What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
Query abandoned by poster
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ABANDONED. Children's book about an abandoned house that used to be a church
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The plot is sort of different, but Wait Till Helen Comes is a kids' book about a family living in an old haunted church.
I've looked at that one and it's not the one I'm looking for. It looks like a good book, though, so I'm going to have to read it. Thanks for the suggestion!
I'd have to research. New or older book at the time you read it?Do you recall the cover art? Publisher? Eg. Scholastic?
http://www.librarything.com/author/ja...Anything by Mary C Jane? (Haven't researched yet, just a starting point to eliminate.)
It seems like it was an older book when I read it. I grew up in a small town, and the library didn't get new books very often, so it was probably published before the 80s. The copy the library had was hardback, and I don't remember if it had cover art. I remember the book was red, but that's not exactly helpful. No idea on the publisher.I've been looking through the list of books by Mary C Jane. Nothing is ringing a bell.
Just to eliminate:The mystery of the ghost bell.
Author: Val Abbott; Ruth Chew
Publisher: New York, Dodd, Mead [1971]
Local legend says the bell in the abandoned church rings when someone dies, so when three girls hear it they begin an investigation.
Random searching...The Secret of Saturday Cove
by Barbee Oliver Carleton, Charles Geer (Illustrator)
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
"ancestral treasure".
(Haven't read, can't confirm.)
"summer storm in an abandoned house on Blake's Island. There they find a musty chart that seems to be a definite clue. Curious and excited, they decide to solve the family mystery."
-- not sure which book this belongs to, review from Google Books.
Ghost cat
Author: Beverly Butler
Publisher: New York : Dodd, Mead, ©1984.
Edition/Format: Book : Fiction : Juvenile audience : EnglishView all editions and formats
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Visiting for the first time on the family farm with relatives she doesn't quite feel comfortable around, fourteen-year-old Annabel gradually unravels a mystery involving a crying cat, an abandoned house, a forty-year-old feud, suspicions of murder, and her own grandparents.
Lands end
Author: Mary Stolz; Dennis Hermanson
Publisher: New York : Harper & Row, ©1973.
Edition/Format: Book : Fiction : Juvenile audience : English : 1st edView all editions and formats
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Twelve-year-old Joshua finds his life and attitudes considerably altered by his association with the new family that moves into the abandoned house nearby.
-- unlikely to be the last since it's a boy main character.
Ghost Cat seems a little familiar, but I'm not sure if it's the one I'm looking for. I'll dig into that one a little more.
I started reading Ghost House today. It's not ringing any bells so far, but I will keep reading to see if it's the one I was looking for.
I read Ghost Cat and it's not the book I'm looking for. The search continues. :)
Google search:"an abandoned house" "school library journal" heirlooms
http://www.loganberrybooks.com/solved...
"Teen/young adult fiction from last half of 80's / first half of 90's (think I bought it same time as The Face on the Milk Carton). Teen girl is riding her bike, comes across old/abandoned house, goes inside and overhears two men in basement doing something illegal (drugs?); they discover her and kidnap her, throw her and her bike in the back of their van. Whole story is her ordeal with them--one is cruel, one is sympathetic and he and she almost develop some kind of bond--I remember she visits him in jail at the end, after the police find her in some kind of cafe? I can picture the front cover--with the house and the bike turned over in the front, but cannot remember the title at all, nor the girl's name."
The first half kind of matches your query.
"Donald J. Sobol, Angie's First Case, 1982. I can't be sure, but this rang a bell of a book I used to frequently check out of my library. Angie helps her sister, a police officer, with a case involving a gang called the Wolf Pack or something similar. I believe both she and her boyfriend were kidnapped. It's by the author of the Encyclopedia Brown books. I couldn't find a picture of the cover online.
Janet A. Stegeman, Last Seen on Hopper's Lane, 1982. A teenage girl (I can't remember her name) is exploring an abandoned house when she comes across two men who are doing a drug deal. They kidnap her (they take her bike too). One kidnapper is kind while the other is very harsh. I think this may be your book.
I had a stumper that was posted as # G423 a couple of weeks ago, and to my surprise and abounding happiness, it was solved by the second poster (in purple)! It is indeed Last Seen on Hopper’s Lane. I was far off on the name (thinking it had the word kidnapped in the title kept me from moving on to other guesses, I think), but that is the book! I have already found it on ebay and it arrived today, and I am in much bliss! Thank you SO much! I have been unable to remember for years and had almost resigned myself to never knowing! "
Don't know if that's your book... I've yet to read Hopper's Lane, though I've got it.
I read Wait Till Helen Comes to see if that was the book I'm looking for. Unfortunately, it's not, though I did enjoy reading it. I don't think it's Last Seen on Hopper's Lane, either. I could be wrong about the mystery part of things. The main thing I remember is that it's an abandoned house that was also a church. That's what drew me to the book - the idea that people could live in a church was a fascinating idea to me. I know that no one was living in the house when the girl found it, but unfortunately, the rest of the details are fuzzy.
Still on the search for this book. Thanks to all of those who have offered help and suggestions.
I realize this thread is over two years old, but I just stumbled across it while trying to remember the name of "Mandy." Do you think that's it, by any chance? "Mandy" is by Julie Andrews, published in 1971, and it's about a girl who is living in an orphanage and comes across a cottage in the woods, which she starts visiting regularly. I seem to remember that there are some of the original owners' items in it, and I believe she does end up having a family connection to the house. Just looking at the online description, I don't think there's a church involved, but the name of the orphanage where she lives is St. Martin's (which sounds pretty church-like), so maybe that's it?
Did you ever find the book you were looking for? I found this thread searching for the same book. I think I read it in the mid to late seventies. I seem to remember the cover had a profile of a girl with blond hair inside the church.
I am also looking for this exact book that I read as a child in the late 80s. I clearly remember her having a home that she cleans and makes her own. For some reason I thought it might have been a Diana Wynne Jones book but don't think it is. I will have a look at 'Mandy' by Julie Andrews as it does sound very familiar.
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https://www.amazon.com/Mandy-Julie-An... There are different cover images. The book contains black-and-white illustrations. Originally published in 1971 under the pen name Kim Edwards, according to Wikipedia.
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Karen (OP) was last active on the site in August 2019.
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
The Velvet Room (other topics)Mandy (other topics)
Mandy (other topics)
Wait Till Helen Comes (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Julie Andrews Edwards (other topics)Julie Andrews Edwards (other topics)
It was about a young girl who was riding her bike and discovered a house which used to be a church. The house was abandoned, and I think it has some of the possessions of the previous owners still in it. The girl begins to visit the house on a regular basis. She eventually discovers that she has some kind of family connection to the house, but I don't remember what that connection was.
Thanks in advance for helping!