A Green Velvet Secret

A beloved grandmother’s death drives this moving mystery from Grant (Tell Me When You Feel Something). Twelve-year-old Yardley O’Hanlon is close to her free-spirited grandmother, Gidge, who shares her love of crafting and guerrilla fashion. But Gidge’s balloons-and-champagne announcement of her terminal cancer diagnosis—“an exciting new phase of my life”—promises to change that. Using her remaining time to get her karma, and her belongings, in order, Gidge begins writing letters of apology, sorting her vast vintage clothing collection, and trying to persuade Yardley that she could use a friend her own age. When she discovers that a favorite former student owns the Over Easy Vintage Emporium, Gidge urges Yardley to befriend his sullen nephew, Harris. Devastated following Gidge’s tenderly portrayed physician-assisted death, Yardley takes up work at Over Easy and embraces Gidge’s belief in reincarnation—soon spotting Gidge in a customer who comes in to claim the late woman’s green velvet dress. As Yardley seeks the stranger with Gidge’s eyes, she discovers that her grandmother—and karma—have surprises in store. Quirky, fully fleshed characters and a tender third-person narration accompany themes of grieving, making amends, and living a full life in this winning novel. Characters read as white. Ages 10–up. Agent: Fiona Kenshole, Transatlantic Literary. (Mar.)