Deep Secret
By Berlie Doherty
Published by Puffin
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Children's Book review
When Madeleine's twin sister Grace dies after banging her head after slipping on a rock, her family and the village are stunned by the accident, and there is more bad news when they are told that their beautiful valley is to be turned into a reservoir. Loosely based on the construction of the Ladybower reservoir in Derbyshire, Doherty's story movingly charts the ways in which villagers bear the loss of their traditional way of life. Many mourn the destruction of their homes and livelihoods, but others sense new opportunities. For Madeleine it is the chance to put aside her deep mourning and right a wrong that she carried out compulsively in the wake of Grace's death.
Reading age: 12+
Interest level: 12+
