The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr
Jimmy and his little brother are evacuated to Wales along with some of his school. It’s the phoney war, so he doesn’t see the point and is hurting because of what’s happened at home. To make it worse his brother takes to it all like a duck to water and his best mate betrays him.
Lesley Parr creates an inner voice for Jimmy and we travel with him through all his resentment and misery. Useful to be with a hero who is so vulnerable and struggling, especially as he makes the hero’s journey of transformation, discovering that he can accept kindness and love and recognise the patience and caring he has been held with.
He repays this debt beautifully, solving a long-hidden mystery that has been a source of deep pain and guilt. And in the process he finds deeper friendship than any he has lost. Cleverly woven into a page-turning tale of detection, this healing of pains is beautifully and movingly drawn.
