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Countdown to Yesterday

"Life-changing friendship, handling change, the illusory nature of memories, Major Tom influenced time travel, and making cakes — this Middle Grade novel packs varied, powerful punch!"

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LoveReading4Kids Says

LoveReading4Kids Says

Driven by an engaging first-person voice, Shirley Marr’s Countdown to Yesterday explores big themes with huge heart and empathy as James struggles to live between two homes in the wake of his parents’ separation. This comes in addition to dealing with the fact that he feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere: “How will I fit in at a Chinese school when I’m only half Chinese? I don’t even fit in at school.”  

Feeling terribly lonely and desperate to hold onto happy memories, James spends his lunch hours with Mrs Tagliatelle, the kindly school administrator. Then everything changes when he meets Yan. A fellow outsider, Yan tells James that “the library saved my life”, and he realises that “she’s looking for a friend to share a secret back. Because she’s lonely, like me”. Also, importantly, “Yan makes me see things through different eyes.”  

When Yan reveals her time travel ambitions and abilities, James is determined to journey back to better times, as conjured from his memories. On discovering that memories aren’t the same as what actually happened in the past, he learns to live in the present, with the kind of friend who can get you through anything. 

At once charmingly quirky and emotionally authentic, Countdown to Yesterday is, above all, a lovely ode to family love, friendship, and finding your way through unsettling change.

Joanne Owen

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