Heroes of the valley. Jonathan Stroud. 2009.

Halli loves to hear stories from the days when the valley was a wild and dangerous place, besieged by the bloodthirsty Trows. He likes to imagine the night the legendary heroes joined together and fought till dawn to defeat the ancient foe.

Now farming has taken over from fighting Trows, and to Halli’s bitter disappointment heroics seem a thing of the past. But when a practical joke rekindles an old blood feud, he sees a chance for a daring quest of his own.

He is joined by Aud - only daughter of the House of Arne - a girl every bit as reckless and headstrong as he is. Together they will challenge everything they have ever known and discover the truth about the legends, the valley and themselves.