Author Archives: admin

334P: Unsuccessful Boy Struggles With Successful, But Strange, Sister

I have not read this book, but saw it in a list somewhere about 3 years ago, give or take. Family who has genius or academically successful children, except one boy or the boy is different, but I can’t remember in what sense, book might be about this boy and his struggles in the family. Synopsis I read mentioned a sister (of the boy) who is exceedingly successful in school but is strange. Sorry, that’s all. It could possibly be YA but not sure at all. Thanks all

334O: Orphans adopted by sadistic older couple (Solved!)

I read a YA series of (I believe 3 books) in the 1980's about 3 children who were orphaned and sent to live with an older couple off of the eastern US coast in a large mansion (perhaps Maine).  The children were regularly subjected to gaslighting and emotional abuse.  No adult believed them until the end of the very last book because the couple was so well regarded in the town.   There was a cliff near the house where the tide came in very quickly and that played into the books very frequently.

334L: Old lady looking for her missing glasses

I am looking for a children's picture/story book about an old lady who lost her glasses. She looks everywhere in her house for them; under flowerpots, etc. The story ends when she finds them on her back. She had them on a string tied around her neck. There was a companion book about a farmer, but I don’t recall what that was about. It was at least 8x10, tan and not a thick book. Thinking it was 50’s/ early 60’s.

334K: Evolved Rats Vs Devolved Humans In Once Radioactive City

When I was young, 12 maybe, I checked a book out of the local library, reading it several times, which initiated a life long live of post apocalyptic fiction. In the book a young boy about my age lives with a tribe outside the ruins of a large city that might have been Chicago. The tribe is at the hunter gatherer level of technology. And his main weapon is a spear. The city itself is a blast zone/dead zone no one is allowed to go in because it is supposedly radioactive. I don’t remember why but he heads into the dead zone and discovers the radiation is no longer deadly. But living in the ruins are a race of evolved rat beasts that are six feet tall, stand on their hind legs, and are spear wielding. The rat beasts come after him and he has a series of near misses until he escapes the dead zone and is rescued in a big showdown between the human tribe and the rat tribe, being saved by the adults whose rules he defied. The book had large-ish print and excellent pen and ink drawings sprinkled throughout. I went back to the library that I got it from but the destroyed my old library card and no longer have the book. It would have been published in the 1950’s or first part of the 60’s. Any help finding it would be greatly appreciated.

 

334H: Colorful Shoes With Special Powers

My brothers and I are trying to find a book from when we were kids. It is about a group of kids who find shoes. They bring them to their tree-house and each box of shoes is a different color. The shoes give them special powers, I think the red ones made you fast. I think one pair gave the wearer the ability to jump really high. We have looked online with no success.