Voice of the Valley

Susan Kemp is an instructor at the Queen’s School of English,
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

There is an old and indeed trusty adage applied to writers: “Write
what you know.” In Voice of the Valley, this adage seems to have
served Sheena Koops well. Koops teaches high school and lives with her
family in the historic Qu’Appelle Valley in southern Saskatchewan. Her
story of 14-year-old Onja Claibourn’s discovery that the valley in
which she lives and that she loves with a passion is to be flooded is
full of the kind of detailed insights that can only have come from
living in an environment similar to the one in which the young heroine
of the story resides. Beyond veracity of location, the author is able to
capture perfectly the interests, obsessions, dreams, and speech patterns
of a five-year-old and to make us believe and identify with a brave and
spunky heroine.

The questions of boys and emerging romantic love is handled honestly
and sensitively, and for a first book, the writing demonstrates both an
assured style and a sense of maturity not normally encountered in a
debut novel. There is no question that young-adult readers will hang on
every word of this exiting and totally authentic tale. Highly
recommended.