Book title help, pretty please!

MarkEsq

Clever title pending.
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Hi Folks,

So I thought I'd drop in and see if anyone can help me with a title for my finished novel. It's a stand-alone book, and while arguably YA, I'm here in this forum because it's my fave one and some of you know me. :)

Book summary: Set in a small-ish library on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, in 1944, it's the story of two 16 yos (a boy and a girl) who've been rendered homeless by the occupying forces, and who set out to discover who (and why) the girl's parents were wrongly identified as Jews and deported. It's heavy on action and adventure, very light on romance (the intense adventures preclude anything but preliminary feelings). They become good friends as the book goes on, maybe more after. I have an agent interested in it, but he didn't like the title (which I won't go into here as it's now irrelevant!).

Possible titles:


  • Comfort of Strangers (because they didn't know each other before each took refuge in the library)
  • Nothing More Than Air (from the poem A Terre by Wilfred Owen, I'd use it to show the idea that occupation leaves the occupied with nothing tangible, only air to breathe)
  • The Library on Prince Canal (for obvious reasons!)
  • The Happy Legion (from the poem Absolution by Siegfried Sassoon, somewhat ironic reference to unity of comrades in war)
  • Walking By Water (because of the canals)

Or anything else you can think of!!

Many thanks!

Mark
 

Ari Meermans

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Most of my favorite titles came from a line in a poem, so I guess it's no surprise my choice is "Nothing More Than Air"—that, and it's quite evocative on multiple levels wrt your book.
 

fenyo

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I like "The Library on Prince Canal" for obvious reasons :)
 

Deadeyemouse

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While I quite like the poetry inspirations and the fact the history of those lines connects to your setting, in my opinion, they dont quite convey ation or adventure to me without that context, which many readers wouldn't have.

Being an historical setting, conveying the setting is a good idea and I really like the way Prince Canal sounds. Maybe thinking about words that could say danger or foreboding could be effective as well. Something like A Shadow Over Prince Canal.
 

Elle.

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I like "Nothing More Than Air".

On a side-note The Comfort of Strangers is a pretty well-known novel from Ian McEwan so that option could bring confusion to readers.
 

insolentlad

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Though I like 'Nothing More Than Air' I'm not sure the title would mean anything to a lot of readers. The 'Library' title does not suggest adventure at all—sounds more like a cozy place to spend the afternoon.
 

ironmikezero

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The title Holding Breath resonates with me.

I think it's partially the overall tension of the occupation period, the inherent emotional confusion of teenage characters within the scope of their budding(?) relationship, and the tentative yet hopeful sense of some degree of security within the library setting. Don't we all want to feel that libraries are safe havens?
 

Bacchus

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I like all of your suggestions. The one I would probably pick up at the airport is The Library on Prince Canal - if nothing else to see what's really going on - it's obviously understated.

A thought that occurs is bringing the word bridge in might suggest the link between the two youngsters alongside the story and the physicality of Amsterdam. Something like the other side of the bridge... the bridge to the library... the wrong side of the bridge...

 

Enlightened

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I had to translate Prinsengracht using Google translate. It spat out "Princes Canal." You note it means Prince Canal in one of your titles. Which is it?

Other Options....

And Then There Were Two
A Game That Two Can Play
 

Namatu

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None of those titles sound adventure-y, Mark. They're evocative, yes, but this book is not, at its heart, evocative. It's just shy of thriller. The title needs to be a little more punchy. I've got no suggestions to offer at the moment, only trouble to make. :D

*waves to all the AWers*
 

Zan75

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My opinion, for what's it worth:

I'd have to agree with the others who say the selection of titles doesn't really convey "action adventure".
The only thing that quickly come to mind were all the military "operations" that took place during the war such as Operation Market Garden, so perhaps a play off that.
Best of luck.
 

cbenoi1

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What's the name of the library?

What are the symbols in the story?

Other words associated with Amsterdam / Holland besides the canals: the color orange, gardens, cloisters, tulips, bicycles.

Anything about the Dutch famine of Winter '44?


Suggestions:

The {library name} Resistance / Order / Plan / Operation / Caper / Column / Escape / Mission / Covenant / Shadows.

Code Name: {library name}



-cb
 
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MarkEsq

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What's the name of the library?

What are the symbols in the story?

Other words associated with Amsterdam / Holland besides the canals: the color orange, gardens, cloisters, tulips, bicycles.

Anything about the Dutch famine of Winter '44?


Suggestions:

The {library name} Resistance / Order / Plan / Operation / Caper / Column / Escape / Mission / Covenant / Shadows.

Code Name: {library name}



-cb

These are great suggestions, thanks to everyone for their input. I've come to the conclusion that I can't title it "The _____" because all of the books in my Hugo Marston series are "The Something," so I need to move away from that.

I've not concluded what I'll use just yet, so keep those ideas coming if you have them. Thanks again!
 

Writing Jedi

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I skimmed through the titles without reading your explanations, just to see what would organically stand out to me. The only book I would pick up off the shelf to read more would be "The Library on Prince Canal". I don't know why, but I like the sound of it, it conjures up a setting and is somehow intriguing. The others I had no reaction to and would keep skimming by.

However, you don't want to use a "The" title! Oh well, decided to leave my opinion anyway :)
 

anouchka-h

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Nothing More Than Air has a nice ring to it. Comfort of Strangers sounds like a romance to me, and since you said it's light on romance I would go with something else. I like the library bit of The Library on Prince Canal, but I'm not sure I like the Prince Canal. I just don't think canal is a particularly nice word, but that's just me! The Happy Legion sounds very literary to me, but doesn't evoke a strong emotion or image. Walking by Water is nice and it's visual, but it also seems a little obvious.

To me, Nothing More Than Air is the standout. It has some powerful associations, it's evocative, but it also leaves questions. Of those titles, Nothing More Than Air is the one I would pick up.

Hope this was helpful and good luck with your agent!
 

starsknight

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Nothing More Than Air was the first to jump out at me; The Library on Prince Canal would be my second pick. As others have noted, neither of those are screaming "Action/adventure" to me, but actually, I think Nothing More Than Air might be able to carry an adventurous undertone with the right cover. (Perhaps because of a subconscious resonance with Into Thin Air.) It's an evocative title, and the tie-in with a poem in the library seems pretty cool.