This book feels nostalgic for anyone who has ever felt like they were ‘forced’ to visit their grandparents and great-grandparents and soon learn the value of spending time with them. Betony is thirteen and has always hated going to her great-grandmother’s house but after sitting on her Gram’s favourite chair everything changes. I loved the aspect of Betony being transported to a past life and experiencing elements of Gram’s life as if it were in her own memories. After this happens their relationship flourishes which was so lovely to see. This book was likely created with a younger audience in mind and there are passages where Betony is speaking and she does not sound like a thirteen-year-old at all, but for the most part, those sections do not take away from the heart-warming aspects of this book. There is one particular part of the book near the end, which I will not spoil, but as someone who studied Gerontology I think was really well done without being overdramatic or dismissive. Overall, this is a quick (less than 160 pages), feel-good read that is for a younger audience (i.e. middle grade), but that anyone at any age can appreciate.

3.5 stars

Thirteen year old Betony really doesn’t like going to her grandma’s house. It’s smells like old, and Gran always treats her like a little girl, ordering her around and telling her what to do. (I can tell you from experience that we do not really like being told what to do) Betony stumbles across her Gran’s favorite chair, and sits in it. Before Betony can react, she gets sucked into a world of memories. Her grandma’s memories. Betony can experience these memories as if they were her own, and soon enough she starts to get to know her gran a little better. But little does Betony know, she’s uncovered, a shocking, shameful, terrible, family secret that changes ✨everything✨