Visitor's Guide to Bavaria

Book Description

You could say that my railroad, the Madham Line, is almost the most important thing in my life. Next to Andy Morrow, my best friend....I guess you could say that I'm not only disturbed, I'm obsessed.

Lots of people think Doug Hanson is a freak -- he gets beat up after school and the girl of his dreams calls him a worm. Doug's only refuge is building elaborate model trains in his basement and hanging out with his best friend, Andy Morrow. Andy is nothing like Doug: He's a popular football star who could date any girl in school. Despite their differences, Doug and Andy talk about everything -- except what happened at the Tuttle place a few years back.

As Doug retreats deeper and deeper into his own world, long-buried secrets come to light -- and the more he tries to keep them invisible, the looser his grip on reality becomes. In this fierce, disturbing novel, Pete Hautman spins a poignant tale about inner demons, and how far one boy will go to control them.

Customer Reviews:

Reading This Novel is a Very Unique Experience .......2007-10-06

Invisible is a very unique novel which has you constantly questioning if you should be feeling sorry for the main character (narrator Doug Hanson) or despise him as commits more and more serious crimes. Pete Hautman has written this book so well that you do start to believe Doug to be the victim of society who expect everyone to behave in a certain way but then Doug turns around and does something where although you wouldn't condone the behaviour of some classmates, you can totally understand the behaviour towards him by the victim and their family. Doug however can never comprehend this which is what makes the read so fascinating. The insight of behavioural modifying medication's effects on Doug's mind are also very well written and may make some parents rethink this method of child control. Whilst most readers will work out what happened in the past long before Hautman reveals it, the journey to the final pages is still extremely enjoyable and fascinating along the way.

Invisible is the tale of 17 year old Doug's present tormented life with flashbacks to his earlier childhood. Doug in some aspects is a genius (he can add the number 17 over and over again until interupted) but in other aspects makes Forest Gump look like Einstein. He tells us readers all about the hardship of being him and can't understand why people can't just accept that he is a loner, who doesn't want to shower or shave much. He is obsessed with bridges and in fact is building a scale replica of one in his basement out of thousands of matches (he has already built the rest of his make believe train set town of Madham out of matches). His school essays are all on bridges and he can't quite comprehend why the teachers want him to write about anything else. His other obsessions are a sigil made up of the initials of his own name and his more popular only friend who lives next door Andy. Andy keeps telling him he should ask out his most controversial obsession, the hottest girl at school Melissa, but she despises him and repeatedly calls him a worm. Her opinion of him never enters his mind though when contemplating fulfilling his own desires!

A must read for anyone not matter what your age!

The Match Game.......2007-07-13

Hautman adds his name to the growing list of YA authors using a protagonist whose point of view comes from a "troubled" mind. Douglas MacArthur Hanson is 17 (the magic number -- keep an eye on it) and a geek whose obsession is the railroad system he is building in his basement (out of matches, yet!). The other unusual thing about Doug is his best friend, Andy Morrow. Andy is the high school quarterback -- a popular jock who you wouldn't ordinarily associate with a geek of Doug's proportions.

More successful than, say, Terry Trueman's INSIDE OUT, Hautman's INVISIBLE delivers on the characterization as we get a real idea of what it is like to be inside this very unusual young man's mind. He's both perceptive and odd, and his observations of teachers, the principal, his parents, and his med-pushing psychiatrist (Dr. Ahlstrom) are not only accurate but amusing. Too bad Doug's plight isn't so amusing.

For one thing, he has this Peeping Tom thing for his beautiful classmate, Melissa Haverman. Not a good idea. As Andy keeps warning him, "You're gonna get caught." OK. Beginner's foreshadowing at work here. And the fallout, as you might predict, is rather ugly, too.

But you probably won't predict the ending -- which is good, if you like that sort of thing. Most teenagers will find this character as fascinating and as difficult to ignore as (if you'll excuse the expression) a train wreck. Good plot, better characterization, and some fun graphics of sigils (another Doug Hanson obsession) as a bonus. Pretty good stuff, then.

awe-some.......2007-05-11

this is not my typical kind of read, but i am telling you, it is a MUST READ.
i cried with so much emotion that it scarred me for days. beautiful and saddning, this book would be on my top of the list.

Invisible.......2007-04-10

Douglas MacArthur Hanson is a geeky boy who has no true friends besides Andy. Andy is the only one that understands Douglas. Douglas has been building a model train set made out of matchsticks in his entire basement. At school he always get pushed round ragged on. He has a crush on Melissa Haverman. At his lunch period he always stared at her. She feels always very violated when he stares at her son then the next day at school everyone has found out that he stares at her in sexual ways. The day after he comes back to school and everyone finds out what he did and all they call him is a pervert. After school Freddie Perdue and his friends meet up with Douglas and beat him up which sends him to the hospital. He struggles to think that Andy is alive anymore because of what happened to him. After his doctor starts giving him the pills he starts coming around and remembering the night of what happened to his one and only best friend Andy. So he had got in trouble by the principal for calling in a bomb threat which he doesn't remember doing. So his parents decided to send him to new school called St Stephens Academy. Then in the end some tragic things happen to him and you'll find out if Andy is alive or not. I would give this book 4 out of 5. I thought it was an interesting book and how he had gone through hardships with his friends. I would recommend this book to young teens.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2006-12-16

Seventeen-year-old Doug Hanson just wants to be alone with his trains. No one understands him except his best friend, Andy. His parents make him see a counselor, which he knows is pointless: Dr. Ahlstrom is not helping me one bit. Why? Because I do not need help--it's as simple as that (p. 22). So he doesn't want to make new friends or hang out with the kids at school--does that make him "troubled?" Of course not. But only Andy seems to understand that and accept him as he is.

Hautman draws the reader into the world he creates and holds them captive. One becomes as mesmerized with the model bridge Doug is building as he is; after a couple of rounds of counting by seventeens, this reader finds herself giving it a try. As the story unfolds, she begins to wish everyone would just get off Doug's back and let him build his models. Must everyone be popular, after all?

INVISIBLE is an excellent choice for readers who enjoy a bit of mystery with their realism, and Hautman is a master of words, only revealing "why" when the reader is least cognizant that there is even a question waiting to be answered.

Reviewed by: Mechele R. Dillard

Goosebumps Boxed Set, Books 57 - 60: My Best Friend Is Invisible, Deep Trouble II, The Haunted School, and Werewolf Skin

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Goosebumps Boxed Set, Books 57 - 60: My Best Friend Is Invisible, Deep Trouble II, The Haunted School, and Werewolf Skin
R. L. Stine
Manufacturer: Apple
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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I Live in Your Basement! (Goosebumps, No 61)

ASIN: 0590390546

Alan Ayckbourn: Plays 2: Ernie's Incredible Illucinations, Invisible Friends, This Is Where We Came In, My Very Own Story, The Champion of Paribanou (Faber Contemporary Classics)

Average customer rating:

Instructive story with a psychological subject
very amusing
Content

Alan Ayckbourn: Plays 2: Ernie's Incredible Illucinations, Invisible Friends, This Is Where We Came In, My Very Own Story, The Champion of Paribanou (Faber Contemporary Classics)
Alan Ayckbourn
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Plays Two:
Ernie's Incredible Illucinations
Invisible Friends
This Is Where We Came In
My Very Own Story
The Champion of Paribanou

Alan Ayckbourn introduces this second collection of work containing some of his wonderfully inventive children's plays, which are a treat to read and a joy to perform.

Customer Reviews:

Instructive story with a psychological subject.......2003-05-16

Invisible friends

4

Instructive story with a psychological subject

The book was easy to read and an interesting experience for me. It's an exciting story, which describes the problems and the sorrow of lonely children and their busy, blind parents.
This instructive book helps to understand kids, who feel alone and haven't got a good friend to talk to. It also grants you a look at their lonely souls. The story suggests you to think about psychological things. But it still contains some funny scenes.

very amusing.......2003-05-16

My opinion about this book is very good because the book was interesting and it has some psychological aspects. I think many children have an invisible friend and so it is really a subject to write about it.
In the beginning I thought that I knew the end of the story but it developed in another way. The book is thrilling and you can read it very fast.

Content.......2000-10-07

Superb flow of writing..! recomended by most Spoken English teachers for their Students for drama. It's a must to boos up your acting skills.

My Best Friend Is Invisible (Goosebumps, No 57)

Average customer rating:

Greatest Book
One of a kind from R.L.Stine's gooesbumps series
pretty good.....
An ok goosebumps book
VERY FUNNY SOMEWHAT CORNY NOT THE SLIGHTEST BIT SCARY FOR ME

My Best Friend Is Invisible (Goosebumps, No 57)
R. L. Stine
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Monsters | Obsessions | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0590568949

Customer Reviews:

Greatest Book.......2006-06-15

Have you ever seen your food disappear without you eating it? Well this happened to Sammy in this book. This book is about how a boy named Sammy notices weird things are going on around his house. No one wants to believe him. Sammy doesn't know who or what it is until he meets it and becomes its friend. Read this book and find out what happens to Sammy and his so called NEW FRIEND.
I love this book because it made me want to read more. When it came to the end of the story I wanted to know more. It left me wondering what would happen next. I recommend it to those who like mystery books or books about monsters. When you read this book you will be surprised to see all the monsterous things that occur!

One of a kind from R.L.Stine's gooesbumps series.......2005-07-02

This book is certainly one of a kind.

Another great book by R.L.Stine, and this is one of my favorite books. Whether you like science fiction or not, you will still like this book if you're goosebumps/R.L.Stine fan.

Sammy Jacob is into ghosts and science fiction. Not exactly the smartest hobby- at least not if you ask Sammy's parents. They're research scientists and they only believe in REAL science.
But now Sammy's met someone who's totally unreal. He's hanging out in Sammy's room. And eating his cereal at breakfast. Sammy's got to find a way to get rid of his new "friend" Only problem is... Sammy's new friend is invisible! (From the back of the book)

The reason why I like this book so much has to be the ending. I mean, the storyline is great. But the ending is very twisted, funny, and for me, cool. I often wonder how R.L.Stine gets his ideas.

To people who don't like Goosebumps because its not scary. What do you expect? It's for 7 - 12 year old kids, meaning not very frightening but a mysterious ending. Goosebumps is a mystery book in a sort way, because every time you read goosebumps series, you wonder how the storyline is going to be connected to the ending. I started to read goosebumps at the age of 8, and never once did I thought goosebumps was scary. (I read almost every book of the Original Goosebumps Series). But I still love goosebumps, and R.L.Stine is the authour that made me wanting to be an authour. So the bottom line is, don't read goosebumps if you want chill on your back. If you want a chill, I'd say watch the movie "The Grudge". LOL!

Anyways, this book gets 5 star for great storyline, ok characterism, and some-what cool ending. =)

pretty good............2005-02-15

this book is pretty good but its all about science fiction...
im not saying i don't like this book i mean i really enjoyed it . so buy this book!!!!!

An ok goosebumps book.......2004-03-17

This book was good but it wasn't scary. There is a surprising twist at the end but I won't give it away.

VERY FUNNY SOMEWHAT CORNY NOT THE SLIGHTEST BIT SCARY FOR ME.......2002-10-18

This book was pretty funny but for a goosebumps book it should have been scarier. as far as nine year olds go,they would probably like it alot,but if they are real goosebumps fans like i am then they will probably notice it is a bit too funny and a little less scary. i say for a seven year old this probably wouldent be scary let alone a nine year old. this wasent one of stine's best horror books!

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Moomin's Invisible Friend (Moomin)

Manufacturer: Heinemann Young Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

The Invisible Friend (Raiders from the Sea Series)

Average customer rating:

Courage, Slavery, Freedom, Love, Forgiveness
The best book ever! A million stars!
Exciting Read in a Historical Fiction Series

The Invisible Friend (Raiders from the Sea Series)
Lois Johnson
Manufacturer: Moody Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0802431143

Book Description

Once again Bree finds the courage to win in a story that builds on the first two books of the Viking Quest series. In this novel, Bree arrives in Norway and is sent to work as a slave for the family of Mikkel, her Viking captor. She struggles to adjust, feeling worthless and disrespected, and wondering why God wants her in Norway. Her prayers are answered when she is given the opportunity to teach Mikkel's grandparents to read using an illuminated Bible stolen from an Irish monastery.

Customer Reviews:

Courage, Slavery, Freedom, Love, Forgiveness.......2007-07-17

In the third book of the Viking Quest series, 13-year-old Brianna O'Toole has come to the Aurland Fjord in Norway. Captured from her home in Ireland, she is now a slave. Her captor, Mikkel, is only a year older than her, but he has the power go on raids and enslave captives. Of course, Bree finds that his father is not pleased with his son's lawlessness. Mikkel spends the book searching his soul for truth and honor, coming to decide he wants to be trusted. He knows he can trust the word of his Christian Irish prisoners, and he realizes that he has a respect for people he thought he despised. Mikkel learns that to be trusted, he must prove himself to worthy of trust.

Bree becomes a slave to Mikkel's mother and soon learns the ways of the Norwegians, all the while resenting her slavery. She, who was a chieftain's daughter! One of her jobs is to tend Mikkel's grandmother, who wakes every night with terrifying nightmares. Bree convinces Mikkel to let her take the Scriptures which were stolen from the Irish monastery during the raid, and to read them to his grandmother. The gospel makes a difference in the lives of each of the Norwegians, and also to Bree. When she pondered Jesus' words, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," and "If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed," she understood that her physical slavery did not affect her spiritual freedom. She was not a slave, but a daughter of the King of Kings! And she was not alone. Jesus had promised to be with His own, and He was with her: her "invisible Friend".

Bree became sure that she had seen her long lost sister Keely, but she could not manage to find her. Was she hiding from her own sister? Stones on the ground seem to leave a message for Bree, but can she follow them? Is Keely even the one leaving the messages? If Bree could find her, the sisters could be friends in this foreign world.

Devin reappears, and it seems that a homeward journey is almost in sight for Bree. However, everything takes an unexpected turn, and Bree and Devin face a renewed battle with fear and hatred. They are both willing to sacrifice much for the other, and in the end a heartbreaking sacrifice shocks the readers. The children are able to survive because of the peace in their souls, peace that only Christ can give.

The author has been to the Aurland Fjord, and her glowing descriptions of the scenery are firsthand.

This is another great adventure into the Viking times, and the Christian perspective makes it so much better.

The best book ever! A million stars!.......2006-11-25

I'm thirteen, and I just got these less than a year ago...and I'm already reading this series for the third time! It's a book that never gets old! You'll read it over and over again and never get tired of it! If you could give it a million stars...I would!
The way the book is written...is magical! You want to read it slowly to get every word, yet at the same time yourself reading it as fast as you can! It's got mystery and danger...but unlike most...it's so real! The best thing is that the characters always turn to God when they need help instead of panicking or thinking they can do it on their own!
As soon as I was done reading the first and second book...I picked up #3! The first one was a million stars, the second one was even better...and this was better than that! (If that's possible!)
I'm not gonna tell you what happens...cause you need to find out what happens for yourself in this one too! You'll find yourself totally rapped up and lost in the book without even realizing that hours that have gone by again!
This is defiantly a must read! For everyone! No excuses!Even people who don't like to read will lose themselves in these books!

Exciting Read in a Historical Fiction Series.......2004-08-03

The Invisible Friend by Lois Walfrid Johnson is an exciting adventure set during Viking times. The descriptive writing and authentic settings pull the reader into life near the Aurland Fjord--an arm of the awesome Sognefjord in Norway. Kids age 10 and up who liked Harry Potter books will find this a compelling novel with powerful conflicts between good and evil. Bree, the main character, steps out in courage through her Christian faith. I recommend all of the Viking Quest books by this author. The Invisible Friend, third in the series, stands out as a book with unpredictable complications such as a character getting Hansen's disease (leprosy). Adults who are interested in Norway will like this well-researched book as well. For me, it was a true "page-turner." I'm eager to read the next one in the series.

Invisible Friend: A True Story of Spiritual Initiation

Average customer rating:

Will fascinate and edify
"All is good in process."
Invisible Friend by L. & Nick Nechay
Tender Wisdom for Your Own Spiritually Transformative Experience
Invisible Friend: A True Story of Spiritual Initiation

Invisible Friend: A True Story of Spiritual Initiation
Laryssa Nechay , and Nick Nechay
Manufacturer: Lost Coast Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Channeling | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 188289782X

Customer Reviews:

Will fascinate and edify.......2005-12-28

Readers looking for continued evidence for living a good life and believing there is more to life than meets the eye will certainly enjoy their trip through Invisible Friend.

I originally wrote a detailed review of strengths and weaknesses, but ended up concluding that no one would likely care. If you are looking for a good Christian-Buddhist (although they certainly don't label it as such) spiritual discussion, this will do the job.

I don't think they realize how much of a leap of faith they are asking for us to believe this book is TRUE, when the characters names are changed and we have no way of corroborating any assertions. (anyone remember thinking Bridges of Madison County was true?)

The people likely to read this book are just as likely to be edified by it, and there's no reason to detract from that. The Nechay's have done a commendable job documenting a very difficult to document set of experiences.

"All is good in process.".......2005-08-02

The book Invisible Friend evidently is my visible friend. I'm reading it for the 3rd time at least. First I eagerly almost charged through for the true story of a couple's fascinating process in learning not to fear, and in the long run to make copiously productive use of wise, loving, protective guidance communicated from a soul entity from a former life to the difficult but gifted husband, Henry, thru the spiritually sensitive wife, Emma, via automatic writing and later automatic typing.

The second reading was to expand on my life-changing experience of the first reading. I had identified with Henry and had begun, for instance, to learn definitely not to judge myself. As recently, "The World's Most Successful Failure," I'm now dropping the self-defeating, uncomfortable need to judge myself as well as others.

The third reading is to clarify my existing perceptions and understandings, and to reinforce the deep but simple life lessons available.

I just want to give this book to an outrageous number of people. It could be a most growth-producing read for all. As the entity Invisible Friend said so supportively, "All is good in process." And in process we ALL most indubitably are!

Invisible Friend by L. & Nick Nechay.......2005-07-26

After reading "INVISIBLE FRIEND",I truly believe God has BLESSED
the Nechay's with PERFECTION in Understanding and Helping to
heal others. "INVISIBLE FRIEND" "Truly Amazing" And I Thank You
so very much for SHARING. Sincerely, M.E.Stuart P.S. It changed my life in a very positive way!!!

Tender Wisdom for Your Own Spiritually Transformative Experience.......2005-07-11

I read this book, and then reread it. I simply could not put the book down. I strongly recommend this book to anyone. The depth and breath of its wisdom is applicable to anyone and everyone. Buy ten copies: It makes a great Christmas gift. This book is a sleeper...it grows on you and grows on you. You'll find yourself referring back to it over and over again. Truth has a way of doing that. This book teaches in such refined and graduated steps that even the most resistant student is tenderly carried along by its gentle, steady current.

This highly respected mother and son team has produced a collaborative work that brings alive the sensitive, intimate, inside story of an immediate, unfolding Spiritually Transformative Experience.

Invisible Friend: A True Story of Spiritual Initiation.......2005-06-26

Besides being enjoyable reading, I found that the book contains gems leading to attunement with the intuitive realm of wisdom that the "invisible friend" personifies. The book is not an escape into improbable life, but takes one deeper into everyday reality and the subtle lessons its challenges and interactions hold. Precisely because it is not an exotic adventure, there is a subtle cross-over into one's own process, leading one to discriminate the voice within that guides us infallibly. -Michelle Berditschevsky, Mount Shasta, California.

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Angels, God's Invisible Agents
Dr. Renald Showers
Manufacturer: The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Product Description

12 cassettes on the following topics: The Existence of Angels, The Number and Nature of Angels, The Nature and Organization of Angels (2 cassettes), The Angels' Relationship to Human Beings, The Fall of the Angels (2 cassettes), The Abode of Angels, The Activities and Ministries of Angels (3 cassettes), World Crisis in the Middle East (Marv Rosenthal)

El Amigo Invisible/ the Invisible Friend (El Barco De Vapor)

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El Amigo Invisible/ the Invisible Friend (El Barco De Vapor)
Carlos Puerto
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Invisible Allies
Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn , Alexis Klimoff , and Michael Nicholson
Manufacturer: Counterpoint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1887178082

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