Sit down and read this in one go. Quirky characters, heartwarming dogs, love letters from the past. I inhaled this book, a little different from the usual easy-read book.

There were alot of thoughts and feelings for this young person to understand piece together and go through. But the tenaciousnous of their spirit.saw them shining and you definitely became their biggest cheer leader.

Being sixteen can be challenging enough, without requiring a change in school and location due to family requirements. Not to mention having to give up your pet!

Asta Fung has been struggling to deal with precisely that. Grandpa Charlie's illness made it necessary for her parents to trade in their takeaway business for another that is located near the big hospital.

And that means Asta's dog has to live with a different family, even though she does thankfully have the opportunity to walk him on a regular basis. Asta must also deal with her father's lack of understanding about this, which I found very insensitive.

It is after the builders give Asta a bundle of old letters that are part of Grandpa Charlie's hidden correspondence that Asta begins to find a new focus for herself. In the process, she finds new aspects to her own conflicted identity, an unexpected layer to what made Grandpa Charlie who he was, and a found family she did not even know she was looking for...

This is a musing on grief and recovery, what makes our closest relationships so precious to us, and what lies on the other side of tremendous bereavement. It is book that's funny, quirky and rich with charm. It gets 3.5 stars.

I have read and really enjoyed other books by Julie Ma and this one was no different, as always I never want to put her books down!

I enjoyed this story of Aata and her dog Steve so much, it gives such a subtle but accurate portrayal of grief and how life unfolds in different directions to the ones we believe we have set in our youth. Themes of identity, love, self confidence and friendship bring so much to this story to savour and think about. A beautiful cosy read

I loved the premise of this, and yay for a Welsh setting too!
Lots of sentiment and liked the family, really felt like I got to know them all.

The letters were addictive to read and I like to see how this went along.

A different and wonderful read.