Ok - Probably very strange question, but I decided that it's worth trying here.... Someone out there besides me must have read this book and has a better memory than I have! :)
I read a book when I was about 15 in the early 90's - it may have been written in the late 70s or 80s.
The main character was named "Nan." In the book, Nan finds a portal to another "world" at the end of a street. I recall that it's a pretty lonely place, mostly open areas. I don't recall that she met anyone until 2/3 of the way through the book. Most of the book I recall that she wandered around exploring, and then at the end she met someone and there was some sort of battle and she had to make the decision about where she belonged.
Although I have no memory of the details, I was very struck by the setting and by the character and I have always wanted to read it again, and potentially read it with my daughter when she's older - but I can't remember what the book was called or who the author was. When I start to describe it to librarians, etc, they give me a totally blank stare.... Anyone have any idea what book this is????
Thank you all for your responses - I've gone through all the Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time is one of my favorites and I just read it with my daughter) books as well as all the Andre Norton books - it's not any of them. I also tried the book finder search and can't find anything there, either. I may be out of luck! Thank you, all!
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Oh, the book Saturday, the 12th of October is close! But not it! :) I looked at the dust jacket description and there's a couple things that make it not the book I recall. The book I read was definitely on the verge of YA - closer to an Adult fiction book. The main character ends up meeting someone (of course) at the end and their ... interest... in one another is described. She is also able to go back and forth between the two worlds throughout the book. But, just like in that book - she is only gone for a short amount of time in the real world even when she has been gone for months in the other world.
You ladies are amazing! I feel closer than ever! It is entirely possible I was the only one who read the book and then it disappeared or that I am mixing many books together. But, I think it's out there! :)
Thanks!
A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleline L'Engle. I loved that book as a kid! She wrote a number of subsequent books to go after that, but I never did read them.
Maybe you are mashing a few books together. That was a rather tubulent time in a young women's life. That could be why someone else can't recall it. Or it could be that it is a rather obscure book. I don't recall it either but I do recall a couple of books that meet some of the details.
Sounds vaguely familiar...
YA Sci/Fi - Fantasy obviously.
What keeps coming to mind is the Amber series... but it's not the Amber series... so either I read it at about the same time, or it might be a Roger Zelazny or Andre Norton book... but he both & she wrote adult sci/fi-fantasy (although Andre N.'s books are frequently so short that they're easy YA reading). So, I would have been 9 or 10 at the time (because that's when I read the Amber series). Huh. My book memories prior to 11 get a little hazy.
Very few SFF writers had female lead characters in the 70's... MZB & AnneMcCaffrey are the most notable... so to be YA... it was *probably* written in the mid to late 80's. Piers Anthony is one of the best known YA SFF writers... but his stuff is extremely comical. Huh. Now I'm completely stumped.
Hi S., that sounds a lot like Saturday, The Twelfth of October by Norma Fox Mazer. The main character's name is Zan, not Nan, but she finds a portal in a cave in the park and finds herself in a primitive parallel world. She was there for many months, but in "real time" she was only gone a couple of hours. Sound right?
Do you know anything else at all about the book? I've been searching with a few keywords, but more would be helpful. I know what it's like to have a story stuck in your head and have no idea who wrote it or what it's really about. For me, the book was 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry. It took me a while, but I finally found it on the internet. I'm hoping I can do the same for you. If you think of anymore keywords I can search with, let me know!
Could it possibly be a Madeleine L'Engle book?
I LOVE her books... sounds like something she would write.
Good luck,
Susan
i have no clue but totally feel your pain. there was a 'wind in the willows'-y book i read when i was a kid that i just LOVED and cannot remember anything about it except that it had animal protagonists, and some of the beautiful passages. but the name and author have vacated my head. so frustrating!
khairete
S.
Try this link, it's a book finder help..
http://www.allreaders.com/BookSearchAOther.asp?BSID=0&...
