Greystone Valley by Charlie Brooks

As you’ve probably figured out by this point, I’m not only a member of several active book clubs, but also of many professional author/author assistant/publisher groups. And that’s how I find many, if not all of my books.

This time, a publisher asked members of a group we’re both in if anyone would be interested in a free audio book. After perusing the publishing house’s selection of audio books, I chose Greystone Valley because…I really needed a light and fluffy kids book.

It wasn’t light and fluffy. Like all great children’s adventure books, there was a definite problem that the main character had to face and overcome. In this case, it’s that the girl preferred to live in a fantasy world in her head because that was easier than facing the fact that her father had died.

Then she gets pulled into an actual land of fantasy, and meets new friends and enemies and faces all kinds of obstacles that make it where she probably won’t ever make it home again. Along the way, she discovers important truths about both herself and the world. Also, a glimmer of understanding of what her mom’s going through.

Like I said, it wasn’t light and fluffy. However, it ended up being exactly what I needed. A good cathartic cry as I was driving down the highway. Weeping openly as all kinds of bottled up feelings got purged. And through it all, my kids sat silently, listening intently, and only stopping the story to ask over and over again, “But HOW did her dad die?” (The book never said.) I think they needed it too.

This story gets a 5/5 for not only being a wonderfully crafted story with vivid and realistic characters, but also for handling death (sudden death at that) at a level kids can understand. I thoroughly recommend.

Greystone Valley was narrated by Serena Scott Thomas and published by Grey Gecko Press.