A Green Velvet Secret

Written by Vicki Grant

Tundra 

978-0-7352-7012-1

256 pp.

Ages 10-14

March 2023

Twelve-year-old Yardley has a rather original family, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Her grandmother and best friend Gidge, a retired fashion design teacher, lives her life to the fullest, dressed and accessorized to the nines. Yardley's parents, Pa and Mima, run The Hoof & Mouth Theatre, along with performing in its productions. They all offer Yardley opportunities to be creative and independent and inventive in her dress and activities, though they wish she'd make friends with kids her own age. And then Gidge drops the bombshell that she has terminal cancer and is thrilled that she has been "given the chance to go out in my own perfect way." (pg. 6)

Yardley is angry at her grandmother's attitude but agrees to help Gidge "get her karma in order." (pg. 8) Two important tasks Gidge undertakes are the writing of numerous cards and letters, some to be sent immediately, others after her death, and sorting her diverse wardrobe for donation and consignment. With that intent, they head to the Over Easy Vintage Emporium, the shop of a former student, Conrad Kim. In between running errands that include chemo, Gidge and Yardley help out at Over Easy, along with Con's twelve-year-old nephew, Harris, a sullen boy who spends his time working on puzzles.

 

Then "Gidge's big day" comes, as she has elected for medical assistance in her dying. Her death hits Yardley especially hard, and she works at honouring Gidge's directive to "make the most of each glorious moment." (pg. 75) Yardley continues to help out at Over Easy, feeling a special closeness to Gidge there, through her clothes, including a long green velvet dress which Gidge had said did not bring out the best in her. When an older woman, Mrs. Margaret Johnson, comes to the store saying she'd won a prize, and she's given the green dress, everything goes awry. Mrs. Johnson says the dress was hers and she doesn't want it; Yardley is convinced Mrs. Johnson is Gidge reincarnated; and Harris gets caught in the middle, even more so when he tries to hide a small ballerina that had fallen from the dress.

For a book about a death from cancer, A Green Velvet Secret is surprisingly light-hearted but that's because it's about life and living life and make the most of life. Vicki Grant always, always, always finds a way to put a light touch to her stories, whether they are dealing with hoarding (Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret), scammers (Short for Chameleon) or unknown heritage (Small Bones), finding a way to show compassion and affection and even humour in challenging situations. Like Gidge who takes a graceful approach to her cancer diagnosis and the opportunity to orchestrate her own death and tie up any loose ends she has left, Vicki Grant takes an elegant way to telling Yardley and Gidge's story, and even that of Harris whose own secret causes him shame and a disconnect with his family. Vicki Grant finds the colour in the greyness of death and, though Gidge couldn't make it all right in her lifetime, Vicki Grant helps make it all right for her and Yardley and even Harris, without giving us a predictable ending and the happily-ever-after that rarely happens.