A gripping mystery, overflowing with heart - The Valley of Lost Secrets is one of the very best books I've read this year. - Carlie Sorosiak, author of I, Cosmo

The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr | Waterstones

The author lovingly describes life in a small Welsh community where everyone knows everyone, and yet a huge secret lies hidden at its heart. In The Valley of Lost Secrets, Lesley Parr has given us a real l gem of a book. I can see teachers covering World War 2 using it as a class reader, and I would not be surprised to see it featuring in awards lists in the coming year. I look forward to seeing what delights this clever author offers us next!

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Ronnie is a sweet young boy who, although he may sometimes slip up, obviously looks up to his brother immensely. He doesn’t fully understand the enormity of the situation, which makes it easier for him to adjust. He knows how to wind his brother up, and although he admires Jimmy, he also shows his own strength of character – one scene in particular springs to mind, which I won’t spoil, but you’ll see what I mean once you’ve read it! this was such a beautifully written book... i loved the simplicity of the language and the smooth incorporation of welsh words and phrases in the text. also, the landscapes described were sooo breath-taking that now i wanna visit wales so bad ;-; The Valley of Lost Secrets is a book I found deeply emotional but thoroughly enjoyed reading. I was drawn to the book because I had studied World War Two at school and loved reading the wartime classic with my class: “Goodnight Mister Tom” by Michelle Magorian. The Valley of Lost Secrets offered a different fictional perspective of evacuation during the war, seeing three London children move to the Welsh countryside. Lesley Parr’s story of evacuees is rich in atmosphere and a sense of place, and uses its wartime setting to explore themes of community, understanding and self-forgiveness. Along with other children at their school, Jimmy and his little brother Ronnie have been sent hundreds of miles away from London to the safety of a small mining town in South Wales, and it couldn’t be further from what they know. Jimmy is determined they won’t stay long, and that the place won’t change him, even as it’s transforming his classmates: Florence Campbell for example, who is free to become someone else, far away from her abusive family. The village has its secrets though, and the discovery of a set of bones in a tree leads Jimmy to solve a decades old mystery and, in the process, to help those living with loss and guilt. The place and its people are carefully and skilfully evoked, with the adults, particularly Jimmy and Ronnie’s new ‘family’ of Aunty Gwen and Uncle Alun the miner, likely to be as fascinating to readers as the younger protagonists. The mystery will certainly keep readers gripped but it’s the characters and the place that will stay with them.

The Valley of Lost Secrets | Book Review - Libraries 4 Schools The Valley of Lost Secrets | Book Review - Libraries 4 Schools

An unforgettable story that already feels like a classic. Has fast become one of my all-time favourites. Every school should read this. - Juliette Forest, author of Twister A good read. it was a fiction book based on the second world war (WWII). I would recommend this book.Here we are, a wriggling, squiggling line of schoolchildren. Duff’s at the front with his little sister. She’s even younger than Ronnie; too young to understand any of this. I can’t see many faces; most are looking at our teacher, Miss Goodhew. Some of us seem excited, some curious, but I bet everyone’s nervous. Even the ones pretending not to be. Maybe even Duff. The Valley Of Lost Secrets is as uplifting as it is heartbreaking. It made me smile, it made me laugh, it made me cry but most of all it made me have all the feels. Like a warm and comfy blanket that envelopes you and makes you feel all snug and cozy. You can feel how much love and care has gone into every word, every description, every historical fact and every character. When you finish a book with tears in your eyes you know you’ve been fully invested and the book has captured your heart. With echoes of Carrie's War, and Goodnight Mister Tom, Parr brings her own fresh voice to what already feels like a wartime classic. This story is quietly brutal and brilliantly heartfelt. I absolutely ADORED it. - Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse Shortlisted for The Branford Boase Award 2022 | Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Award 2022 ages 7-10 | January 2021 Debut of the Month Evocative and heartfelt, The Valley of Lost Secrets already reads like a classic. A celebration of kindness and friendship at a time of upheaval, it's gripping, heart-breaking and yet full of hope. I loved it with all my heart - Liz Hyder, author of Bearmouth

The Valley of Lost Secrets - LoveReading4Kids The Valley of Lost Secrets - LoveReading4Kids

Then, up ahead, Duff’s little sister drops her custard cream. She stops dead and just stays there until her face turns a greyish shade of blue. I’ve seen her do this lots of times before, when we’ve been out playing, but Mr Bevan looks horrified. But she keeps on smiling, eyeing my tag. ‘And you’re a Travers too. Ronnie’s brother, is it? So are you a James or a Jimmy?’ I wonder how many Joneses are in this place. All the people, except a young-looking couple on the front row, sit down again. This book was such an utter joy to read. Powerful. Poignant. Unforgettable. And beautifully written. Pure gold from start to finish. There isn’t as much sky as I thought there’d be. And what I can see is clear and blue, not the never-ending rain clouds we were told we’d get in Wales.What’s he talking about? Adventures happen in jungles or on raging rivers or in the Wild West. Not here. Not in Wales with a whimpering little brother and a custard cream.

The Valley of Lost Secrets - Bloomsbury Publishing The Valley of Lost Secrets - Bloomsbury Publishing

But then he finds a skull hidden in a tree, and suddenly the valley is more frightening than the war. Who can Jimmy trust? His brother is too little; his best friend has changed. Author's Biography Willie Beech, a lonely and deprived child, is evacuated to a tiny English village just before the Second World War, and finds himself living with reclusive widower Thomas Oakley. Ronnie’s crying again. It’s OK for little brothers to cry but big brothers have to be the brave ones. Not that I would cry, anyway. I’m twelve. He watches sadly as a guard puts our suitcases in a pile near the gate at the end of the platform.Evocative and heartfelt, The Valley of Lost Secrets already reads like a classic. A celebration of kindness and friendship at a time of upheaval, it's gripping, heart-breaking and yet full of hope. I loved it with all my heart A beautiful setting, real people, real stories and an author who brings it all to life.... I simply cannot wait to read what Lesley Parr writes next.... I have no doubt it will be another classic! Truly fabulous book, so well written and draws you in to the lives of the characters immediately. A definite winner!