A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird

I loved this book. It was definitely one to be read slowly and savoured and not a book to be rushed through. It tells the story of Willa at three stages of her life (8, 33 and 93). Each of these three Willas is able to visit the other using a jam jar that creates a magic ocean in the garden. 

I wasn't sure when I started reading whether the book would really be about time travel or whether it was about mental illness and one Willa was imagining the other two. I found the book a bit slow when the Willas first start meeting each other but the second half of the book was great. Tabitha Bird obviously has a wondeful imagination and it felt like a privilege to have access to it. That's not to say the book is all shiny and bright. Willa has a difficult childhood that she's desperate to escape and something tragic happens to Middle Willa (33) that Silver Willa (93) is trying to prevent. Gumboots and jam drops feaure heavily in the book. The final page is a receipe for jam drops and I'm going to try it.