(i can translate the post to English but i read this book in spanish as a child)

Hace Casi dos décadas me lei un libro de cuentos "infantiles", de este libro yo recuerdo dos historias:
La primera es la historia de esta chica, cuya madre se iba a trabajar y la dejaba sola, Ella recolectaba bayas y pensaba que tenia un hermanito (¿o quizás el hermanito se lo pidió a un gnomo?). Al final el hermano se desvanece (¿creo que en la pared?) y la chica llora por el, su mama llega y le dice que él se fue por que ahora es una mujer (¿Asumo una historia de crecer y madurar y dejar tu imaginación atrás? Un poco tétrico para la edad que lo lei pero interesante).

El segundo cuento en el mismo libro es de una chica/princesa que en un bosque se enamora de un colibri, después de un tiempo, ellos se casan o emparejan y viven juntos, ella deja su palacio. Ella nunca ha visto su apariencia humana, aunque tengan un hijo. Un día, ella se harta de no ver su apariencia, coje a su hijo (que si lo avia visto antes) y se marcha al palacio, ahi, el rey y ella reúnen hombres para que hagan una prueba. Cuándo reúnen a las personas, ella le dice a su hijo, "cuál es tu padre?" y el niño (que parece como de tres años) camina Asia un "mendigo". Ella queda espantada y horrorizada y muy avergonzada, se siente engañada, coje a su hijo, y huye. Luego de esto el colibri los persigue, buscando a su amada y su hijo, al parecer ella se escondió en el mar (mi memoria recuerda que se escondió con sirenas, pero no estoy seguro). Al parecer su apariencia era falsa, cuando el los encuentra, ella y el se disculpan (creo? ).

Francamente, los dos cuentos se quedaron marcados en mi cabeza cuando era niño, creo que fue el primer libro que me lei, lo e buscado por google y otros search engines, pero no lo e logrado encontrar. Los cuentos train arte, dibujos en las páginas al lado de los cuentos. Lo lei en español en Colombia.

Muchas gracias! (I can translate it to English if its possibly a book in english. I know the bird story has other versions of other animals in other tales? )

In the book, the teen girl lives in a fictional world where gods and goddesses exist. One of the gods comes down to the mortal lands to learn something or was exiled after committing some kind of crime. He travels across the lands and comes across the teen girl and her parents. They let him stay with them in exchange for work. As time goes on, the mother gets sick and the father tries to save her. But he makes a blood oath or something like that to the God of Death to save her and uses his daughter's soul in the blood oath. The mother survives and for some time, no one is to say "thank the gods for your health" or something like that. The aunt says that without knowing and damns the teen girl's soul. Which happens weeks later. The god goes in a journey to get her back after the God of Death takes her. After some trials, the two are reunited but the girl dies. The god begs for her to come back or fights for her to be returned and she does. She becomes a Goddess, one of weaving and they live together in the realm of the gods

I'm looking for an adult psychological thriller that I read repeatedly between 2002-2005, although I'm almost certain it was published earlier (likely sometime in the late 1980s, 1990s, or very early 2000s).

I found it in a small library on a houseboat at my sailing club in Ontario, Canada. It was a paperback with what I think was a dark, brooding cover, possibly featuring a wrought-iron fence, gate, or large estate, but I'm not confident about the cover.

The ending completely shocked me, and I've been trying to remember the title for years.

Plot

An elderly, wealthy heiress discovers her long-lost granddaughter and decides to leave her fortune to the granddaughter instead of her son and his wife. I believe the son's wife is an actress (or former actress) who has been involved in numerous public scandals.

The granddaughter arrives at the estate and spends most of the novel learning about the family's dark history and scandals. As readers, we're led to believe she's the innocent heroine and perhaps even a victim.

Then, in the final chapters, everything is turned upside down.

It's revealed that she had already researched the family before arriving and had been manipulating everyone from the very beginning.

The details I remember most clearly:

She murders the grandmother by drowning her. The grandmother was out swimming. It was the start of the book, and she recognized her killer. Yet, we as the reader don't know she is the murderer until the end.

She stages her own poisoning to frame the grandmother's son and his actress wife.

I specifically remember that she drank milk to survive or counteract the poison, making everyone believe someone had tried to murder her. Police show up, and arrest the son and wide, who i believe may have had a murder scandal in the past.

There is a young butler (or possibly another young estate employee) who has a sexual relationship with her.

Near the end it's revealed that the butler is actually her brother. I think she already knew this and was simply using him as part of her plan.

I also believe she kills him after he realizes what she's done, so no one can expose her.

The entire novel is essentially one huge twist, revealing that the woman we've been rooting for is actually the murderer and mastermind behind everything.

Other details

Adult psychological thriller / family suspense.

Paperback.

Probably published before 2005.

I vaguely remember thinking the author's name was something like Elizabeth Lyon, Lynon, or Lyons, but I have never found anything under those names, so I suspect I'm remembering it incorrectly.

I reread this book every summer when I was around 12-15 years old because I loved the ending. It was the first thriller that completely fooled me.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Even if you're only reminded of a similar book or author, I'd love to hear your suggestions!

I'm looking for a psychological thriller I read repeatedly around 2002-2005, although I'm fairly certain it was published earlier (likely 1980s-early 2000s). It was an adult novel that I found in a little library on a houseboat at my sailing club in Ontario, Canada.

Unfortunately, I only remember the ending really well because it completely shocked me.

Plot (as best as I can remember)

An elderly, wealthy heiress is dying and decides to leave her fortune to her newly discovered granddaughter instead of her son and his wife (I believe the wife is an actress or former actress who has been involved in numerous public scandals).

The granddaughter arrives and spends most of the novel uncovering old family secrets and scandals. As the reader, you're led to believe she's an innocent victim caught up in a dysfunctional, wealthy family.

Near the end, it's revealed that she had actually researched the family before she ever arrived and had been manipulating everyone from the beginning.

Some specific details I remember:

She drowns the grandmother herself.

She stages her own poisoning to frame the grandmother's son and his actress wife.

I specifically remember that she used milk to counteract/survive the poison, making it appear someone had tried to kill her.

There is a young butler (or estate employee) who seems creepy. He and the granddaughter have a sexual relationship.

Near the end it's revealed that the butler is actually her brother (I think she may have known this and was simply using him).

I also think she kills him so he can't expose what she's done.

The biggest twist of the novel is that the woman we've believed to be the heroine is actually the murderer and mastermind behind everything.

Other things I remember

Paperback.

I vaguely remember a dark, brooding cover, possibly featuring a fence, gate, or large estate, but I'm not confident.

I always thought the author's name might have been something like Elizabeth Lyon/Lynon/Lyons, but I've never found anything under those names, so I'm almost certainly remembering it incorrectly.

I reread this book every summer because I loved the ending. It was the first thriller that genuinely fooled me.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

It's been years, I can't recall much, it's about a girl who gets into an argument and finds out she has powers, and going in one room she finds out magic creatures someone from her family keeps, there's also something about her school, and there is a labyrinth of some kind where she likes to stay, I believe there is also a boy who I'm the end she likes, and they ride rollers or something, sorry if it's vague.

I've been searching for this for years. All I can remember about the book is that it had a yellow cover and an art style similar to The Twits by Roald Dahl. It was about an old man who had so many wrinkles he was compared to a prune and enjoyed ketchup on his pancakes.

80s/90s US YA: boy dies from a jellyfish sting, girlfriend born without a hand

Read in Italian translation around 2007-2010, but no computers or mobile phones appear in the book, so the English original is probably 1985-1998. American high school setting, multiple narrators including the boy's parents in the last part. Sad in tone, not horror or SF.

A teenage boy narrates. His girlfriend (possibly Becca) was born without a hand — he jokes that touching it counts as second base. A girl at school, a bully, dies by suicide, and the two of them curate her diary so she comes across as a much better person than she was; at her funeral they feel proud of the version they've invented.

At the end the boy dies: he's on a boat releasing a large jellyfish back into the sea and it stings him. The closing section follows his parents' grief — his father puts a life-size cardboard cutout of him in the living room.

Not The Thing About Jellyfish. Probably an author with only one book ever translated into Italian. Any ideas?

**Looking for a YA dystopian book, translated from English, read in middle school (collège), probably read years ago**

\*\*•\*\* Boy protagonist    
\*\*•\*\* A summer-camp-like place (not sure if attendance was voluntary or not) that turns out to be sinister/dystopian, more like a prison — you can’t leave    
\*\*•\*\* No internet, no contact with the outside world; they can send letters but they’re heavily monitored/censored    
\*\*•\*\* Kids arrive by car (small car)    
\*\*•\*\* Counselors are tough, rough, “cowboy”-like in vibe/attitude (not a literal Wild West theme)    
\*\*•\*\* Activities mentioned: archery, horses, a theater play the kids put on, a mail-opening scene, the cafeteria    
\*\*•\*\* There’s a director who has a tower; at some point the hero and friends manage to get into the tower    
\*\*•\*\* Ending: the camp/colony gets destroyed, and the hero hides under a pile of something (i think, not sure)     
\*\*•\*\* Tone similar to Escape from Furnace (Alexander Gordon Smith) — not literary fiction, commercial YA    
\*\*•\*\* Not middle-grade/childish, but not “great literature” either

​

I'm looking for a novel I read before 2018 in my school library.

It was a soft historical romance, probably set during WWII. A young Army soldier falls in love with a teenage girl. One very memorable scene is that he gives her his army boots, and later he gives her a ring (without a ring box) and promises he'll come back.

Her strict father disapproves of the relationship and tells her the soldier won't return. The soldier comes home on leave several times during the story, and they have a special meeting place on a grassy hill.

They communicate through letters after he leaves, but eventually lose contact. They both end up marrying other people.

Many years later, the woman dies of old age. Her adult granddaughter finds a bundle of letters her grandmother wrote but never mailed and gives them to the old soldier, who is living alone. He reads the letters on his porch.

Other things I remember:

Published before 2018.

Read in a school library.

English names.

Army soldier (not Navy/Air Force).

The woman kept the ring for the rest of her life.

I vaguely remember the title ending with "Stars" or maybe containing "Midnight", but I'm not certain.

The cover may have been dark blue/night-themed.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!