SOLVED. Australian teen book She lived near the Flinders Ranges in South Australia She rode her bike most places There was an abandoned mine in which caused her problems [s]

[Jules]

Okay, I read this book probably about 15 years ago (so like 1997), or maybe a little longer. And I remember very little about it, except that I enjoyed it.

But here are the few things I do recall:
The main character's name was Tracey (or it may have been her mother), and she was around 12 or 13 years old
She lived near the Flinders Ranges in South Australia
She rode her bike most places
There was an abandoned mine in which caused her problems
She had a big fight with her mother at some point in the story
And (I think) she had a dog

And that's about it. And help or suggestions would be much appreciated!!

[Gabs]

Could it have been a book by alan Davidson. He wrote the bewitching of Alison Albright, which takes place in Australia or England, I can't remember which.

[Jayme]

Letters From the Inside?

[Jules]

Gabi, nope, don't think so. Couldn't find anything on him that seemed to relate to a book like that. But thanks.

Jayme, I don't think it was written in letter form. Looked into the book some more while writing this reply and it definitely just isn't quite right. Thanks though, that was a great guess.

[Gabs]

Marina In A Green Dress okay, I'm just going to give you a book Alan Davidson wrote just in case, because the alan Davidson that I found on goodreads was some guy who wrote about food, and the one I was talking about wasn't popping up.

[Jayme]

This probably isn't right, but I thought I would throw it out there too. It has the Australian mining town element and conflict with the mother...Jasper Jones...

[Jules]

Ah, thanks, Gabi for clearing that up. But it's still no. :(

Jayme, nope, the lead was definitely a female teen. Thanks though.

[Jules]

bump

[Jules]

bumpity

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Juli--you should wait at least a couple of weeks--maybe even a month to a month and a half before bumping. That way you have a better chance of catching the eye of different people as we add new members, old members come back, and those of us who only check in occassionally have a chance to read the back files.

[Jules]

Alrighty. That last one was a couple weeks though...

But I doubt I will bump anymore anyway.

[Jules]

Wow. This was hard to find.

One last bump and then I give up. Hope somebody can figure it out.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Juli, don't give up hope. Just keep bumping it. I had a book that was ID'ed after 3 years. And I know others who have had the same thing. You just have to keep hoping that "that special someone" who has also read the book will see your thread and go, "Snap, I know that book. It's . . ." So, cross your fingers and toes and just hang in there. We'll all keep looking too.

[Lisa]

A Stranger in the Dark
Couldn't find if this is set in Australia.

[Christie]

Here are a few lists of books that might be helpful...

Best Modern Australian Literature http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/30...

and Best Books Set in Australia http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/39...

[Jules]

Oh boy Lisa, that sounds so close. There's just a couple little things that don't sound right. Gosh I wish that was it.

Thanks Christie, I'll take some time and look into those links.

[Jules]

Oh and thanks, Ann :)

[bookel]

The Boundary Riders by Joan Phipson.
On a small Australian sheep ranch three children brush with near disaster when they set out to ride the boundary fences and end up near an abandoned mine where they rescue a dog who leads them to a discovery.

[Cheryl]

THE BOUNDARY RIDERS for the link

[Josie]

I think I've found it, is it Shatterbelt by Colin Thiele??

[Jules]

Josie! You're a superstar! That's totally it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you to all who contributed as well :)

[bookel]

Haha, good one! I enjoyed Shatterbelt, and Aftershock : the sequel to Shatterbelt by Colin Thiele not long ago but the clues didn't click! If you'd mentioned earthquake I would have thought of it. :) Great books!

[Josie]

You're very welcome! Glad it was the right one at last!

[Cheryl]

Yeah, most people's memories don't work as well as keyword searches, unfortunately. The things that stick with us can be totally unrepresentative of the book's online presence. That's why it's so terrific we have a variety of people looking at these unsolved threads, people with a variety of experiences with books and with search strategies.

[Jules]

Well, oddly enough, because there was so little I could recall of it, I actually started to think (specially with seeing all these suggestions that looked close) maybe I had dreamed it up, in a sense. Like, melded two stories together or something. Ha. It's another reason I'm so glad to have it solved. I feel a little less crazy.

[Cheryl]

That's another thing - you def. wouldn't be crazy if you melded two or more vaguely remembered stories together. Happens often in this group.

Anyway, bottom line is, you found your book. :)