a magical and mysterious children’s novel about Tom who, while staying at his aunt and uncle’s house, is told he can’t go outside because there is “nothing to see.” But when the grandfather clock strikes thirteen, Tom slips through a back door into a timeless, secret garden. There he meets Hatty, a girl who seems sometimes his age, sometimes younger or older, and who also visits the garden across different times. As Tom returns night after night, he experiences friendship, wonder, and growing confusion about time and change. He struggles with the nature of the garden, Hatty’s changing identity, and how memories, loss, and growing up shape his own life.