✰✰✰ When Yardley O’Hanlon’s beloved grandmother and best friend, Gidge, is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family knows their precious time with her is limited. Gidge is the type of person who likes to live life to the fullest. So when her body has had enough, Gidge knows it’s time to go. Yardley struggles to let go, but she holds fast in her belief that Gidge will return soon via reincarnation.
When she’s not working at the Over Easy Vintage Emporium, a used clothing store, Yardley looks for Gidge everywhere. One day a stranger arrives to pick up a prize. When the stranger opens the package she is shocked to discover a dress, and not just any dress either. It was a special dress Gidge only wore once. In that moment Yardley recognizes something familiar in the stranger, and everything goes haywire.
With a terrified customer, broken clues, and letters arriving from the deceased, Yardley must decipher what Gidge is trying to tell her from beyond. However, she can’t solve this on her own. Believing in good Karma, Yardley reluctantly opens her heart to form a new friendship with a troubled boy named Harris. Together they search for Gidge and find answers in surprising places.
The Bottom Line: While this book is a mystery, it’s definitely not what I expected. After a slow and sad beginning, the pace picks up as the main character grapples with feelings of grief and confusion as she tries to process the loss of her grandmother. Thankfully, the addition of other characters like Con and Harris add to the mystery as Yardley learns about family, friendship, and keeping secrets. Although geared towards kids ages 10 and up, there are some mature themes including euthanasia, illness, death, and cancer. Thus, I would recommend parents read along with their kids and discuss. [Note: Canada has different laws regarding euthanasia than the U.S., so this book might be better suited towards Canadian readers or readers in U.S. states where euthanasia is allowed.]
Details: A Green Velvet Secret by Vicki Grant. Hardcover published by Tundra Books in 2023. 256 p. ISBN: 978-0-7352-7012-1 [NOTE: I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was made possible via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.]
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