Recent Reads: A Green Velvet Secret by Vicki Grant

Source: From Librarything and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

A Green Velvet Secret by Vicki Grant 

Publisher: Tundra Books
Publication Date:  March 7, 2023

 

Format: Hardback


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Letters from beyond the grave and a green velvet dress reveal a secret about Yardley's beloved grandmother; for fans of The Parker Inheritance and The List of Things That Will Not Change and ages 10 and up.

It's always hard to lose a friend, but for Yardley O'Hanlon it's devastating. Her best friend is her wild and wonderful grandmother Gidge. They're two fashionable peas in a quirky little pod. They spend all their time together sewing and crafting and creating beautiful things — until Gidge dies, and Yardley loses her for good.

Or does she?

Yardley isn't convinced. Gidge was a big believer in reincarnation. She promised she'd never leave Yardley, and Gidge always kept her promises. So when a stylish older woman walks into the Over Easy Vintage Emporium where Yardley is helping out, Yardley is sure it's her grandmother, back from the dead. But her happiness doesn't last long, as the woman runs away in terror and no one else believes she was Gidge reincarnated. It's only with the help of a beautiful green velvet dress, a series of letters from "the other side" and an irritating twelve-year-old buttinsky named Harris that Yardley discovers there's more to the mystery woman — and Gidge — than she ever imagined.

Review: 

This book is all about family, grief, finding friendship, and the flair for being different. Yardley is a young girl and she is best friends with her grandmother Gidge. They do everything together, but in the beginning of the book Gidge finds out something terrible, she has cancer. Together they spend time trying to rebuild Gidge's karma before her grand departure from the world in hopes of her being reincarnated. After her passing Yardley is in a tough spot. 

Yardley is a little strange, much like Gidge, but she gets through it most the time with the help of her very eccentric family. The book follows her as she learns to live without Gidge, making new friends, and learns about grief and how to overcome it in her day-to-day life.  

This was a super sweet book. I laughed and cried with Yardley and her family and felt Gidge around as I read. This book covered some harder lessons for middle grade readers, but did it really well and in a way that was constructive and not overly -explanational. I think that Yardley came to terms with her new life well, I think that younger readers dealing with loss might find this book helpful.