A Green Velvet Secret

by Vicki Grant

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.

Genres: Middle Grade, Mystery, Family, Juvenile, Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2023

About the author

After a long and messy adolescence, Vicki Grant stumbled into writing. She worked her way up from 30-second ads to 30-minute television scripts to full-length novels. She's written sixteen young adult, middle-grade and high-low novels. Her most recent YA novel, 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You, has been published worldwide in over twenty territories.. Vicki lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2006): Quid Pro Quo
Red Maple Award: Not Suitable For Family Viewing
CBC Young Canada Reads: The Puppet Wrangler.

Reviews

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads)]

Yardley and her grandmother Gidge are inseparable quirky fashionistas! They spend most of their time together styling clothes and visiting Gidge's former student Con at his vintage clothing store, The Over Easy. Con's nephew Harris is usually sitting sullenly on the old barcalounger in the back ignoring Yardley.

Gidge's cancer diagnosis arrives and there is a whirlwind of letters to her loved ones (some to mail before her death and some after), consignment shop visits to unload her fabulous wardrobe department, and visits to the Pit of Despair as she attempts to prepare Yardley for her death.

Unfortunately there is no way to prepare for death, especially the death of your best friend. A series of letters from Gidge "in the beyond", an odd encounter with a lady at The Over Easy, and a green velvet dress all bring Yardley and the sullen Harris together to investigate a mystery of Gidge's life that will surprise even her granddaughter!

A Green Velvet Secret is a wonderful middle grade novel dealing with grief and loss while balancing a refreshing amount of quirkiness and humor! I enjoyed reading this with my ten-year-old daughter and discussing Yardley's actions in the midst of such complicated feelings and laughing at the warmth between characters and some silly scenes.

Thanks to Tundra Books and the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for mailing us a copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Sue Slade]

https://miramichireader.ca/2023/06/a-...
Published in The Miramichi Reader

“People who believe something can't be done need to get out of the way of people who believe it can be done.” page 162

Grief, loss, and moving on after the death of a loved one is a difficult subject under the best of circumstances, but to tackle them in a middle-grade novel, and having said novel be engaging and appealing would be downright challenging. Vicki Grant meets that challenge in A Green Velvet Secret and, in my opinion, she succeeded in spades. The book invokes many feelings, not just feelings of sadness, but of happiness and joy as well. I just loved the small cast of characters, and their unique personalities and I especially enjoyed the settings of the Over Easy Vintage Emporium, the theatre, and even the pit of despair.

[Christine]

This book was a delight. It is a book dealing with grief and finding out new things about yourself in the process. It's a great middle grade read, and I'm so happy that I won it in a LibraryThing giveaway.

[Sarah Sammis]

The thing that ultimately didn't work for me is Yardley's naiveté. She goes through the vast majority of the book believing in reincarnation, in the form often used in isekai stories in anime/manga where a dead person is transported to another world fully formed and very much alive, albeit often in a different body. Though there is nothing to the book to support Yardley's conviction, she repeatedly sees her dead grandmother in others she meets.

My initial review on finishing the book sums up my feelings. "Yardley, aka YaYa is so stubbornly naive all the way through. She out-pollyannas Pollyanna."

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...

[Read by Curtis]

The first 85 pages of this book were absolutely beautiful. I loved the quirky characterizations, I loved the heart-breaking plot of a beloved grandmother with a terminal diagnosis but a determination to end life on her own terms, and I loved the relationship between the grandmother and daughter (fun fact: I have one tattoo, and it is one dedicated to my grandmother) as well as the mystery of What-did-Harris-do?.

And then, A Green Velvet Secret jumps the shark.

Honestly, the plotline with reincarnation almost completely ruined this for me. I thought the story was strong enough in characterization and themes that it did not need such an asinine plot device. Honestly, I don't even blame the author; the editor should have clued Grant in and told her that she had a strong enough set-up that she didn't need such a silly device. It's too bad...I think A Green Velvet Secret could easily have racked up a lot of literary awards if it had focused on Yardley's grief, the burgeoning friendship, the emotional struggles with MAiD, and the mystery of the green velvet dress instead of a naive tween who believes in reincarnation (which, literally nobody is going to buy into).

Still, I so loved the other elements of this story that I was still able to enjoy the reading experience overall.

[Karin]

Kiddo absolutely loved this book. She declared it awesome when we finished. It was the first book we've read that deals with death so openly, which might be why it was so relatable. We figured out what was going on pretty easily, but this didn't spoil anything.

[Heather McLaughlin]

This is great. If you know a YA who is grieving the loss of a grandparent this might be a good choice.

[Liz P]

This was a cute engaging story with some good lessons. Good introduction to the concept of grief for a
Child who has never experienced loss.

[Cheriee Weichel]

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel. It was released March 07, 2023, by Tundra Books.
Yardley (Ya Ya) and her grandmother, Gidge, a retired teacher and costume designer, are as close as two best friends could ever be. Gidge is flamboyant, outgoing, and deals with problems straight on, so when she receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, she lets her family know with helium filled silver balloons and a champagne breakfast.

As she begins to get her affairs in order, Grandmother and granddaughter continue to be inseparable. Gidge works on her Karma, by sitting in the garden writing letters to people in her past who she has wronged while Yardley weeds. The two of them go through a life time of Gidge's clothing to take to a consignment shop to sell. The best place is owned by Conrad Kim (Connie) one of Gidge's former students. After a joyful reunion Gidge and Yardley spend a lot of time at the store. Connie's nephew, Harris, is always there working on his puzzle books. Gidge and Connie encourage a friendship between the two twelve year olds, but Harris wants nothing to do with her.

As Yardley and Gidge spend more time together readers become aware of Gidge's failing health. Eventually she decides to stop chemotherapy and makes arrangements for a medically assisted death at home. Ya Ya is not ready for this, but the date arrives and her family is there with her as Gidge breathes her last breath. I'm not going to lie, I pretty much bawled my eyes out along with Yardley, her father and mother.

Yardley continues to spend time at the shop, organizing clothes and helping set up displays. Harris remains aloof. Then one day she receives a letter from Gidge. Yardley gets it in her head that Gidge has been reincarnated. One day an older women comes into the shop claiming she is there to pick up a parcel she won. When she opens it up in the shop, it's Gidge's green velvet dress. Yardley becomes certain the woman is Gidge. As she sinks into magical thinking, Harris begins to take note of what's going on and tries to help her out. His actions are somewhat misguided at times, but it all turns out well by the end of the book.

I loved so much about this book. The characters are brilliant. Yardley's quirkiness and unique fashion flair reminded me of one of my students. I liked that while the parents, both actors in a small theatre company, are also a bit odd, they have their daughters best interests at heart.

I adored the glorious descriptions of vintage clothing!

It’s interesting to be reading this book at the ripe old age of almost 70. I can connect with Yardley, a young girl losing her grandmother, because I had two dearest grandmas I loved to spend time with. One of them lived with us at the end of her life. Now I have grandchildren of my own, so I am able to connect with Gidge, a grandmother having to say that final goodbye to her beloved granddaughter. I'm pretty sure that people will connect to both these fabulous characters even without this kind of background knowledge.

In spite of the fact that this book is about grief and the magical thinking that accompanies the death of someone important, it’s chock full of laughter too. Be prepared for joy, laugh out loud humour, and tears.

[Mystic DreamClouds]

Special thanks to the author(s), publisher, Goodreads and/or NetGalley for the review copy. All views and opinions expressed are honest and my own.

An interesting story on death, lost loved ones and grief.

Yardley doesn’t have any friends her age, unless you count her grandmother Gidge. However one day, Gidge announces she’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer and embraces her last few days by selling off her vintage items and rectifying her karma by sending goodbye/apology letters. Yardley on the other hand, is devastated and is unable to cope with Gidge’s loss. While working at Overy Easy Vintage Emporium, Yardley meets a woman claiming to have won a prize – Gidge’s green velvet dress. Yardley, seeing Gidge in the women, starts to believe her grandmother has come back to life and with Harris’s help she goes about figuring out the mystery.

I’m usually not a fan of books that deal with heavy topics such as death and grief because they make me cry easily. But this book was different. This story is a retelling from Yardley’s perspective and the first quarter of the story was fast paced. It really emphasized Gidge’s personality and her urgency given her time was limited. The remainder of the book follows Yardley coping with her grandmother’s loss. It was a difficult time and honestly hard to read at times but Yardley pulled through in the end with the help of those near her.

I liked how the mystery wasn’t just about the woman who Yardley thought had Gidge’s reincarnated soul but also about Harris. Harris was not a great character in the beginning and I felt his story wasn’t thoroughly expressed, but I liked how that part of him was kept a secret for a while. Harris’s story did intrigue me more because it talked volumes about his skill sets and how he potentially acquired those. Harris’ mystery does help keep the story moving and put into perspective that sometimes we should be grateful for our circumstances no matter how hard and difficult they may be, because there’s always someone who’s going through something much worse.

The story has a short list of characters and each was amazing in their own way. I loved Con because he was supportive, fun loving and just full of positivity. Yardley’s parents were also great but sometimes I felt they were too great; like maybe too good to be true. You will not find any character in this book that could be considered a “villain” because there really isn’t any.

Overall, this was a good read with a different perspective on coping with grief. I enjoyed the supportive cast and the narrative perspective.

Read more reviews @ Mystic's Review Shelf

[Marian]

A Green Velvet Secret is everything I dared to hope for and more. It's deceptively short, but that simply means we waste no time. We're introduced to Yardley (YaYa) and Gidge and learn that they're best friends despite YaYa being Gidge's granddaughter. We also meet YaYa's parents, Mima and Pa, and almost immediately learn that Gidge has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Gidge is the only one to take this news in stride, while the others are understandably upset.

A new normal quickly establishes itself as Gidge and YaYa set out to work on fixing Gidge's karma. We learn Gidge is very big on reincarnation, though later on we'll learn it's less based on any existing ideas about it and more what Gidge herself has decreed to be true. As an adult reader, that info might've been helpful a little earlier on, but for kids it'll probably be a little easier to roll with it. Unless, of course, your religion is big on the reincarnation and then maybe it'll be a few pages of "that's not how any of this works"... but then again, who really knows how anything beyond death works? Life, and death, works in mysterious ways.


Part of this involves Gidge writing/typing notes to various people- lots of notes. Yardley sends the first batch but Gidge sets some aside to be mailed after she's gone, and then Gidge writes more.

Another part of this is going through Gidge's enormously fabulous closet and giving away/selling the contents. This leads the pair to a consignment shop run by a former student of Gidge's, Con, who is keeping his nephew, Harris, for the summer. Gidge and Con keep trying to pair Harris and YaYa up (platonically) because they're both 12 and neither is all that interested in being forced into friendship with someone else simply because they're both the same age and both just...there. But Con's shop? YaYa does fall in love with that.

All too quickly time has passed and Gidge has decided to exit life on her own terms, making this the first kid's book I've read that dealt with dying with dignity on the page. It makes total sense for Gidge just as it makes total sense for Yardley to not be okay with it, even as she, Mima, and Pa go along with it because it's not their choice to make.

All of this happens fairly quickly, all things, considered, and then poor Yardley is left alone to grieve. Her parents do what they can and eventually Yardley takes a tentative step back into 'normal' life, as she remembers that Gidge promised to return, and Gidge would never lie to her.

YaYa returns to Con's shop and shortly thereafter notes from Gidge start to arrive. Yardley becomes convinced that her grandmother has returned to her when a woman comes in to pick up a package (from Gidge), and Yardley sees her grandmother's eyes staring back at her, while everyone around her is concerned, especially Harris who witnesses the reunion gone wrong.

The rest of the book is peppered with notes from Gidge as Yardley learns to navigate life without her best friend by her side, and also learns to open herself up to new people. We learn some secrets about Gidge (including the titular secret, don't worry) along the way, all with Yardley narrating.

I read this pretty much in one gulp and loved pretty much every second of it, aside from the Salvation Army mentions. The cover is charming, the characters are wonderful, and I am so glad I won a copy of this to review.

[Ms. Yingling]

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Yardley doesn't have a lot of friends at school, but she doesn't need them. She has her grandmother, Gidge. The two hang out together, enjoy dressing in outrageous fashions, and form a united front against Yardley's parents, who are actors who run a local theater that puts on unusual productions. When Gidge is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she approaches it as her "next adventure". She writes a lot of apology letters to send off, as well as letters to mail after her death. She cleans out her closet (she as a costume design teacher at the local arts high school for years) and takes garments to the Over Easy Vintage Emporium to sell. The shop is run by a former student, Con, who is taking care of his nephew, Harris, who is Yardley's age. Harris doesn't really want to talk to her, since he is dealing with his own problems, and Yardley isn't interested in befriending him, either. Gidge has some chemotherapy, but it isn't successful, and when her condition worsens, she contacts a doctor who can help her under Canada's medical assistance in dying law. There is a small party with Gidge's favorite things, and then she is gone. Yardley takes this badly, but does continue to help out at the Emporium. When Mrs. Johnson comes in saying that she won a prize, Con gives her a box that contained one of Gidge's dresses, a green velvet number that seemed to make Gidge sad. Yardley gets it into her head that Mrs. Johnson is Gidge reincarnated, and ropes Harris into helping her find the woman. Yardley sees coincidences everywhere, and she also gets letters mentioning her current activities that she thinks Gidge is sending from the beyond. Of course, none of this is true, and family secrets eventually unfold. Will the green velvet dress be the key to helping Yardley make peace with her grandmother's passing?
Strengths: I'm a huge fan of vintage clothing, so reading about all of Gidge's and Yardley's flamboyant fashion was such fun! This was also a very matter-of-fact look at the death that was treated positively and wasn't overblown. A lot of grandparents pass away when their grandchildren are tweens; this is far more likely to happen than the death of a parent, and while there are a lot of details about how Gidge chooses to go, it's not maudlin or soppy. Yardley struggles, but does make progress in dealing with her grief. Seeing a strong intergenerational relationship, like the one in Respicio's Any Day With You, is something I would like to see more of in middle grade literature. Supporting characters like the parents, Con, and Harris are interesting as well. The family secret offers a bit of healing potential.
Weaknesses: Would middle school students really think that a grandparent was reincarnated? Usually by 6th grade my students have moved past magical thinking like this, although many elementary students certainly would believe it.
What I really think: Like Urban's Maybe There and Maybe Not , this was an interesting look at grief, family secrets, and how to move forward after the death of a loved one. I wish that Yardley hadn't been quite as quirky (there's something to be said for flying under the radar in middle school), but this was a positive and amusing way to deal with a difficulty subject.

[Tonja Drecker]

With finesse and care, this book deals with the death of a grandmother, a green dress, difficult friendships, and, finally, acceptance and hope.

Gidge isn't only Yardley's grandmother, she's Yardley's best and only friend. They are two peas in a pod. When Gidge happily announces she's ending life to head into the next adventure, Yardley is anything but enthusiastic. As cancer wins out and Yardley faces the difficult loss, she finds herself sticking to the vintage shop her grandmother loved and helping out as she can. When one of Gidge's green dresses comes in, Yardley's convinced the woman who brought it is Gidge's reincarnation...plus, there are many other 'signs' she continues to cross. But there's so much more to everything than Yardley realizes.

The author has done a lovely job on addressing the difficulties when losing a beloved grandparent. The first chapters take time to let Gidge and Yardley's relationship root and blossom, letting the reader understand how much they mean to each other. When the time comes and Gidge passes away, it's not a shock but a gentle passing, which lets the feelings calmly soak in. It's a situation, which more than a few middle graders can identify with as they remember their own grandparents' deaths or realize the same situation is sinking in. And this is all done with a positive attitude from Gidge as she tackles it with style and celebration. It keeps bitterness and extra weight away, allowing this to really sit nicely for the middle grade age group.

Yardley has difficulties coming to terms with Gidge's death and, at the same time, needs to connect to others. This re-shuffling of life comes across nicely and understandably. There's a bit of imagination poured in as Yardley clings to the impossible belief that another woman is her reincarnated Gidge, which gives the slight feel of magic/other-worldly without really going near it. It gives a nice twist of possibilities and impossible hope. The boy at the vintage store, Harris, offers a wonderful off-set to this with his prickly, no-nonsense personality, and helps the story flow in the right direction. All of it creates a fun and engaging read to balance out the heavier undertones and themes.

I do recommend this one and enjoyed reading every page. I received a complimentary copy.

[Suzy]

I absolutely loved this book. This story had everything... love and death, relationships, friendships, mysteries, mistakes, and following your own crazy path. It also revealed some heartbreaking family secrets and some hard to accept truths, and what it's like to deal with the death of someone you love.

The story follows Yardley, a 12 year old budding fashionista who definitely follows her own path. Her best friend is her grandmother Gidge, and they do everything together. When Gidge learns she has terminal cancer she tries to prepare Yardley for her impending demise by getting her to help her fix her karma... trying to right her past mistakes. Gidge writes many letters and gives Yardley her best advice for life, encouraging her to make friends and give people a chance, and to dance even in the face of sadness.

Yardley has a very hard time accepting that her grandmother would leave her, and believes that somehow she'll find her again, reincarnated into a new form. And when a lady comes into the second hand clothing shop that Yardley helps out at, she's convinced it's Gidge ... especially when the lady talks about one of the dresses that Gidge owned as if it had been her own. When the woman vanishes from the shop, Yardley is determined to find her and get to the truth, especially when she starts receiving letters from Gidge about where she can find her.

This book deals with a difficult subject in a way that felt emotional but not depressing. The characters were quirky and fun, and the reader can't help but love Yardley and how much she adores her grandmother. Following along as she finds clues she thinks will help her find her again, the reader is taken on her journey of growing up, and learning some new things about herself and the people around her. It touches on so many things young teens might feel from insecurity about finding friends and being accepted for who they are, to feeling a little embarrassed by parents.

I love Yardley's style and her determination and confidence, especially as she starts to learn more about Harris and who he is, and his struggles, and that friends, family and life aren't always fair, but that sometimes things turn out okay even when you find yourself in the Pit of Despair.

[ATLANTIC BOOK REVIEWS]

A GREEN VELVET SECRET by Vicki Grant. Published by Tundra Books

I am not sure how she has done it, but Vicki Grant has managed to take the subject of grief, death and dying and make it engaging, funny, sad, quirky, hopeful and beautiful all within 240 pages. WAIT! I said I wasn't sure how she had managed it, but I do know how...
Vicki Grant has taken a small cast of quirky characters with most awesomely quirky names given them wisdom, strength, love, humour and a beautiful sense of love for each other that allows them to find the beauty of life even when dealing with death.
Gidge is a grandparent who gives her grandchild a most amazing experience through her dying wishes and her death. Although this sounds impossible with Vicki Grant's expert skills the experience is just that. Karma is alive and well in this story. You will know what I mean by that when you read this book - and I hope you will.
Gidge has decided to exit life on her own terms, making this the first YA book I've read that dealt with dying with dignity on the page. For Gidge it makes total sense but Yardley, her granddaughter and Yardley's parents is not okay, but they honour her wishes because they know it is not their choice to make. The author deals with this sensitivity and recognizes all the emotions that go along with honouring a loved ones wishes, no matter how hard it is.
I think this paragraph tells you everything you need to know about Gidge, the grandmother of this story.
"The trip to the cemetery took a lot out of Gidge, or maybe it was the rum. The next day she could hardly get out of bed. "Perfect!" she said, as if she'd planned it that way all along, "Ill just laze about like the Queen of Sheba and you can clean out my closet for me."
On a less serious note, the hippie in me loved the descriptions of the vintage clothing worn by Yardley, the young protagonist of the story and the vintage clothing that Gidge has in her closet from the wild, carefree days of her youth.

[Kay S.]

And the award for most inconspicuous cry fest goes to..... This isn't the face of a book that you expect MAID to be a part of. And yet it smacks you in the face (gently and beautifully but that does not mean I was prepared for it) with the most upsetting grandparent death in kidlit. The MC reads very young in relation to her situation and the size of the book; it makes the feelings of grief and disbelief and naivete more believable.

While this book was beautifully written and I enjoyed a lot of it, I struggled to find the wow moments. A lot of the reveals weren't as jaw-dropping as they were built up to be and I think the pacing suffered a bit.

None of that is to say I didn't enjoy this book. I just couldn't find myself suspending the disbelief required to match the MC's enthusiasm.

[Danielle Hammelef]

Yardley is a quirky and relatable middle grade voice that surprised me with her fun life and death perspectives. I enjoyed her theatrical family and how much they loved each other.

This book deals with difficult life topics such as grief, death, assisted death, and thoughts/wishes of being dead. The friendship between Yardley and Harris starts off as enemies because of misunderstandings and past hurts that have been kept secret. I loved watching them grow closer and grow as people who can let others back into their lives.

This book surprised me in the best ways and had me feeling all the emotions. I never saw the plot twist which is always a delight, especially when it felt perfect for the story.

[Barbra]

Yardley’s best friend is her grandmother Gidge. Gidge is fun and wild and unpredictable, and they do everything together. Yardley is devastated when Gidge passes away and believes her grandmother will come back to her in some form. As she lends a hand at their favorite second-hand store, and continues to search for Gidge, she gets help from a reluctant friend and uncovers a hidden secret. This story will make you cry and laugh out loud and is both a heart-breaking and heart-warming tale of love.

[Glenna Coleman]

Yardley helps her grandmother achieve her goal of dying in the way she wishes when Gidge, her grandmother, has incurable cancer. After that, her parents worry that Yardley doesn't have friends, but really, Yardley just wants Gidge back, since Gidge believed in reincarnation and promised to always be there for Yardley. However, even while dying, it turns out that Gidge has started a chain of events that will help Yardley accept Gidge's death and make a friend.

This story is a journey of loss and acceptance.

[Fiona]

A sweet story about loss and connections. The characterizations are strong and the pacing is brisk, with short chapters so the tale doesn't get too bogged down in feelings (which my poor heart could not take right now).

I received a free copy of this book for review from the fine folks at Tundra Books.

[Ren]

I had to take a good day break from this after the first half, it caught me off guard how well done the depiction of loss and grief was. The mystery aspect in the second half was also done very well, having things from Yardley's point of view made answers more interesting, and I had an easy time believing her thought processes, she's a fun character to be around! This has soul, for sure.

[Autumn Sanford]

This is a very good book that brought me back to my Grandma and my pre teen years. It has love, family, friendships, fashion, thrifting, adventure, and mystery; what more could ya ask for;) It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and I very much enjoyed the ride.

[Judith Brown]

A fun read.

[Mango]

Wait, I don’t think this white girl understands how reincarnation works.

[Mireille Messier]

I laughed. I cried. I was along for the roller coaster ride and it made me love life. Grant gets that pre-teen voice just right. A really fun and touching read!

[Jane Doucet]

Vicki Grant has written yet another novel full of charming, quirky characters to captivate the young adult in all of us. She has tackled the very grownup issues of death, grief and healing without sugarcoating and with humour in just the right places.

[Stephanie (Gorelenore) Cover2CoverBlog]

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.