The Secret Letters

Mysteries of Trash and Treasure Series, Book #1

When Colin finds a shoebox full of letters hidden in a stranger’s attic, he knows he’s supposed to throw them away. That’s his summer job, getting rid of junk. But Colin wants to rescue the letters–and find out what really happened to best friends Rosemary and Toby way back in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, across town, Nevaeh also finds a mysterious letter. But this one reads like a confession to a crime. And Nevaeh knows her father, the “Junk King,” expects her to join the rest of the family in blaming a single suspect: his business rival, Colin’s mom.

But that’s not what Nevaeh wants, either.

Even as one set of letters bring Colin and Nevaeh together, the one Nevaeh found threatens to tear them apart. Is their new friendship as doomed as Rosemary and Toby’s?

“An engrossing ­historical fiction and mystery tale… Master storyteller Haddix is in top form, weaving a complex tapestry of different genres, time lines, and generations of characters in a can’t-put-it-down novel.–School Library Journal, starred review

(T)his accomplished series starter… build(s) momentum through a gently feminist undercurrent while conferring character depth via the tweens’ affection for the letter writers and their own opposing views on objects from the past.–Publishers Weekly, starred review  

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