The Garden of Lost Memories by Ruby Hummingbird
Published by Bookouture
Published 1st April 2020
310 pages
Genre: Womens Fiction
My thanks to publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read this title ahead of publication and post my review as part of the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.
Book Description:
Just because you feel ordinary doesn’t mean you aren’t extraordinary to someone else.
Sixty-two-year-old Elsie knows what she likes. Custard creams at four o’clock, jigsaw puzzles with a thousand pieces, her ivy-covered, lavender-scented garden.
Ten-year-old Billy would rather spend his Saturdays kicking a ball, or watching TV, or anything really, other than being babysat by his grumpy neighbour Elsie and being force fed custard creams.
If it was up to them, they’d have nothing to do with each other. Unfortunately, you can’t choose who you live next door to.
But there is always more to people than meets the eye…
Elsie doesn’t know that Billy’s afraid to go to school now, or why his mother woke him up in the middle of the night with an urgent shake, bags already packed, ready to flee their home.
Billy doesn’t know that the rusting red tin he finds buried in Elsie’s treasured garden is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode her carefully organised life. And that when he digs it up, he is unearthing a secret that has lain dormant for twenty-eight years…
Sixty-two-year-old Elsie knows what she likes. Custard creams at four o’clock, jigsaw puzzles with a thousand pieces, her ivy-covered, lavender-scented garden.
Ten-year-old Billy would rather spend his Saturdays kicking a ball, or watching TV, or anything really, other than being babysat by his grumpy neighbour Elsie and being force fed custard creams.
If it was up to them, they’d have nothing to do with each other. Unfortunately, you can’t choose who you live next door to.
But there is always more to people than meets the eye…
Elsie doesn’t know that Billy’s afraid to go to school now, or why his mother woke him up in the middle of the night with an urgent shake, bags already packed, ready to flee their home.
Billy doesn’t know that the rusting red tin he finds buried in Elsie’s treasured garden is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode her carefully organised life. And that when he digs it up, he is unearthing a secret that has lain dormant for twenty-eight years…
My Thoughts:
Picking up a book by Ruby Hummingbird is like coming home and settling in to your favourite armchair. You know you're going to get comfortable and warm and everything will be okay by the end of the night.
Ruby's debut novel The Wish List of Albie Young was one of my favourite books of 2019 and it will stay in my heart for a very long time, so when the opportunity arose to read her next book I was keen to see whether she would be able to hit the bar again. To put it quite simply, yes she has.
62 year old Elsie Maple is very set in her ways. She's prickly, has routines and lists which keep her on track and safe in her every day life. Change is not welcome in Elsie's world and the easiest way to avoid change is to not let anyone in to her life which might upset her routine. But 10 year old Billy comes crashing into her life when he and his mum move in next door, there's something about him which knocks down Elsie's defences and she finds herself offering to babysit Billy while his mum goes to work. She can't explain it, but she feels she needs to help. They appear to have little in common - Elsie was home schooled so she can't even compare stories as to how school life may have changed over the years. They struggle to find common ground for even the most basic of conversations. The author describes brilliantly the awkward silences between the two characters and as the story is told from both perspectives we get an insight into what each of them is thinking. Then one day Elsie takes Billy outside to see her garden - her life's work where she spent many an hour alongside her mother then many more after her mother passed away, finding solace in the tasks around the garden. Much to her surprise Billy comes alive out there, showing a passion to learn all about the different plants and jobs which need doing. In his enthusiasm Billy discovers buried 'treasure' in one of the flower beds, a battered old tin which looks like it has been covered for years. The last thing Billy wants is to upset Elsie, especially now they've formed a tentative friendship so he is shocked and upset at Elsie's reaction when he shows her what he's found.
The story which follows puts Elsie and Billy's friendship to the test - and even Billy's mum starts to mistrust the older lady after some of the things Billy tells her. I really enjoyed reading about how despite how their relationship had faltered, they had built up such a nice respect for one another that they subconsciously wanted to still look out for each other. They each had to dig deep inside themselves and change how far they would go for an 'outsider' - neither of them had really had much experience of this before and I felt proud of each of them as they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone. Billy's cheeky personality began to reappear over the weeks and brought out a glimmer of Elsie's younger, more rebellious self which had been hidden away for years, much to Billy's amusement.
This is another fine example of 'up-lit' at its best and okay, the ending may have been a little bit fairytale 'happy ever after' ish, but I personally would have been heartbroken had it ended any other way. And who would have thought the humble custard cream could steal the show?
Thank you Ruby for another wonderful story. 5 twinkly stars from me. Buy your copy here:
Ruby's debut novel The Wish List of Albie Young was one of my favourite books of 2019 and it will stay in my heart for a very long time, so when the opportunity arose to read her next book I was keen to see whether she would be able to hit the bar again. To put it quite simply, yes she has.
62 year old Elsie Maple is very set in her ways. She's prickly, has routines and lists which keep her on track and safe in her every day life. Change is not welcome in Elsie's world and the easiest way to avoid change is to not let anyone in to her life which might upset her routine. But 10 year old Billy comes crashing into her life when he and his mum move in next door, there's something about him which knocks down Elsie's defences and she finds herself offering to babysit Billy while his mum goes to work. She can't explain it, but she feels she needs to help. They appear to have little in common - Elsie was home schooled so she can't even compare stories as to how school life may have changed over the years. They struggle to find common ground for even the most basic of conversations. The author describes brilliantly the awkward silences between the two characters and as the story is told from both perspectives we get an insight into what each of them is thinking. Then one day Elsie takes Billy outside to see her garden - her life's work where she spent many an hour alongside her mother then many more after her mother passed away, finding solace in the tasks around the garden. Much to her surprise Billy comes alive out there, showing a passion to learn all about the different plants and jobs which need doing. In his enthusiasm Billy discovers buried 'treasure' in one of the flower beds, a battered old tin which looks like it has been covered for years. The last thing Billy wants is to upset Elsie, especially now they've formed a tentative friendship so he is shocked and upset at Elsie's reaction when he shows her what he's found.
The story which follows puts Elsie and Billy's friendship to the test - and even Billy's mum starts to mistrust the older lady after some of the things Billy tells her. I really enjoyed reading about how despite how their relationship had faltered, they had built up such a nice respect for one another that they subconsciously wanted to still look out for each other. They each had to dig deep inside themselves and change how far they would go for an 'outsider' - neither of them had really had much experience of this before and I felt proud of each of them as they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone. Billy's cheeky personality began to reappear over the weeks and brought out a glimmer of Elsie's younger, more rebellious self which had been hidden away for years, much to Billy's amusement.
This is another fine example of 'up-lit' at its best and okay, the ending may have been a little bit fairytale 'happy ever after' ish, but I personally would have been heartbroken had it ended any other way. And who would have thought the humble custard cream could steal the show?
Thank you Ruby for another wonderful story. 5 twinkly stars from me. Buy your copy here:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/2WQVYiJ
Apple Books: https://apple.co/33QZRpk
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3amwGNh
Google Play: https://bit.ly/3bqY3Wr
About the Author:
Ruby Hummingbird is a novelist based in the English countryside. She loves nothing more than writing uplifting and heartwarming fiction that gets her readers reaching for the tissues. When she isn’t storytelling, she can be found tending to her beloved sunflowers or sipping on hazelnut lattes.
Social Media:
Twitter: @HummingbirdRuby
Social Media:
Twitter: @HummingbirdRuby
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