In this page-turning middle grade series by New York Times bestseller Margaret Peterson Haddix, Colin and Nevaeh, whose parents own rival junk-removal businesses, uncover mysteries hidden in attics and basements and discover how trash can become treasure.
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?
Each book in the Mysteries of Trash and Treasure series will examine a different time period in history and make readers think about how we value the stuff we hold on to—and what it is that makes it valuable.
Author’s note. Previews of The School for
Whatnots and Remarkables.
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School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Two sets of friends, separated by 50 years, are the heart of an engrossing historical fiction and mystery tale. In modern-day Groveview, OH, Colin and Neveah discover shoe boxes of letters written by Toby and Rosemary who lived there in the 1970s. The letters reveal details of Toby and Rosemary's close friendship which came to a dramatic and mysterious end. Intrigued, Colin and Neveah begin a search for clues to find out what happened to the old friends-and possibly reunite them. Their search uncovers long-buried family secrets and the surprising ways people's lives are connected. Readers will be invested in Colin and Neveah's burgeoning friendship as they grow to understand and support each other despite a big obstacle: their parents operate rival junk-removal businesses in the same town. Even worse, Neveah's dad suspects Colin's mom in the puzzling disappearance of valuable antiques he had hoped to sell. The solution to that second mystery seamlessly integrates the history of the modern women's rights movement into the character-driven narrative. It also brings the novel to a satisfying end and sets up Colin and Neveah's future as detectives. 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. VERDICT A winning start to a new series and a first purchase for all middle grade collections.-Marybeth Kozikowski?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.