Wkd’s Comments (group member since Jul 20, 2007)

Wkd’s comments from the What's the Name of That Book??? group.

Found it! The book is "Pocketful of Names" by Joe Coomer.

Looking for a friend - he remembers being read a story in elementary school in New Brunswick about Ti Jean being carried across a river on the back of some kind of bird (eagle/raven/etc). The bird agrees to carry him if Ti Jean will carry the meat for the bird to eat. Halfway across, the bird has finished the meat and Ti Jean ends up slicing off part of his buttocks for the bird.

Seems like a really strange story to read to kids, but who knows. My friend attended elementary school in the mid to late 80s.

The only Ti Jean stories I'm finding are related to the short movie. There are various references to Ti Jean but not the actual stories. I'm thinking it was probably part of a collection (based on usual patterns of reading aloud to students), and might even be mixed up with another story.

Thanks much!

Thanks, but that's not it. Liked that book - I babysat Liz when she was young.

I remember there being something about a "field" of rocks that might have been hidden at high tide. I don't think she has much interaction with other people. I think I remember something about a kayak and she might have a dog, or there was a dog that showed up.

I've run this through Librarything, google, and a few other places but am not coming up with the name of the book.

I read it within the past ten years. Main character is a woman. I think it is set on the Maine coast or an island as I think she had to use a small boat to get places. She is either getting the place ready to sell or using it to recover from some kind of situation. I think the word "Stones" is in the title, but I may be way off.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Think this is it:
Elin's Island by Cynthia Copeland
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27...

Looked it up and realized it was written by a woman I went to high school with - small world!

This sounds like one of the Moomintroll books or one of the stories combined in another book. When I googled "moomintroll and goose girl", it gave a listing for something called Big Toe Books on BBC - maybe this will point you in the right direction.

The Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson.

You are so right. Never really thought about it. In my mind's eye, I pictured it as a place, uphill, between two other hills. I think I remember that she (the main character) had to walk "down" to get to town.

I remember reading it and thinking it could have been set at any time until I got close to the end and someone was riding ATVs/Quads - which is what makes me think it is a more recent setting.

@Anita - thanks for your comment. What do you call it when you live at the top of a "holler"? Maybe that is even more confusing. I just remember that the houses seemed to be located up a dirt path/road that was kind of a valley between the mountains.

It's definitely not "Christy" - I read that probably 40 years ago and still remember crying over the diptheria? outbreak.

I have ordered a copy of "This Holler" to check it out. Thanks for your help!

I keep thinking this sounds like a Cynthia Voigt book. I don't think it is the first book, "Homecoming" but one of the later titles. Although it is a series, the books stand alone pretty well.

I read this series as it came out, and when I just looked - there were two more titles I missed.

I think it is in a more modern setting than that - and I don't remember many/any substories going on.

I did go through the google links - many thanks for your help, Nikki, much appreciated.

I will work my way through the Algonquin list and let you all know. Thanks again for your help!

I'm still looking for this book. I've done a lot of searching on Amazon, Library Thing, goodreads, etc. I've read lists from various libraries trying to find it. Keep hoping that someone will recognize it. I am reasonably certain that it was a female author. Thanks!

I believe this is "My Abandonment" by Peter Rock.

Here's the Goodreads synopsis:

A riveting and unsettling novel about a girl and her
father who live off the grid, in the shadows at the edge
of civilization
A thirteen-year-old girl and her father live in Forest Park,
the enormous nature preserve in Portland,Oregon.
They inhabit an elaborate cave shelter, wash in a nearby
creek, store perishables at the water's edge, use a makeshift
septic system, tend a garden, even keep a library of sorts.
Once a week, they go to the city to buy groceries, attend
church, and otherwise merge with the civilized world. But
one small mistake allows a backcountry jogger to discover
them, which derails their entire existence, ultimately provoking
a deeper flight.
In the tradition of Jon Krakauer's Into theWild and
Elizabeth Gilbert's Last American Man, Peter Rock's My
Abandonment, inspired by a true story and told through the
startlingly sincere voice of his young protagonist, Caroline,
is an eerie and mesmerizing book of survival and hope, and a
completely original novel of a remarkable and triumphant
transformation.

Still hoping that someone will remember this book.

It was just a couple, not a family. I think they/he couldn't find work which was what prompted the move. She might have been pregnant. She spends a lot of time on her own or without her husband around.

The second book is called "Dark Heart" and is the story of the young girl, Kat, living with her mother's people. I thought it was a little weirder than the first book. There are three books in "The Seeker Chronicles", the third is called "Listening at the Gate".

Seems to me like the first part of "Long Way Home" was about the boy's escape and it wasn't until close to the end of the book that he made it to the US.

I remember a book like that from about this time period. I THINK it was called "The Long Way Home" but I haven't been able to find it. I probably have a copy somewhere, it was one of my favorite books back then.

trying again. Still want to figure out what this book was.

Sounds like "The Killing Floor" by Lee Child.