I can’t find it anywhere on google/goodreads.

375D: Poetry Anthology Including “If”

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I am looking for what I think is an anthology of poetry, illustrated, that contains an extremely cleverly illustrated version of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”. Black and white line drawings I believe. I remember seeing it in a bookstore in Ithaca circa 2012 it might have been newly published then. There were other poems in the book, possibly also short stories? And authors besides Kipling?

375B: Impoverished Girl Knits Sweater

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In fourth grade, in 1970, our teacher read us a chapter book about a girl in a concentration or refugee camp or impoverished village.   I remember descriptions of the harsh conditions and an episode where she knit a sweater for a woman in exchange for a cow. The sweater didn’t fit because the woman gained weight from drinking the milk and the girl had to redo the sweater.
Would love to know this book!

375A: Talking Pet Mouse

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Pet mouse tells stories to his young girl owner From the 1960s or 70s. A young girl recovering from rheumatic fever gets a pet mouse. She discovers that he can talk, and he tells her stories of his past adventures. I think the book title is the name of the mouse, but it was an unusual name.

374Y: The Prince’s Love Triangle

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Here is my description of the book:
Borrowed from library mid 1990s, a children’s picturebook. It’s title may have the word “love” in it. 
A little prince character called something like “Prince Curlique” (but I’m not sure of the spelling) because of his crazy hair/a curl  (sticks up?) on his head. 
He’s really smart but short or ugly or some unfortunate attribute.
He might get lonely and seek a girlfriend at some point, has sort of a love triangle with two princesses who are sisters trying to decide which one to marry(?)
He’s prone to being a bit harsh and testing his potential love interests if iirc
One princess is called Mira or Myra because she is an admirable yet unattractive genius level smart girl. She is the obvious match but his heart leans in other directions. The other princess is called Dora because she is an adorable hottie, she is however cursed with being clumsy and possibly unintelligent? Or inarticulate?
The ugly little prince curlicue guy and one or other of the princesses are pictured on a swing or seat together maybe on the final page?
The illustrations are very whimsical and to my memory lush and detailed, with historic rococo style maybe.
There is one page with a drapey princess canopy bed i think? The book starts with some of the characters as babies?
It’s kind of inappropriately romantic for kids in a way like that naked squashed fairy book from the same era because it’s about characters falling in romantic love with each other and the relationship stuff.
I think Mira/Myra is in love with Curlicue but I don’t think she prevails because of not being hot like her sister. I think one or other sister is also grossed out by him and that might have had moral repercussions.
There is some witchcraft involved possibly but more like the hand of fate because I don’t remember an antagonist.
I think Dora was Dancing and stepping on people’s toes because she was so clumsy 
Curlicue had red or blond hair.
Any of these remembered details may be somewhat incorrect. 
If I had to make comparisons, the alt love story of “Jane and the Dragon” is a well known one that’s vibe has similar whimsy. I think Myra was quite a roll-up-your-sleeves and get it done person and the art was similarly soft and evocative. The writing was dreamy and aphoristic, possibly why the story has not stayed on the shelves. But also something dark and sad about the characters’ difficulties finding love. 
I know beautifully illustrated kids storybooks are on high turnover in my library now, but they did have it once, would they have a record of decades-back purchased, now cancelled, books? Also I’m not sure if the high turnover was as rapid in the mid to late 1990s as it is today, so conceivably this book was 1980s at the earliest and just hung out on the shelf not getting borrowed much. The style would not have been any earlier based on the production techniques and the fact it was a fresh edition that we borrowed (but now so unknown to the internet that it must not have had many reissues if any)
I think that’s all I can think of that’s relevant. I would have said the book had a square format, normal picture book length  and possibly a soft cover no dust jacket? I’d have said slightly gloss paper rather than matte But I could be wrong about the soft cover.No idea of the publisher. If I had to guess would have thought the author might be American rather than British but that’s not a strong conviction.

I have a feeling the name curlicue is a total red herring and it may have been “Prince Quiff” or similar. But it related to his hair and unfortunate looks. The love interests’ names I’m more confident of because of their in-narrative meanings.

374X: Ben’s Mom on a Business Trip

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I am looking for a library book from my childhood. The book is from the 1970s or very early 1980s, and focuses on a little boy named Ben. In the story, Ben’s mom goes on a business trip, leaving Ben and dad at home for a few days. They get off to a rough start with dad being late to pick up Ben from school and some other minor mishaps, but things improve before mom gets home. The entire book is illustrated with black and white photographs of what could be a real family – mom, dad, and son Ben. There are no drawn illustrations, just photographs. I believe there were also one or two more “Ben” books- maybe it was a small series- but the one I remember most centers on Ben’s experience while mom is on work travel.

354T: War Orphan Adopted by GI

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I’m looking for a book I read as a boy in the mid 1970s . It probably was written in the 1950s or 1960s.  My memory says it was titled the journey home or long journey home but having searched for that for years with no luck I’m prepared to believe my memory is incorrect.  It was about a war orphan making his away to America to be adopted or having been adopted by a GI.

354R: Fairies in the Forest

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Don’t remember the title but here’s what I recall:

This is a children’s book from the 1960s or even late 1950s with a narrow/slim size. I have attached a photo of a similar book that might even be from the same series.

It has a shiny light blue cover. The content is about signs of fairies in the forest/nature. It’s a series of photos with little text. It shows photos of dew, spider webs, etc. might have an illustration of a fairy on the front of the book.

354Q: Bastard Child, Kidnapping, and a Mysterious Stranger

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All I can remember is that this woman was engaged to a man that her sister wanted. This sister got her drunk one night & walked her into a room with a strange man. The man had a lot of clout in his family. The sister told her fiancé & father what she did & the wedding was called off. The father sent her away when he found out she was pregnant by a stranger.

The woman gets a message from her father to come home for his youngest daughter’s engagement party. (This is the same man that she was engaged to 4 years ago.) The sister & fiancé pick her up at the airport. This man overheard the conversation that the family was saying about her son being a bastard. The man speaks up & introduces himself as the woman’s husband. The family shut up & was surprised she had a man. Well the little boy speaks up & says thank you daddy for helping mommy from these bad people.

It ends there until they run into each other again at a restaurant & from that point on the little boy keeps calling him daddy from here on out. This stranger comes to her rescue time & time again. He really has feelings for her but he never says a thing. Natalie tells the handsome stranger that she is going back home to her own place but her father takes her passport & tells her she isn’t going anywhere till she marries this old man who is a stranger to her.

He runs into Natalie again & he tells her I thought you were going home. She said she was till her father stepped in & changed all that. He invites the woman to his family home & introduces her to his mother. The little boy is very polite and says hi to the woman. The handsome stranger’s mother tell him that the little boy looks just like him when he was younger. She wanted to know who this woman & child were & why were they there.

He invites this woman to live in his home free of charge. He comes up with a contract for them to sign that says they are together but not in a sexual way so there is no drama. The both of them have their own lives & separate bedrooms.

When he moved her into his house he had the house assistant give her anything she wants. The house keeper even enrolls the boy into a prestigious school that the man went to himself when he was younger. The housekeeper tell him the same thing his mother said. How he looks just like him when was younger?
The housekeeper then suggest that the both of them take him & pick him up together so the boy knows he’s loved. This stranger has fallen in love with this woman but again he never says a word.

The lady’s name I believe was Natalie. Well to her family Natalie is nothing to them. Natalie’s father wants her to marry this older man so their family will be in business together. Natalie’s father kidnapped her son to force her into marrying this old man. When this stranger finds out he sends his friend & another man to find him. During this time we find out Natalie had an important job back home. She works with movie stars in her last job so she knows what she is capable of.

This stranger family owns a music business. It’s under one of his other companies. This strangers cousin runs it but he is running it into the ground. His big name actor is being forced to do whatever his representative says & the actor wants out of his contract with the company because of him. Well Natalie gets the job & takes this actor jobs to new heights. This actor has a sister who has some medical problems & if he gets some work he can get her that needed surgery. Natalie pays for his sister’s surgery out of her own pocket.

Well this cousin wants his client back & he will do anything to get him. The cousin is at a party that Natalie attends. His friend helps him get Natalie drunk & take her upstairs to a room in the hotel they are at. The actor is at the party & waits outside the bathroom door for Natalie too return to the party. The cousin & his friend takes Natalie a different direction so she won’t be seen. The handsome stranger is at a party himself that his company throws ever year but this is the first time he has ever attended. He comes downstairs looking for Natalie & he runs into the actor Natalie is representing. The handsome stranger goes in the bathroom & he notices she’s not there. He asks for the manager of the hotel & they go into the communication office where
all the cameras are. He notices what his cousin has done & the handsome stranger sends in his best friend to handle the situation. To get Natalie out of there. The cousin will be handled by him at a later time.

There is a little more to say but I believe I’ve said enough. I hope you can find this. I know it’s not to old maybe just a couple of years if that.