Middle Grade book. Boy loses his best friend in an argument, how to spend the rest of the summer, discovers old house? in the woods & makes friend (hermit or kid?). Read in 1990s.

[Sarah]

This is going to be so vague, but I remember reading a book when I was a kid, like 4th to 6th grade, so 1996-99 or thereabouts, about a boy who does something to make his best friend hate him. I don't remember exactly what, but I want to say something of a betrayal? Like the friend was doing something bad and the main kid either told on him or got him caught, so the friend completely cuts him out of his life. He also becomes a bit of a dick to the main kid the few other times he shows up. I do remember the book itself starts after this fight happened and the story is the main kid figuring out what to do with himself for the rest of the summer. I also remember he hangs out in the woods a lot because he discovers this half abandoned house or something similar and he befriends the person living there. I do not remember if that person is an old hermit or another kid his age. I also remember distinctly not liking the book because there was no reconciliation with the ex-friend, or even some sort of truce and I thought that was sad.

I want to say the book came out between the late 80s to mid 90s, it was a paperback, maybe around 150-200 pages, and the cover at least had the woods depicted on it, if not the house as well. It wasn't part of any series as far as I remember. I also don't think it was anything major, like it wasn't a well known title and I don't think it was by anyone really well known. I mean I found the book at a library used book sale and even back then I thought the book itself wasn't from a major publisher. It was physically larger than most other children's paperbacks. Like if self-published books were a bigger thing at the time.

[Sarah]

Edited to add a few more details.

[Rainbowheart]

Thirteenth Summer?

[Sarah]

Rainbowheart wrote: "Thirteenth Summer?"

No, I don't think there was an issue of classism involved.

[Sarah]

May be starting to remember something else about the climax. If I'm not just making this up, then the climax was the ex-best friend getting into some sort of dangerous situation with his new friends (maybe involving a quarry or a mine/cave?) and the MC and his new forest friend helps them get out of it. The ex-best friend still doesn't completely forgive the MC, but at least doesn't hate him as much anymore. I remember being mad because it was only that basic step that was made before the book ended. I think I also remember the forest person has a dog.

I want to say the cover depicts the woods, with the main character and his new friend plus the dog on top of a fallen tree trunk or a small ledge on the middle right.

There also wasn't an issue of survivalism or classism, the MC just went to the woods during the day.

[Clare]

Stig of the Dump

Stig appears to be a Stone Age boy living alone in the woods and his modern friend helps him by putting a chimney on his hut to let the smoke out.

[Sarah]

Clare wrote: "Stig of the Dump

Stig appears to be a Stone Age boy living alone in the woods and his modern friend helps him by putting a chimney on his hut to le..."

No, I don't remember the forest person being primitive, that's just where they lived. If I'm even remembering that right. What I remember most is the conflict between the main character and his ex-best friend.

[Sarah]

bump

[Kris]

Sarah, I added more details to the topic header/title, so your book might be recognized from that description alone. Many members only read the headers.

You can update it by clicking the small "edit" link after the topic header. This only works on the full Desktop website - not the Mobile website or app. (On the Mobile website, there's a "Desktop version" link at the bottom of the page.)

[[deleted user]]

It vaguely reminds me of a Tim Wynne-Jones book, but I can't say which, but maybe The Maestro? And being Canadian, and from the 80s or 90s, it might well have felt self-published to anyone who wasn't reading Canadian books a lot! I know there's definitely a Tim Wynne-Jones book with a fight between friends, and there are lots of woods in most of them, but that's all I can say for sure.