Tom's Midnight Garden is an engaging tale with multiple layers of appeal. Tom, a young boy, is sent to spend the summer at his aunt and uncle's rented flat. Feeling lonely and homesick, he stumbles upon a mysterious, hidden garden that only appears after midnight, despite being invisible during the day. His adventures in this garden transport him to a magical realm where the past and present converge. There, he meets a girl from the past who becomes his friend. For Tom, the summer seems to pass in mere days, but for the young girl, time stretches into years as she grows and matures with each of his visits. Both Tom and Hatty, the Victorian girl, are empathetically portrayed.

The novel is beautifully crafted, offering a range of emotions, from poignant moments and flashes of humor to instances of danger and touches of joy and disappointment. The story is suspenseful, the characters are vividly drawn, and the themes are deeply thought-provoking. The book captures the essence of enduring childhood memories alongside the inevitable changes brought by growth.