SOLVED. Children's/ YA Sci Fi. Girl protagonist held alone in jail cell (water-filled pit for toilet) by aliens? who attempt telepathy but can only put colours or blurred images in her mind. Starts on contemp. Earth. Australian author? Read late 1980s. [s]

[Alan]

Shields of Trell arrived, but isn't it. Plenty of telepathy, much of it to a female pre-teen central character, but verbal rather than visual. Also, no prison cell.

This seems to be the only book Jenny Summerville wrote, so that is something of a dead end.

Also had a look into NZ/Australian author Caroline MacDonald. Not much of what she wrote fits the right time, and little of it is SF (though The Lake at the End of the World is a good book, but nothing like what I am looking for). Can't positively rule out Visitors, but the main character is male, so it seems very unlikely.

While I was at it, looked into Jackie French. Very prolific in a wide variety of genres, including non-fiction, but (thankfully) most of it after the end of the time period I am looking for. Can't absolutely rule out The Music from the Sea or its sequel, The City in the Sand, but seems too late.

[Leonie]

Stray could be a possibility? But it's probably too modern.

[Rainbowheart]

Can't be that. Stray was published in 2011, and Alan read his book in the late 1980s.

[Alan]

Bump.

Had a more thorough look through the works of Patricia Bernard, and thought We are Tam was a possibility, but wasn't it. Had plenty of telepathy, but mainly of a verbal and not visual kind, and no jail cell.

[SBC]

Hi Alan, I'm not sure if The Return by NZ writer Barry Faville is on your list of books to explore (pub.1987) but I just finished it and wanted to let you know it has some of the elements you've described but might not be a match (warning: spoilers coming!)

Alien visitors Karl and his 'mother' are here to see if human minds can receive telepathic messages. These are sent as images rather than words and there are a lot of descriptions of light coming through initially. They mostly communicate with a teenage boy, Jonathan, but at one point they are holding an old woman (who has some of their abilities) and her husband as prisoners in a room in their house. Hope this helps on your journey to find your book, even if only to rule one out!

[Alan]

Thanks SBC!

Have not heard of Barry Faville. Will check this out if I am able, though I definitely recall the main character as a girl. WorldCat shows closest library copy is in Liverpool, UK - a mere 10,500 miles down the road. Could take a while.

[Kris]

Google Books has a snippet preview of The Return by Barry Faville - SBC's suggestion. You might get lucky searching for keywords.

https://books.google.com/books?id=X6A...

[SBC]

Alan wrote: "WorldCat shows closest library copy is in Liverpool, UK - a ..."

Oh lol! Send me a PM if you'd like me to post you my copy (I picked it up cheap at a secondhand bookstore and don't intend to hang on to it!).

[Alan]

Thanks SBC. Will check out my local second-hand book stores first - they have only just reopened after yet another lockdown, and desperately need customers.

[Kris]

Alan wrote: "... local second-hand book stores first - they have only just reopened after yet another lockdown, and desperately need customers."

Good point.

[SBC]

I just found an Australian novel I'd never heard of that might be worth a look. It's called There Was This Man Running by Australian writer N. L. Ray (aka Nan Hunt) (first published 1979). It's about a boy and his sister who get involved with alien visitors who try to communicate with them telepathically and the sister is abducted. I haven't read it but it's available for free loan at the Open Library.

[Alan]

Thanks again SBC - much appreciated.

Sounds like a possibility. Will check this out when I get a minute.

[Rainbowheart]

Fingers crossed! I'd love to see this one get solved.

[Alan]

SOLVED!

Book is There Was This Man Running.

The (minimal) amount I remember is on p.91.

The book is very Australian - to the extent that I am surprised it was reprinted in America. The copy scanned for Open Library was held by a library in Franklin, Indiana, to my amazement.

Many thanks, SBC. And also to everyone else who commented. I didn't think this would be solved.

[SBC]

Yay! I'm so happy you were able to solve it after all your hard work looking. :)

[Rainbowheart]

Yay, yay, yay!!!

*happy dancing*

Now we need to work on your others!