Stranger with My Face  Stranger with My Face is a young adult horror novel by Lois Duncan, first published in 1981. The novel is about Laurie Stratton, who is seen by others in places she knows she could not be. She discovers that she has an identical sister named Lia who has been visiting her town using astral projection, which involves sending her soul outside her body. Laurie learns astral projection and uses it to look for her sister. During this time, Lia's spirit takes control of Laurie's body. The story describes Laurie's struggle to take back control of her body. The novel explores themes of appearance versus true self and the idea of a double, someone similar but not quite the same as someone else. Duncan got the idea for the book after hearing about the concept of astral projection, which she thought would make a great plot for a novel. In 2011, the novel was updated with text to modernize the content. "Stranger with My Face" received several awards and honours, being named a "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year and American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults in 1981. It was adapted into the television film of the same name starring Alexz Johnson, Catherine Hicks, Andrew Francis, and Emily Hirst. The film aired in 2009 on the Lifetime Movie Network. The Stranger with My Face International Film Festival in Hobart, Australia, is named after the novel. Seventeen-year-old Laurie Stratton, a Native American adopted by the Strattons when she was very young, is seen by friends and family members in places where she knows she was not. After her adoptive sister Megan sees a spirit who looks like Laurie, Megan calls the spirit Laurie's "ghosty". The spirit contacts Laurie and identifies herself as Lia, her twin sister. Helen Tuttle, Laurie's friend, suggests that Lia was using astral projection, which involves sending the soul outside the body to travel elsewhere in the universe. Helen, however, has suspicions that Lia is not benevolent, and, while returning home one day, is seriously injured while chasing Lia's spirit. Helen's father brings Laurie a Christmas present that Helen had prepared before the injury: a necklace with a turquoise eagle hanging off of it that is said to protect the wearer from evil spirits. On Christmas Eve, Laurie's friend Jeff Rankin plans to bring over books regarding astral projection that Helen had bought for her. On the rocks in front of Laurie's house, Jeff sees someone who looks like Laurie waving him towards her.