What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Hi, so I read this book when I was in primary school. Can't remember the exact year but I'm in Year 10 now so it was a while ago. It was about a boy and since he was little his family washed him in the River Pactolus which was the same river King Midas washed his hands in. This was because his family wanted the boy to gain the power to turn everything he touches to gold.. but it reverses and it turns out the boy can turn gold to life. It's set in ancient Persia I think, or if not Persia is mentioned. I can't remember exactly what happened but either the boy's dad or mum or both die, and he has this friend which was really a golden statue he brought to life.I think his mum was evil, and whenever the boy misbehaved the mum would either injure the boy or his friend because they both felt each other's pain since they were connected. This is where things get really blurry but I think the boy finds out that his mum killed his dad, or that the mum has been alive all this time, or that his statue friend is really evil. But he ends up bringing another female statue to life which causes complete havoc and destruction because she's evil, and it turns out he really put a spirit of a past God into the female statue which is why she's so powerful. At the end, he manages to fix everything and turn the statue back into a statue. I'm sorry if this is really vague and I may have got some details wrong but i've been looking for this forever and it's bugging me lol. Also (I think) the book may have been part of a series which had something to do with 'wonders'... maybe the seven or the eight wonders of the world? I hope someone can help me.

Casey is still looking for this and wrote:

"Ok so I read this YEARS ago when I was a kid (I’m guessing around 2012?) and no matter what I google I can’t find it. The plot is kind of messy in my head but I’ll give the major points I can remember:
- I’m pretty sure it is set in Ancient Persia.
- It’s basically centered around a boy that can turn gold statues into real people. When he was young he turned this statue into a man, and that man has been his best friend ever since. The boy’s mother used to abuse him when he was younger, but the man who used to be a statue would protect him. I also remember there being a connection between the boy and the man where they could feel each other’s pain?
- Later on in the book the boy makes this big female statue in the town come to life and I think the spirit of a King possesses It. But the statue is evil so the boy has to kill it.
- Around the end a plot twist is revealed where the boy learns something about his mother, I think he finds out that she wasn’t evil and that his friend (the man who used to be a statue) is actually evil instead (or vice versa).
- I also remember there being something at the back of the book saying this book was part of a series that involved the ‘seven wonders of the world’ or something like that, but not 100% sure.
- Book was written in English.

Sorry I know there isn’t a lot of information and it’s kind of messy, but if you have ANY idea what this might be please tell me. I feel like I’m going crazy and this book never existed lol because no matter what I google nothing will come up."

Please bookmark this thread so you don't lose it - and bump it every few months to get new members looking at it.

A long shot - The King of the Golden River: And Other Stories by John Ruskin?

What country were you in when you read this book?

No response, moving to Abandoned folder.

Casey (OP) last posted in the group in March 2017.