It's February 1974 and working class families have been hit hard by the three-day week. The reduced power usage means less hours for people to work, and less money to get by on. Thirteen-year-old Jason feels the struggle keenly. Ever since his parents died, it's just been him and his older brother Richie. Richie is doing his best, but since he can't make ends meet he's been doing favours for the wrong people. Every day they fear they won't have enough and will have to be separated.
One thing that helps distract Jason is the urban legend about a beast in the valleys. A wildcat that roams the forest three villages up the river from their bridge. When Jason's friends learn of a reward for proof of The Beast's existence, they convince Jason this is the answer to his and Richie's money problems. Richie can get himself out of trouble before it's too late and the brothers can stay together.
And so a quest begins ... Starting at the bridge of their village and following the river north, the four friends soon find themselves on a journey that will change each of them ... forever.
My Thoughts
Lesley Parr has the wonderful, rare, and hard-earned skill of writing sublime stories that, on the face of it, seem sensationally simple but, like an onion, reveal later after layer after layer to the reader long after the book has been put down.
Like The Valley of Lost Secrets, Where The River Takes Us is primarily about brotherhood and friendship, and beneath that there is grief, loyalty, fear, and - most importantly for young readers - a lot of food and a fabulous adventure.
The setting, Wales 1974, is sublimely drawn and the issues - poverty, strikes, social care, bullying - are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago. The characters feel alive and individual, each one representative of people we have all met along the way, and the author illustrates the deep love between them without once - as far as I can remember - actually using the L word.
Where the River Takes Us is a thought-provoking, exciting, tear-jerker of an adventure
To be enjoyed by free readers aged 8-11 and a great one to read together at bedtime.