Category Archives: 1990s-

342Z: Science Fiction Banks Hacked

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-science fiction, young adult

-main character was a male

-someone had made some kind of system where everyone had their own personal code - could be a bank password, savings code, etc. - but it was extremely private and considered unhackable. I think it was based on polynomials or factorials

-The conflict is that someone figures out how to hack everyone’s password, data is exposed

-main character has some kind of relationship to either the person that created the code or the person that hacked it. I think there’s a rivalry between the main character and another male

-there’s a really big twist in the middle of the book!

-might turn into a heist book? but also maybe not

-I *think* the original hardcover is blue/green, has overlayed code in the background, one modern-looking symbol. Possibly a key

-read in 2013/2014, and I had at least 2 books in the series out at the time, I’m only describing the first one. I was in 8th grade - 12 or 13 at the time. The book was age-appropriate

342X: Asian Inspired Dragon Picture Book

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I was hoping someone out there would have a bit of information on a book I’ve been looking for over the last 20-25 years. The book was a hardcover, horizontal/landscape style. It was highly stylized, with what I could only describe as flat/paper like art. The book had little story to speak of, with the appeal being the detailed art. I believe the book had some fold outs as well.
The little text it had was descriptions of the dragons (if there even was that). It may have served as an encyclopedia of different dragons (Ice Dragon, Mountain Dragon, Forest Dragon, etc).

The dragons were mostly Asian-like in nature but there may have been some Western ones tacked on as well.

I think it was printed in the late 80s or early 90s, but it may just have been when the book was available to me. I can’t see it being from before the 1970s, it’s just too stylized. It’s possible, but I don’t think it was.

342W: An Out of This World Glowing Garden

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This is a book that I read when I was a preteen, so early 90’s. I am starting to think I made it up! I remember there was a girl who lived in a cabin and is an orphan (I think) and she finds these seeds that glow so she plants them. Then they grow into a garden that shines at night and works to call her family to her because it turns out she is not from earth and her family was looking for her.

342H: A Moon Boy’s Android Brother

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I am hoping you can help me find a book from my childhood. I think it was from the early 80s to mid 90s. It was about a boy that gets an Android robot for a brother. I think they live on the moon in the future. I think one of them has red hair. I believe it was a kid’s series, I was between 10-14 when I read it. I could be totally wrong on how old it was. I think I read the book in 2000 so it could be 1990s too. But I remember the two kids are climbing a tree in it, and I think they were around 12, and lived in a dome on the moon. Again, not sure about this one. I think there were 2 or 3 books in the series.
Thanks for the help!

342C: A house with a magic door

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There’s a girl who lives in a house or has just moved to a house, and in the house lives a cat. She goes up a staircase into a room with many doors in it, and through one of the doors, the cat brings her to a world full of snow. I believe there are other doors with other places through them but I can’t remember. This was a picture book I believe and likely was written in the 90’s or even early 2000’s.

341W: Deadly sociopathic woman obsessed with her imaginary son resorts to multiple murder (Solved!)

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Looking for title and author for newish book, British, contemporary suspense…

Plot highlights: main character is a disturbed divorced woman obsessed with her imaginary child (male). She joins other mothers as they bring or pickup children at the beginning and end of the school day. She deflects not having a child join her at dismissal by saying he must be staying late with teacher and enters school; other mothers leave. She joins mothers in coffee shop most mornings.

This scenario repeats until she meets man at the coffee shop and they strike up a relationship. He is a con artist who befriends lonely women to debunk them and is originally drawn to our main character for this reason. They quickly form a sexual relationship but he remains a bit mysterious and leaves everyday for his ‘secret’ life, to keep pursuing other female victims, one of whom commits suicide and he plays the role of sympathetic suitor/victim to pursue the dead woman’s sister. The main character (Jane?) is suspicious and follows him misinterpreting his relationship with the mystery woman who is now blackmailing him. Main character is successful at sexually manipulating this man, however, and she convinces him they must kill the “son’s” teacher before she reveals main character’s deception…Main character suspects boyfriend of betraying her and starts to slowly poison him. After moving to another school district, Main character is recognized by former mothers group member whom she stalks and kills…

341N: 80s/90s dance book: poor teenage girl (Sal?) at local dance school

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I am looking for a book I read years ago, probably in the mid-nineties. It was about a teenager who went to a dance school and I think her name was Sal. Her family was quite poor so they often worried about money. I think she stayed at home with her parents for a while but they lived quite a long way from the school so she had to move closer, and they had an argument about that. Her parents weren’t keen on her going to the school anyway: maybe they wanted her to get a 'sensible job'.
The dance style was contemporary or ballet. I don't know about the location except that it was the UK or USA.  It was set in the present day when it was written, but that would have been in the 80s or 90s.

I remember very little of the story. At one point she realised she wasn't as supple as some of the other students so she stayed behind to do extra training. At the very end there is a show by the students and she was doing a solo. She got on stage and decided to abandon the dance she'd planned and just improvise with how the music make her feel. At the end she felt it hadn't gone very well but then got loads of applause.

I think there was a romance element as well with another music student, although it wasn't just a romance tale. I've searched through heaps of lists of young adult dance books and on Google Books but I can't seem to find it.

‘Say Goodnight, Gracie’ by Julie Reece Deaver was suggested on another forum, but it’s not that. The dance aspect is central to the story I’m looking for, whereas it’s just a supporting story in ‘Say Goodnight, Gracie’.

Jean Ure as an author was suggested as well, but most of her books seem to be for slightly younger readers.

I don't think this was amazing literary writing or anything, but for some reason I remember this book and would love to find it again.