What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
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The House Guest
SOLVED: Children's/YA
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SOLVED. Kid's book. Boy breaks into a strange house, spends time in his doppelganger's room (kid in photo looks like him) and reads "A Wizard of Earthsea" while there. Dog seems to know him. Somber & unsettling. Read in early 1990s. Spoilers ahead. [s]
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Sycorax
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Mar 02, 2020 11:19PM
I read this children's book in the early 90s. I suspect it was written in the 70s or 80s. It's about a boy, I'm guessing he is aged 10-12, who begins to break into a strange house and spend time in the bedroom of the kid who lives there. He bears a strange resemblance to this kid, as he sees from photos, and feels a connection in other ways, such as taste in books. There's a dog there, and it responds to him as if it knows him. He reads A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, and notices that the first book is well loved, and the second barely read. At some point you find out that the kid who lived there has died, and his parents have kept the room the same. Eventually he meets the father, who has seen him a few times and initially thought he was a ghost because he was so much like the kid who died. I can't remember if there's ever a reason given as to why he is so similar to the dead boy or what happens at the end. Perhaps the parents adopt him? I don't remember the cover or any details to indicate which country the book is from. I found it somber and slightly unsettling at the time. Thanks guys!
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Damn, this is no help, but I'm positive I've read this!I had this book as a kid, I'm sure of it, but I just did a ton of searches and came up with nada.
I can't remember if there was a speculative/magical reason for his similarity to the kid who died or a pragmatic one. It was set in the real world though.
Rainbowheart I haven't thought of this book in years! Can I ask what country you live in? I'm Australian, but if you're from the US it's less likely that it was an Australian author.Another detail I remember is that the dog is female but has a male name because the dead boy (and the living one) think of all dogs as male and all cats female.
I'm in the USA, but sometimes I was given books from other countries, so that doesn't necessarily point to a particular origin. Of course Le Guin was an American author, but that may or may not mean anything.
Definitely not The Thief of Always. I've read that, and nothing matches.This one is driving me batty. It just sounds so familiar.
It's been two years, but I'll try another bump.
I hope we can track this down! I do still feel very sure that I read it as a kid.
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Is the family still living in this house that the main boy breaks into? At first, why does he enter the house?
I also posted this on a Reddit community and someone got it! It's The House Guest, by Eleanor Nilson! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
That should be Eleanor Nilsson, sorry. It is Australian after all, won a bunch of awards when it came out. Thanks for all the help!
Awesome, glad you found it!
Wow, well, I don't recognize that cover at all, but I have read this book. The name Gunno is ringing major bells.
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
The House Guest (other topics)The Thief of Always (other topics)
