We are so excited that the publication day for the new book by Eloise Williams, author and inaugural Children’s Laureate Wales (2019–2021), is fast approaching. The Library of Lost Stories will be published on 3rd September 2026 and is available to pre-order now.
Regular readers know we love her previous books, Elen’s Island, Gaslight, Seaglass, Wilde, The Tide Singer, Honesty and Lies and The Curio Collectors. What a collection to be proud of. Therefore, we were excited to read her latest book on NetGalley to review for our readers.
Read on to find out more about The Library of Lost Stories, discover our thoughts on the book and enter our competition for a chance to win your own copy:
About Eloise Williams
Eloise is the inaugural Children’s Laureate Wales 2019-2021, an initiative run by Literature Wales.
Having originally trained in Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, she went on to work as a performer, theatre maker and creative practitioner for over a decade before studying for a Master’s in Creative and Media Writing at Swansea University in 2011. She has since published nine books for young people, including her latest upcoming release and The Mab, which she co-edited with Matt Brown.
School Events with Eloise Williams
We first met Eloise at a Pembrokeshire Springboard event at our local school. It was a lovely opportunity; Rebecca and a group of other children had the chance to plan a theatre event at their local school. They had to set the ticket prices, make the posters and invites, book the performance, plan and man the refreshments kiosk, check tickets and supervise the event. The theatre show was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a puppet musical production by The Little Angel Theatre. How lucky were those children to have that opportunity, which benefitted the whole school too. It was especially poignant as many of the children had never seen a theatre show before. I’d like to think that, after enjoying the performance at their school, they went on to see more shows. Theatre and the arts are so important because everyone deserves access to creativity, culture, escapism and joy, regardless of their income. Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to see Eloise at various events from time to time. She is so friendly and down-to-earth, whilst also being incredibly inspirational. Eloise Williams is available to hire for workshops and author visits to schools and organisations, so book here if you get the chance.
About The Library of Lost Stories by Eloise Williams
It’s Christmas 1976 in a small town in South Wales, and eleven-year-old Noni and her dad are hiding behind the sofa from the bailiffs. There’s no money left, and Noni’s dad, who used to fix all the town’s broken things, seems to be the most broken thing of all. When Noni meets a new friend, Rebecca, and borrows a library book, she realises that fixing the town’s old mobile library might be the thing to bring a spark back to her dad’s eyes. But the library van is stuck on Mrs Williams’ driveway and has been since the Aberfan disaster ten years earlier…
Our Thoughts on “The Library of Lost Stories”
The Library of Lost Stories by Eloise Williams is a beautifully written story of hardship, determination, community, care and love. Set in the Welsh Valleys, it tackles some incredibly difficult issues in a gentle, sensitive and ultimately hopeful way.
From the beginning, I felt that familiar Sunday afternoon before school worry. There is a sense that something is wrong and that problems are building, but also a reassurance that, somehow, everything will eventually be okay.
At the centre of the story is Noni, a young girl carrying worries that no child should have to bear. She is hungry, and constantly trying to work out how to make things better for her dad. Their electricity is running low on the meter, food has to be stretched as far as possible, and the arrival of the bailiffs, or “vultures” as Noni calls them, is a constant threat.
Sadly, I think many children will recognise elements of Noni’s life, particularly during the ongoing cost of living crisis. Children notice when there is not enough food, when the heating cannot be switched on or when their clothes need replacing but there is no money available. They hear the knocks at the door and feel the tension in the adults around them, even when those adults try desperately to protect them.
Noni is too young to earn money and far too young to be responsible for solving the family’s problems, but that does not stop her from worrying about them. She and her dad feel they cannot ask for help because they fear being reported to social services and possibly separated. Their family motto is:
“Keep quiet. Keep ourselves to ourselves.”
The novel explores the shame and embarrassment that can accompany financial hardship, even though Noni’s circumstances are not her fault. From the outside, we can see that this family has been overwhelmed by a series of incredibly difficult circumstances. Anyone would struggle in their position, yet Noni and her dad feel that they should somehow be able to cope.
It made me think about how easily we judge ourselves, and other people, according to financial status. I know people sometimes say, “The harder I work, the luckier I get,” but we must also acknowledge that some people have far more difficult starting points than others. Hard work matters, but so do health, bereavement, opportunity and simple luck.
Noni’s wider community is struggling too. There are people working all hours whose nerves are frayed, families affected by “poverty imprisonment” and others living with the long-term consequences of dangerous work. Noni’s neighbour, Mr Evans, was a miner until lung disease forced him to remain at home. His loud music initially annoys her, but she begins to understand that it is one of the few things he has left. They all also live under the dark shadow of the tragic Aberfan disaster.
This is such an important reminder that if we stopped to wonder why people behave as they do, and listened to their stories, we might all become a little kinder.
Noni wants to fix things for her dad, but the brokenness extends beyond their home. The town’s park is neglected and damaged, while services and shared community spaces have disappeared. Her father is no longer able to repair things as he once did. The imagery of stopped clocks runs through the story, connecting things that can no longer be fixed with lives and the clocks that were suddenly stopped during the Aberfan disaster.
Aberfan is not merely a piece of historical background within the novel. Its impact is still woven through the community and through Noni’s own family. We learn that the disaster broke her mother’s heart, costing her life, showing how a tragedy of this scale continues to affect people across generations. It is a disaster the whole world should know about and one we must never forget. Telling people’s stories is one way of remembering and honouring them.
Eloise also paints a vivid picture of Noni’s South Wales hometown, especially the Giant’s Bite quarry and the valley beyond. The landscape feels like a character in its own right: beautiful yet scarred, rich with folklore, memories and the stories of those who have lived there. It is also where Noni feels closest to her mother, making the setting every bit as important to the story as its characters.
Noni’s life begins to change when she meets a lovely dog called Jones and Rebecca, a twelve-year-old girl from Swansea. The girls are initially cold and wary with one another, and their first meeting feels not unlike a Wild West showdown as they cautiously size each other up. I loved how honestly this captures the way children can react when they are expected to become friends. Adults sometimes forget this part of childhood and assume that all children of the same age will naturally get along immediately.
Their shared love of books gradually brings them together. Rebecca lends Noni Carrie’s War, another significant Welsh coming-of-age novel and one of my own favourites. I loved reading it aloud as a class reader at school. When it was the teacher’s turn to read, Miss Spillane would tell us to relax, put our heads down and close our eyes while she read to us, using a lovely country accent for Hepzibah. Years later, I loved doing the same when I read the story to my own children and pupils.
Noni’s decision to speak to Rebecca and borrow Carrie’s War creates an unexpected opportunity. It encourages her dad to talk about books and, eventually, to open up about Noni’s late mother, something Noni has desperately wanted him to do. He tells her that he met her mum on the mobile library. Sadly, the service is no longer running.
This sparks Noni’s determination to bring the mobile library back. What follows is a tale of hardship, persistence and the power of people working together. Noni gradually realises that she cannot, and should not, fix everything alone. Things are better when they are shared.
Books brought her mum and dad together; they brought her dad back to her, and now books begin to bring an entire community together.
The novel represents children who are struggling in many different ways. I hate hearing people say that “children these days have it easy”. So many children I know have already been through far too much. Widen that view to include children throughout the world, and it becomes truly heartbreaking.
The story also represents communities fighting to protect the things that matter: parks, public toilets, libraries, mobile libraries and community halls. These are not unnecessary luxuries. They provide warm, safe and welcoming places for everyone, regardless of their financial circumstances. Stories, and the places where we share them, should belong to everyone.
At one point, Noni talks to her mum among the stars (on her bedroom wall) and promises, “I won’t let you down, Mum.” I found this especially moving. Our loved ones never fully leave us. They continue to influence our lives through our thoughts, choices and actions.
The book also examines both the light and dark power of storytelling.
Mrs Williams has become known locally as a witch because of tales that have been repeated and exaggerated over many years. Stories change each time they are passed on, yet people can come to believe them as truth. The same thing happens with gossip and with untrue stories told about other people. Words can connect and heal us, but they can also isolate and harm.
I loved watching Noni change as she begins to let people into her life. Once she has one friend, she gradually becomes more open and friendly towards others, including Gareth, the local milk-boy (remember them?) and Clare, the mechanic. As Noni builds a community around herself, it is no longer only the bailiffs who knock at the door. Friendship comes knocking too. Far better for the soul.
A scene in Clare’s garage, where they have a cup of tea and a Penguin biscuit, unlocked a lovely childhood memory for me. On our street, we used to create clubs that were organised by the different children in different houses. My older sister, Jo, and I ran a little club in our garage. We kept the membership money (20p!) in a small tin box and, in exchange for their “subs”, our friends received a glass of squash and a Penguin biscuit. We wrote newsletters filled with articles, jokes and puzzles, and performed little sketches for one another. It was simple, but it gave us a shared place and a sense of belonging.
That is one of the things this story understands so well. Even when everything else seems to be failing, having one another can make an enormous difference.
Noni eventually reaches boiling point and all her fear, frustration, and rage come pouring out. It is an understandable response to carrying far too much for far too long. However, speaking out also becomes a turning point. Sometimes we can only begin to make something happen when we say it aloud for other people to hear. Once others understand the problem, everyone can work together, and change can happen far more quickly.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter in the shop, listening to the local Valleys characters gossiping together. They are funny, recognisable and ultimately well-meaning. There is a feeling that people once did anything for one another there, and perhaps they can learn to do so again.
As the novel reminds us:
“We are surrounded by stories, Noni. They are all around us.”
Noni’s story shows that it takes a village, but sometimes we also need to let the village in. When people begin telling their stories, they begin talking honestly. When they speak about the people they have loved and lost, others feel able to share their memories too. Through that sharing, healing can begin.
There is something wonderfully Welsh about the resilience at the heart of the book too:
“We can do anything, us Welsh women.”
We also loved all the familiar Welsh words and phrases woven throughout The Library of Lost Stories.
The story does not pretend that community can magically solve every problem, but it shows how caring, listening and working together can make burdens lighter. Even if it feels as though nobody else cares, “we have to care”.
We are all Storytellers. Words Belong to Everyone.
Above all, The Library of Lost Stories celebrates the belief that stories are not reserved for certain people:
“We are all storytellers. Words belong to everyone.”
We need to tell people who we are, what we care about and whom we have loved and lost. We tell their stories so that they are not forgotten, and so that we are not forgotten either. If we do not tell our stories, who will?
I have always wished that people would take the time to find out about one another, listen to their stories and understand why they are the way they are before passing judgement. The world would be a far more interesting and much kinder place if we all did. The Library of Lost Stories reinforces that belief and offers an incredibly important lesson for young readers and indeed for older readers who may need a little reminder too.
It is a tender and moving story about grief, poverty and inherited trauma, but also about friendship, courage, libraries and the strength of a community rediscovering how to care. Most importantly, it reminds us that stories help us remember, connect and heal, and that every person’s story deserves to be heard.
Thank you so much, Eloise Williams, for sharing this lovely book with the world!
Izzy and I loved reading The Library of Lost Stories on NetGalley, but we can’t wait to reread it when the gorgeous book is released on 3rd September. There’s nothing like having the physical book in your hands.
Win a Copy of The Library of Lost Stories
We loved this book and want to share a copy with one of our readers too. For a chance to win a copy of The Library of Lost Stories, please enter the Gleam widget below (remember to read the terms and conditions). Good luck!
Win a Copy of The Library of Lost Stories by Eloise WilliamsI have not been asked to run this giveaway. I am only running it as an opportunity to share a good book with my followers.
Buy a Copy of The Library of Lost Stories
You can pre-order a copy of The Library of Lost Stories at your local bookshop (please support them). Alternatively, it can be pre-ordered from Firefly Press or Amazon (Affiliate link).
The Library of Lost Stories Book Signing
Eloise Williams will be signing copies of her new middle-grade book, The Library of Lost Stories, at Victoria Bookshop, Haverfordwest, during half-term, Friday 30th October, 11 am to 1 pm.
Find out more here: Victoria Bookshop Book Signing
We highly recommend The Library of Lost Stories and have to say that, in our opinion, all of Eloise Williams’ books are essential for the family bookcase.
Have you read any of Eloise Williams’ books? Which is your favourite?
Read more:
Win a copy of Tidelands by Philippa Gregory
Win a pair of Start‑Rite school shoes plus a shoe care bundle (worth up to £85)
This sounds like a very warm and uplifting book.
I have worked in the library service for 50 years so always want to read anything concerning libraries
This looks like an adorable read & who can resist searching for lost stories.
I love to read books about family relationships
I like historical fiction and this sounds like a fascinating story and it is set in South Wales which is always intersting
Christmas magic, books, and a witch – my favourite things, sounds lovely x
Before I read your post, it was the beautiful cover. It shouldn’t influence my book choices but it does!
A combination of both light and dark storytelling gains and holds my interest in this and any book.
tinatwo1961@msn.com
This sounds like a warm and cosy book, I would enjoy reading this!
I like historical fiction
This looks like an awesome read. Thanks for sharing.
It sounds like a lovely story. Would love to see if she brings a spark back to her Dad.
The title is appealing and the cover illustration looks delightful.
Growing up in a household like this, I feel particularly drawn to this book and would love to read it
I’d love to read this book as it rekindled so many memories of my teaching career in a very socially deprived area and the problems faced daily by both pupils and parents. It also reminded me of the tragic events of Aberfan which I remember watching on television and unable to believe what I was seeing and hearing. PS Carrie’s War was one of my favourite books to read to children at the end of the day.
I like historical fiction
I live in Wales and I love that this story is set in the Welsh Valleys. It sounds like a book I would really enjoy.
Just the sort of book I would love to lose myself in – perfect for cosy autumn reading
The title sounds very intriging
No, I have not come across Eloise Williams before but this new book sounds lovely.
The mix of Welsh history, community resilience and the emotional depth of Noni’s story really draws me in. I love books that balance hardship with hope, and this one sounds beautifully written.