Andria’s Comments (group member since Jul 03, 2012)

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

This is a long shot, but The Comic Book Mystery has an abandoned house, a fire, and something about heroin smugglers. Published in 1973.

Here is the review from Kirkus, in case any of these facts ring a bell: "A fire in an abandoned brownstone. . .a mysterious backyard prowler. . .an international drug ring that communicates through the comic books it publishes in England. . .a neighboring ""old lady"" (Mrs. Curtis) who becomes a Mr. Corelli upon leaving home to enter a Siamese in a cat show. . .and who is ultimately revealed as the heroin smugglers' leader. . .all engage the investigative mind of young John Hobart, new to New York, who spends the summer solving the very case (it turns out) that has been keeping his reporter father working overtime. Townsend drops enough teasing dues and questions to hold readers attracted by her title, but it's still pretty silly, patently farfetched, and (in the throwaway sketches of addict behavior) slightly off target."

possibly Bittersweet ?

So there are at least two YA novels about girls who find out they were born under the 13th sign of the zodiac:

The 13th Sign

and

Touch of Death

Here is the Goodreads link: Please Don't Go.

Glad you found your book!

A few possibilities:

Perfect

Second Star to the Right

The Best Little Girl in the World

Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia

Yay! Thanks for coming back and confirming. Enjoy reading with your little firecracker! She's a lucky girl.

This really sounds like Sellevision, which Kris suggested upthread a bit. Perhaps conflated with the same author's memoir about his alcohol addiction, "Dry."

This is kind of a long shot, but Bone Room was published in 2007, and the author lives in the UK.

Not an exact match, but the first thing that came to mind was Numbers -- the main character is a girl who knows the date other people will die, just by looking at them.

The First Time She Drowned is YA fiction, but the writing is really lovely and the story so compelling. It reminded me of The Glass Castle when I was reading it.

Yay! Here's the link: Emiko Superstar. I'll move this to solved. Happy to help!

Sounds like Emiko Superstar. (Sorry, on mobile, can't link to book)

How Far Would You Have Gotten If I Hadn't Called You Back?

Leave it here - someone else may be looking for the same book and your post could help them. Just to confirm, Dark Companion was the one you were looking for, yes?

The Year Of The Leopard Song ?

Anyone but You

or

Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude and Other Commandments I Have Broken

On second thought, sounds a lot like Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

Could you be thinking of How to Cook a Wolf?

The gist of it is: "when the wolf is at the door, roast and eat him."

Link for Justin's suggestion: Evermore by Alyson Noel

Oh! I think this might be The Night I Disappeared