A story of an unusual friendship that occurs between 60ish Elsie and 10 year old Daniel. Took a bit to get into the story, but once I did I enjoyed watching the development. Would recommend.

A beautiful, uplifting book about the power of love, loss, and friendship. I loved this one and devoured it in an afternoon.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

What a beautiful story of love, hope and renewal. Elsie lives alone, and is stuck in the past, structuring her days amidst loneliness. Billy and his Mom, Samantha, move next door after fleeing from an abusive situation. Since Sam has to work, Elsie offers to help, developing a relationship with Billy which brings them both joy, centered on her amazing garden. I highly recommend this well written story, where a relationship between a 10 year old boy and a lonely old woman provides redemption for both of them. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A lovely book! Loneliness and friendship, heart warming and sensitive, the relationship between 10-year-old Billy and 60-something Elsie develops through shared moments of fear and happiness. Well written and worth the read.

I was gifted this amazing book by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my review. This book was published 2 weeks after my state began a shelter in place for the Coronavirus. My anxiety was through the roof and I am sorry to say I overlooked this book totally in my TBR pile. Well yesterday I finally realized I had never read it despite my commitment to do so. I read until the wee hours of the night then finished up this afternoon. Can I just say that I absolutely loved it and I am so sorry that I didn’t read it in April. Truly a feel good book that is not sappy. Strong writing and a wonderful story. Thank you all.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This is the story of 10 year old Billy who has been uprooted from his old life and transplanted with his mum next door to an old lady called Elsie. Elsie is a woman of routine stuck in her regimented and very lonely life. Billy is bewildered by having to leave his dad, his home and his friend.

Together they bond over a garden and slowly form a somewhat awkward relationship. This is a story of loneliness, betrayal, abuse and family dynamics. It is a well written tear-jerker that is entertaining and thought provoking.

Beautifil cover also.

I loved The Wish List of Albie Young so knew that this book was a must-read for me. It really is just as perfect and brings everything that the last book delivered.
Ten-year-old Billy Greenwood is left confused when his mum wakens him early one morning and tells him to get dressed. He didn't really understand why they were leaving his dad behind. The pair end up away from the hustle and bustle of city life and moving into a house next to an old spinster lady called Elsie.
Billy finds himself enrolled in a new alien school where his life is made miserable and after school looked after by Elsie while is mum seems to be more at work than at home. Elsie has her own ways of doing things and not a clue about looking after children at all. They are totally out of step with each other and miserable that is until Elsie introduces him to her rather large garden at the back of her house. It isn't long before the unlikely pair are like peas in a pod and Billy opens up to Elsie about school. But Billy literally digs up the past one day and things go rather estranged between the pair.
This is a wonderful story about friendship and so much more, each of them is a tonic for the other which is quite endearing. I am sure that most readers will feel that bond you get with some characters, the one that makes them real in your mind. There may be a couple of triggers for some people of abuse and bullying just so you are aware.
The story comes together really well with punch in the air moments and a couple of tear in your eye tissue times too. A gorgeous book of love missed opportunities and friendships.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e- copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

My heart has only just recovered form Ruby Hummingbird's last book, The Wish List of Albie Young. I was a little worried that there was no way the author could follow up such a book but, goodness me, she has!
The Garden of Lost Memories is the tale of an unlikely friendship between a woman in her 60s and her 10 year old neighbour. Elsie lives alone following the death of her mother. She has a set routine and limited social interaction. But when Billy and his mum run away from his abusive dad and move in next door, Elsie offers to help babysit Billy to allow his mum to work.
Working together in the garden, Billy finds an old biscuit tin with secrets that have been buried for decades. This sparks a series of adventures, hope and tears...
The Garden of Lost Memories is a highly emotional book to read. Both main characters are desperate to be loved and accepted, making this book so human and every reader will be able to relate to them.
The sadness of Elsie and Billy is shown through the dual perspective narrative and makes us identify with both characters equally. Despite dealing with big subjects like grief and domestic abuse, this is a gentle and warm book to read so they are handled subtly and sensitively.
The bullying and unhappiness at being separated from his dad is so raw and powerful, heartbreaking for anyone to read but especially for a mum imagining her own child in that situation. Equally, I can understand the quiet loneliness of loss and a life only half lived as Elsie has experienced.
Ultimately this is a book of hope: that life can change, that love can endure and that the heart can mend.
Beautifully written, achingly emotional and simply brilliant.

Thank you so much #NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love when I choose a book because of its cover and the content is even better.

This book caught my attention from the very beggining just because their two main characters and narrators, Elsie and Billy, are sixty-two and ten years old respectively, and I was like: What do they have in common? Where is this story going?

I really liked both characters. I think they are very special in a way that, even thought they are far from perfect, it was impossible not to love them, not to love their few moments together, not to love what they really meant for each other, not to love the friendship they build.

All the situation Billy goes throught the entire book broke my heart. Like I said he is just ten but they way he acted and behaved, denoted a much more mature boy and I loved him for that. I liked how he helped his mum in everyhting he could and how he faced scool bullying.

I really liked how the story developed, how much the characters learnt, how much they achieved and how much their lives changed.

I got a bit emotional towards the end and I couldn´t be happier about how everyhting came to an end.

It was such a nice read that I highly recommend!

A moving book about loneliness, loss and love. The tale unfolds through two main characters; Elsie, of unspecified late middle-to-older age who lived alone with her mother, (now deceased); and Billy, a ten year old boy wrenched from his London home in the middle of the night by his mother, fleeing an abusive relationship.

An offer to help this single mother with whom she empathises leads to an unusual connection between Elsie and Billy and they bond over their mutual interest in her unexpectedly beautiful garden. But it's a bumpy journey. Both are lonely and can't see a way out of their problems. One day Billy unearths an old tin in the garden, believing it to be treasure, and Elsie sees her 'safe', unencumbered life begin to unravel.

Their life stories are gradually revealed, particularly why Elsie acts as she does - a cold, uninterested and unfriendly character towards others in the village; avoiding all human relationships. Billy's problems are growing too big for him to handle alone. A stumbling but emerging relationship begins to grow between them. There are some jarring moments but overall a gentle read. [A few annoying bits I feel should have been edited out: What boy of ten years old sees wonderful colours in a garden and feel as if he is 'tripping' because they're so bright?, e.g.]

A nice little tale overall though; I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the emotional growth of both characters.

This was a touching story of two unlikely people who meet when both need it the most.
Daniel a ten year old who has move into town with his mother, not knowing exactly why they moved, and Elsie an older woman who has lost her joy of living, and who is lonely and has fallen into a rut of of living in the past.
They are neighbors and the story takes us to a place where a complicated and loving friendship starts, capturing both of them by surprise.
I love a good story where people of different generations, get together and find common ground.
The story of course has a bit of drama involved in it, and some wonderful characters, who bring it all together.
I really enjoyed the authors story line and writing.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book.

This book had great moments, but on the whole I have mixed feelings about it. I think a ten-year-old boy perceives much more from life around him so he must realize there is something amiss between his parents. And his mother should discuss the situation with him after they leave their old life to save a lot of trouble. It is really annoying when characters do not communicate.
Also, I found Elsie's character very strange at the beginning and her main conflict a little forced. Anyway, the novel had lovely moments and it is a nice book for anyone who likes reading about how different generations can find the way to each other and make friends.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available now.

This is such a sweet story! It’s one of those books where the characters jump off the page and wander around in your heart. Elsie and Billy both need each other. What starts as a begrudging babysitting blossoms into a beautiful friendship throughout the course of the book. I don’t like the term “all the feels,” but in this case it’s appropriate: this book made me feel both happy and sad, melancholy and hopeful. I really can’t put my finger on why, but The Garden of Lost Memories reminded me a bit of A Man Called Ove.

The writing is simple but pretty, which suits the story. The way the characters are developed is nothing short of brilliant. That Elsie’s character is explained perfectly just by sharing her daily routine is pretty amazing.

Billy is a sweetheart. He had a lot of difficulties that he was dealing with, and seeing him warm up to Elsie was heartwarming. I love that they bonded over gardening. It made me wish I could grow…well, anything (I actually managed to kill a cactus once: I’ve got special skills).

This book moves slowly, the way relationships grow. I recommend this to anyone who needs a literary hug.

It begins with a disposal, a tin is buried and we are on the go. Elsie has had a life of loss. Her mother’s passing was the final push into a world of impatience, a critic at large in the world constantly finding fault with all she encountered. Into this space moves a single mother and her son Billy. Circumstances force Samantha,Sam to look to Elsie in a moment of need to watch Billy until his mother’s shift is over. Billy is living his own special he’ll dealing with a bully at school , and trying to understand the sudden move by his mom to this remote space. The unifying outlet for Elsie and Billy is the garden that Elsie tends with infinite care. As Elsie takes her after school duties more seriously she naturally opens herself to the small village and its merchants and tradespeople. When Billy unearths the tin Elsie has buried while gardening,Elsie is forced to reveal family secrets and Billy must face a family reality of his own. Happy reading

Elsie is used to her solitary life of routine and thinks she is perfectly happy in it until she gets new neighbours and suddenly her foundations are rocked. Billy is 10 years old and hates the moonlight flit that he did with his mother, he misses his dad and hates his new school where he is being bullied but most of all he hates being babysit by the grumpy old woman Elsie who lives next door.

This is a lovely story of the generations coming together, initially through Elsie's garden, and how it turns round the old lady's life with the secrets that she has hidden for years becoming exposed with some very rocky patches on the way, working well with alternating chapters being told by Elsie and Billy

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 neighbor 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 organized life. And that when he digs it up, he is unearthing a secret that has lain dormant for twenty-eight years…

It was a sweet book. As everyone said in reviews. I found it a little slow at times, but, not everything has to be rushed. I finished and ended with a smile.

Not read this author before, but I found this book really interesting. Loved the story from start to finish and will definitely be looking out for more by Ruby.

What a lovely book. The story is told in 2 parts, 1 by Elise who is an old lady living alone and day by day after the death of her mother & 1 by Billy who is a 10 year old boy uprooted from everything he knows by this mother. . Billy & his mum move in next door to Elise & over time a relationship builds between Elise & Billy through their love of gardening. As time goes by we learn more about the characters and their background stories that lead them to where they are today. A very easy & quick read.

Oh what a beautiful book. A beautiful story and super characters in Billy and Elsie and I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

“And a little child shall lead them.” ~ Isaiah 11:6

Simple statement, but wholly truth in this story of Elsie and Billy, and the changes and struggles that brought them together and tore them apart. For the past two decades or more, Elsie has been a virtual recluse: uncomfortable with people, speaking to her dead mother, living a life dependent on schedules, tick boxes and few surprises. Raised and exclusively doted on by her mother, Elsie’s life was constrained and confined, but for a few shining moments in her late teens. Homeschooled, with no friends outside of her mother, she is a very clear example of what happens when your life has been whittled down to one of isolation and friendlessness. Until Billy and his mother Samantha moved in suddenly one day into the house next door.

Ten year old Billy isn’t thrilled with leaving his friends and the ‘action’ of London behind. When whisked off in the wee hours by his mother he was, understandably, full of questions. But a new school where he’s become the target of an older bully, his mother’s working all hours, no television, no bike or mobile: he’s also angry and frustrated. But when a sitter is needed, Samantha very bravely encounters a not so nice Elsie to ask if she’d be wiling. Understanding the loneliness and need apparent in the two, Elsie agrees – but the time is torture for a ten year old boy, with the only “treat” being custard cremes – the biscuit he despises. Everything is rather stilted until Elsie, with her strange ways, allows Billy into the back garden – and the magic happens…..

The story is a slow-grower: we see Elsie as she moves from unconcerned with her own behavior in the broad sense, to starting to try and be nicer, engaging people tentatively as the relationship with Billy develops. Partly from fear, partly a result of her not being ‘socialized’ as a child, Elsie’s steps forward are often clumsy and wrong-footed, and she’s quick to take offense or move off in her own sphere leaving others feeling shorted. Meanwhile, Billy has managed to show some skill at gardening and drawing, both praised highly by Elsie, and while things aren’t great – he’s finding a place for himself. A story that takes plenty of time to develop where the usually ‘minding her own business” Elsie steps in and laterally saves both Billy and his mother from danger – the back and forth as growth brings fear and retreat, harsh words are exchanged, and Elsie is forced to face her own fears and shortcomings if she hopes to not face yet another loss. Engrossing if a bit long to get wholly engaging, Hummingbird’s ability to craft a flawed but growing character is on full display here.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aG7” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>