MG/YA fantasy/sci set in a theme park, title possible something to do with a black hole

[Tab]

Maia, do you remember anything about the cover?

Was it more of a humorous story, serious, mysterious?

What genre: scifi, fantasy, mystery, etc?

Time period/location story takes place?

Part of a series?

[Lark]

Try Neal Shusterman's Full Tilt?

[Kokomomomo]

Long shot, but could it be The Talisman?

The sequel is called Black House.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Giving this a bump since Maia posted recently.

[Angela]

The Watchers: A Mystery At Alton Towers by Helen Cresswell? From Kirkus:

"Two runaways from a gloomy English children's home -- 11-year-old Katy and 9-year-old Josh -- hide out at the Alton Towers amusement park . But they discover they're not alone: Homeless Ollie and his vicious leader, the "King," intimidate the kids into stealing food for them. And then there's the mysterious mute bag lady, who can turn invisible and an old blind man who plays his magic harp at night in a replica of Stonehenge. It turns out that the blind man, Quantum, is the real King of a magical dimension of Alton; the bag lady, Old Mother Alton, guides orphans and runaways to find a home in Alton; and the homeless King is really the Enemy, who's trying to destroy it all. Only Josh and Katy can trick the Enemy into going on a ride called the Black Hole , which will suck him into eternal limbo. Meanwhile, a manhunt ensues for the runaways, which stirs both Katy's clinically depressed mother and Josh's negligent mom to realize that they want their kids back. (Josh and Katy eventually choose to go home rather than live forever in Alton.) Cresswell (Posy Bates, Again!, p. 554, etc.) writes with suspense, builds her outlandish plot craftily, and makes Josh and Katy totally convincing. An engrossing, surprisingly moving, and original novel. (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 1994)"

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Maia, was "The Watchers" your book?

[Andy]

Sounds a bit like Spider Robinson's The Free Lunch The Free Lunch

[Rainbowheart]

Still looking, Maia?

[SamSpayedPI]

Maia wrote: "Yes please - starting to lose hope a bit though!"

Try "bumping" your thread every month or three (just writing a new comment such as "bump" is the easiest way). That way, new eyes/new members will see your thread, instead of its languishing back on page 189 where no one will ever see it.

[Rainbowheart]

Just Tell Me When We're Dead?