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Original poster

Please help me remember this YA book from the 90s

113 replies

ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 10:27

I have been trying to remember/find this book on and off for about ten years.

When I was at middle school (mid 90s) I read a book about a community of people who lived in secret tunnels in and around the London Underground. I think it began with a teenager running away from home and ending up joining this secret underground community. I cannot remember anything else about the plot though.

I suppose there is a chance it was written/published earlier than the 90s.

I would dearly love to rediscover this book.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

OP posts:
pollyhemlock · 19/05/2022 15:44

The Secret Line by William Corlett? www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Line-Young-Adult-Books/dp/0099371413/ref=monarch_sidesheet
A bit of a long shot as the protagonist is a girl, but she does have a young male friend.

mummymummymummummum · 19/05/2022 14:13

I would have read it in the 90s

Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 14:03

salviapages · 19/05/2022 13:17

Could it be by Philip Ridley? I read his in the 90s and they are adventures about a teen boy

None of these are it, thank you.

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salviapages · 19/05/2022 13:17

Could it be by Philip Ridley? I read his in the 90s and they are adventures about a teen boy

Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 13:10

BotCrossHuns · 19/05/2022 12:49

I'm pretty sure I read this too - the bit about hiding from the trains or lying on the tracks etc seems familiar - but in my mind it was New York subway.

i've tried googling with NYC instead, and found this, but not sure if it's the one I am thinking of either

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slake%27s_Limbo

Thank you but it was definitely the London Underground. The reason I picked the book up and decided to read it in the first place was because I'd seen some flashes of disused tunnels whilst traveling on the tube and this book sparked a curiosity about it all.

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Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 13:08

BaconMassive · 19/05/2022 12:48

Was it Darkside by Tom Becker?

No, but I'd love to read this one. So, thanks!

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BotCrossHuns · 19/05/2022 12:49

I'm pretty sure I read this too - the bit about hiding from the trains or lying on the tracks etc seems familiar - but in my mind it was New York subway.

i've tried googling with NYC instead, and found this, but not sure if it's the one I am thinking of either

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slake%27s_Limbo

BaconMassive · 19/05/2022 12:48

Was it Darkside by Tom Becker?

Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:43

bookworm14 · 19/05/2022 12:38

It sounds very like this one, but this is presumably published too late to be it? www.penguin.co.uk/books/109/1091284/caged/9780552565226.html

Thanks, but I definitely read it while I was at school. So, the very latest it could've been was 2001, but I am sure it was earlier than that.

OP posts:
bookworm14 · 19/05/2022 12:38

It sounds very like this one, but this is presumably published too late to be it? www.penguin.co.uk/books/109/1091284/caged/9780552565226.html

Shinyandnew1 · 19/05/2022 12:24

I was thinking Neverwhere as well-that was a great book.

ChickenGotLegs · 19/05/2022 12:20

Hobbes8 · 19/05/2022 11:29

Junk was a gritty story about a teenage runaway. Not sure about the underground element though?

This was a brilliant book. Tar and Gemma, runaways who get hooked on drugs. All kids should read it imo! It's an eye opener!

Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:17

mummymummymummummum · 19/05/2022 12:13

I remember (though maybe not accurately) that quite a lot happened before he stumbled into the Underground (I think he was running/hiding when he ended up down there). And that the book suddenly completely changed and became solely about this underground world.

I also remember him having to learn to keep out of the way of trains. One time there wasn't enough space to get to one side so he/they ended up lying between the rails.

We are definitely talking about the same book!

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Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:16

Athenajm80 · 19/05/2022 12:13

I think on Goodreads you can post what you remember about the book and people will help you find it. It may be worth trying there. Please come back if you do find the title, it sounds like a good read.

Thank you, I will try that later on. I'd like to give the MN hivemind a bit more time to come up with the answer first 😆

If I find out on goodreads, I'll definitely report back to this thread.

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Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:14

Letsnotargue · 19/05/2022 12:10

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman? It was published in 1996.

It is fantasy - I remember it including underground bits but according to Wikipedia it’s not all about that.

It's the closest match so far but it isn't the one I'm thinking of.

I will be adding Neverwhere to my reading list though, so thanks for that :)

OP posts:
mummymummymummummum · 19/05/2022 12:13

I remember (though maybe not accurately) that quite a lot happened before he stumbled into the Underground (I think he was running/hiding when he ended up down there). And that the book suddenly completely changed and became solely about this underground world.

I also remember him having to learn to keep out of the way of trains. One time there wasn't enough space to get to one side so he/they ended up lying between the rails.

Athenajm80 · 19/05/2022 12:13

I think on Goodreads you can post what you remember about the book and people will help you find it. It may be worth trying there. Please come back if you do find the title, it sounds like a good read.

Letsnotargue · 19/05/2022 12:10

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman? It was published in 1996.

It is fantasy - I remember it including underground bits but according to Wikipedia it’s not all about that.

Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:07

@Neilsfavouritechilli @mummymummymummummum

I feel sure it was a tale of a male, teenage runaway - sleeping rough on the streets of London. Somehow discovers a whole community of rough sleepers who live and survive in the long-abandoned underground stations and tunnels.

Do either of you remember any other details?

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Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:05

StellaOlivetti · 19/05/2022 11:42

It sounds like The underground conspiracy by Catherine Storr. Genuinely scary!

Nope, sorry not this one either!

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Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:04

AnnaBegins · 19/05/2022 11:35

Viaduct child (apparently now called electric dragon) is the book I was thinking of, if that's it?

No :( thanks though.

I think the protagonist was a teenage boy.

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mummymummymummummum · 19/05/2022 12:03

I loved that book @ZimZamZoom! But also can't remember what it was called. Often wished for a sequel/series and struggled to shake the characters/stories from my head.

Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:02

Lolliepoppie · 19/05/2022 11:31

Could it have been Fireweed by Jill Paton Walsh?

No not this one either. I read it in the 90s and it seemed to be contemporary to the best of my memory.

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Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:01

AnnaBegins · 19/05/2022 11:29

Oh I have this book, she's called Eva or something, lives with her auntie, she's unregistered because she had a weird ECG scan, turns out she's magnetic? The kids she befriends live in disused London underground stations I think. If that's the one I'll hunt the book out.

This doesn't ring any bells at all. Thanks though.

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Original poster
ZimZamZoom · 19/05/2022 12:00

Hobbes8 · 19/05/2022 11:29

Junk was a gritty story about a teenage runaway. Not sure about the underground element though?

I've had a look at this one, but I'm pretty sure drugs weren't featured.

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