This is a fun new trilogy from Margaret Petersen Haddix about two tweens, Colin and Nevaeh. While cleaning out a house during the summer, Colin finds a shoebox filled with letters from the 70s. What he discovers takes him on the adventure of a lifetime. He uncovers truths about himself and his family, makes a best friend, and helps solve a mystery. I look forward to reading the next book when it comes out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

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Cute YA book about two 12 years, Colin and Nevaeh. Both of their parents own rival junk removal businesses and both Colin and Nevaeh are working with their parents for the summer. Colin finds a box of letters between two friends and the two kids work together to figure out who the owners of the letters from the 1970s are.

Lots of fun memories from my childhood. I always wanted to have a special adventure as a kid.

Highly recommend Mysteries of Trash and Treasure for the young adult in your life.

Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Secret Letters
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
An easy read for the middle elementary school group, this book has relation to many children whose family have a business and have to help out at their parents occupation. It shows the nature of family obligation, and finding ways to understand and excel with those situations,

In this title, Margaret Peterson Haddix proves why she continues to be a middle grade mystery and suspense mainstay

The Secret Letters was a delightful read from start to finish. Colin and Nevaeh's parents own two competing junk-clearing companies. Each has grown up "in the business" with mixed feelings about the job. In the process of clearing out a house, Colin finds a hidden shoebox which begins the treasure hunt of his life! But the "treasure" is not what you might expect! His search crosses paths with Nevaeh and together they become not only secret friends (their parents cannot stand each other) but also secret detectives.

Colin and Nevaeh uncover the epistolary history of two childhood friends. But the letters abruptly end when they apparently had a falling out. Now the youngsters piece together clues and gather information trying to locate these now-grown pen pals. They hope to find out what went wrong and help get them reunited. But if Nevaeh's Dad knew she was spending time with Colin, he would definitely put an end to their investigations.

The author did a fabulous job of sprinkling in details about the time period throughout the book as well as offering additional historical notes at the end of the book. Young readers will come away with a more complete understanding of the struggles for equality that women faced in years past. I felt the topic was handled in a way that children could understand.

Positive elements I particularly liked: strong family dynamics in both Colin's and Nevaeh's homes; positive attitude toward work; an examination of the expectations our family may have of us and how that can impact one's future choices.

I'm excited that this is the first in a series and can't wait to read the next one!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of The Secret Letters from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

I really loved this book. Both protagonists were kids I wanted to root for. I enjoyed the shifting narration, and how the story more or less continually flowed through their different perspectives rather than stopping in one area and picking up in another. I also really liked how the author made Colin and Nevaeh’s family structures opposite: Colin from the only-child, single-parent, orderly and tidy household and Nevaeh from the boisterous and chaotic 5-child household. It helped to highlight how the differences in their upbringings contributed to their worldview, but also to show that they themselves, weren’t very different. The mystery aspect of the book was intriguing, and I loved how the various storylines and secrets came together in the end. I am happy this is the beginning of a series, because I am looking forward to reading more of Colin and Nevaeh’s adventures.

Middle grade contemporary mystery. In the small town of Groveview, Ohio, there is the Greevey Family business and the Creedmont family business. Nevaeh Greevey is the youngest of five, and this is her first summer working for here dad's business- the Junk King. All of the older siblings and her father clean out people's houses, sorting out the trash from the treasures. Colin Creedmont lives with his mother Felicia, who runs a business in what she calls possession curation. She lets people be freed from their stuff and encourages minimalism. When Colin is working with his mom, he finds a shoebox of letters from the 1970s. It mentions that the other half of the letters is hidden in the same spot in a house across town. And searching for that box is how Colin meets Neveah.

With a family full of kids, the Greeveys know a lot of people in town. So Neveah hears the address and immediately goes over to the house, where she has babysat before. Finding the second shoebox of letters gives the kids a mission-- looking for the now-grown letter writers Toby and Rosemary. They immerse themselves in the pop culture of the 1970s as things are referenced, wonder if the personalities shown in the letters were how the two acted in real life, and create their own world. But soon things take another turn, and the kids realize that maybe Toby and Rosemary are not as removed from their lives as they thought.

Wow. I enjoyed this book so much that I had to switch from the audio version to the ebook version so I could keep reading. I loved the platonic boy-girl friendship, the family dynamics of two very different families, and the collision of the past with today's technology. I'm so glad this is the first in a series and I definitely plan to keep reading.

**Advanced copy courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am generally a fan of MPH and while this will not rank among my favorites of her books it certainly was enjoyable. Coin and Nevaeh develop a friendship while they seek to learn more about some letters they discover while cleaning out an attic. I enjoyed where the book took them but it does have some themes that would be better for older middle grade.

As a kid, I loved Haddix’s Shadow Children series, and this new series does not disappoint. Mysteries of Trash and Treasure follows two kids of rival junk collectors and organizers, who become friends as they solve a mystery that involves reuniting long lost friends who wrote letters to each other in the seventies. I loved the family bonds in the book and the ways in which Neveah and Colin learn about the seventies through the references in Rosemary and Toby’s letters. Overall, this was a great and thrilling read for any middle grade reader! Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC and the opportunity to share my opinions on the book!

I received this advanced copy through NetGalley.
I really loved the twists, turns, and mysteries in the treasure found in this book. Collin and Naveah come from similar, but contrastingly different families. Navaeh's father is the local "Junk King". She is destined to continue in her father's footsteps. Collin's mother is the competition of the Junk King. Her mission is to help people downsize and purge their possessions. The parents are truly opposites. Her father doesn't buy anything new and his mother rids herself of clutter. I can nearly imagine both parents on some DYI or Home Decor television show. Collin, while "working" for his mother for the summer, literally lands on the mystery. He discovers a box of letters written years before by Toby to his friend Rosemary. Collin becomes entangled in the details of their friendship, which abruptly ends. On the hunt for Rosemary's side of the story, Collin stumbles onto Nevaeh and unlikely friendship. Their search exposes even more mysteries! These mysteries unfold skillfully and don't take the attention from the main plot.
I have always enjoyed the characters and plots of Haddix books. Again, Margaret Peterson Haddix didn't disappoint. Collin and Nevaeh were believable and relatable. Their story, in true Haddix format, left me guessing. I am ready for the next installment of this series. I am ready to share this one with my students.

Two sets of friends, separated by 50 years, are the heart of an engrossing historical fiction / mystery tale. In modern-day Groveview OH, Colin and Neveah discover shoe boxes of letters written by Toby and Rosemary, who lived in Groveview 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 1970s 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 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 in the series’ second entry. Master storyteller Haddix is in top form, weaving a complex tapestry of different genres, timelines and generations of characters in a can’t-put-it-down novel.