about a boy who comes across a missing person poster which he believes looks like himself, he goes to this family and he tells them that he is that missing boy

[Shawn]

I was in grade 10 English class (1995), we had to pick books to read and I came across this one book, which I cannot remember.

The book is about a boy who comes across a missing person poster which he believes looks like himself, he goes to this family (and from what I can remember) he tells them that he is that missing boy. I want to say the missing boy's name is Michael, but I'm unsure. I do remember the story did involve the mother struggling with the thought of her missing son, and this now boy saying he is her son.

Unfortunately, I cannot remember much else.

[[deleted user]]

I've read this book. The Year Without Michael? Is that it?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

The Year Without Michael for Andy's suggestion.

Is this fiction or non-fiction? I think about that time there was a teenaged boy who had been taken as a younger boy who freed a younger boy who'd also been taken and went with him to the police, and told them that he'd also been kidnapped by the man he'd thought was his father. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the book (or the made-for-tv movie that they made from it), but is it possible that this is your book?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Gotta love IMDB--I went and checked for the movie and from that found the book. While the boy's name isn't michael, it is written by a mike. . . Could this be it?
I Know My First Name Is Steven

[Shawn]

I believe it may be the book. It fits the timeline, I'm going to have to grab it and re-read it.

Thank you!

[Kelly]

Another book loosely based on the true story of Steven Stayner (I Know My First Name is Steven) is Counterfeit Son, by Elaine Marie Alphin. It may be worth looking into that one as well.

[Shawn]

Kelly wrote: "Another book loosely based on the true story of Steven Stayner (I Know My First Name is Steven) is Counterfeit Son, by Elaine Marie Alphin. It may be worth looking into that one as well."

For sure, that sounds like a very good book!

[Shawn]

Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "The Year Without Michael for Andy's suggestion.

Is this fiction or non-fiction? I think about that time there was a teenaged boy who had been taken as a younger boy who freed a young..."

It's actually fiction. I'm not 100% sure It's "a year without Michael" ...I do remember the boy finding the missing poster and believing it's him.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Shawn, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Rainbowheart]

It's definitely not The Year Without Michael. In that one, Michael disappears without a trace. The book is about his sister and the rest of the family.

[Shawn]

I have not found this book yet.

[Kris]

Shawn, did you rule out:

- I Know My First Name Is Steven by Mike Echols - Ann's suggestion? Do the abduction details match your book?

- Counterfeit Son by Elaine Marie Alphin - Kelly's suggestion? Do the father and abduction details match your book?

[Rainbowheart]

Counterfeit Son wasn't pubbed until 2000, though, and Shawn read his book back in '95.

[Shawn]

the book was definitely fiction.. unfortunately it wasn't the book by Mike Echols.

[Kate]

Main character isn't a boy, but this sounds a lot like The Face on the Milk Carton. It also sounds a bit like Dead to You (2012).

Other possibilities:
The Deep End of the Ocean (1996) a child disappears and later returns, but focuses on the mother
Stranger in the House (1983)

[Jess]

I have read this book! I'm sorry I don't know the author or title.

Years ago when I was in middle school (I'm 28 now) I went to the a public library in Florida. In the teen section I saw a cover that stood out from the rest. It had a picture of a boy with brown hair looking into a mirror with half a missing poster of a boy.

Okay so what I remember is that the boy's grandmother dies and he ends up hiding that he is alone in an apartment. He ends up trying to remember his childhood, He remembers his grandmother neglecting him a lot. A room with red light flooding into his bedroom window as a baby. His grandmother told him tons of stories about how he was "found," Like being left on a doorstep and in the back of a taxi. His grandmother buys him cigarettes and booze. I forgot what happened to his mom.
With nothing to lose he goes to the house of the missing boy because he believed his grandmother was crazy enough to kidnap him.
A mom, dad and sister are living there and they are SO confused. He looks like the boy but older but they aren't entirely convinced.
They let him stay in their son's bedroom. I think they updated it by how old he would be if he came back but stopped a year or so before because they were trying to move on.
They ask him questions about his age and about a scar he has on his eyebrow (chin, cheek i'm not sure).
The mother sits on the couch in a bathrobe and pretends to smoke a cigarette with the teenage boy because he smokes and she tried to quit. She wants him to quit too. They just sit there with unlit cigarettes because she says this entire situation has really stressed her out and she misses the feeling of smoking. But she tells him if he were her son she felt like she would just know but she isn't sure he is her child. But she doesn't mind him living with them.
The sister ends up kind of liking him (like legit catches him looking at himself in the mirror and she blushes). He makes a comment in his head that he knew he was pretty good looking.
At one point I think they take a DNA test and it comes back negative so he runs away and fakes his age to become a truck driver because he feels unwanted and that he doesn't have a purpose in life. The end is when he calls the family to say goodbye at a truck stop one last time. The mom asks him where he is and begs him to come home because they actually ended up loving him a lot. He ends up hanging up the phone and doesn't tell them much.
I have been looking for this book for YEARS. I hope this helps at least a little bit.

[Daisy]

This is not the nonfiction book about Steven Stayner. Steven was kidnapped when he was seven and remembered it clearly during the seven years that he was away from his family; if he saw himself on a missing poster, he wasn't surprised.

That TV movie about him kicked off my obsession with stories about people who survive kidnappings, e.g. Jaycee Dugard and the three young women found in 2013 in Cleveland.

Steven Stayner did have a very difficult time re-entering family life; he smoked and swore and his parents would normally not allow a 14yo to do that. He ended up dying in a motorcycle accident when he was about 25. His brother Cary Stayner became a well-known murderer himself.

[Juels]

Who Is Eddie Leonard? by Harry Mazer?


From the Google Books description:

Eddie Leonard has no idea who his parents are. The woman Eddie calls his grandmother sometimes tells him that her daughter, his mother, abandoned him at birth. At other times Eddie's grandmother tells him that he was found in a garbage can ... or maybe on a park bench. When Eddie's grandmother dies suddenly, he wonders if he ever really was related to her -- where did he come from and who are his parents? That's when Eddie launches his daring plan: he'll find his real family and claim his rightful place.

[Jess]

Oh my God that is the book!!!! Thank you SO much! I can't believe you found it! I am beyond excited! You really made my day!

[Juels]

Glad to help you out Jess. Hopefully we will hear from Shawn soon too.

[Jess]

I hope Shawn was talking about the same book. I'm almost certain it's the same one he was discussing.