4.5 ⭐️

Wow this was absolutely whimsical and such a sweet read! Thank you NetGalley for this listeners arc!!

I found the voice actor be so engaging and captured our sweet Gilly perfectly. I haven’t read very many middle grade stories, but they tend to be enchanting and this one definitely was. The story is set in the real world, but Gilly and her best friend, Oggy, have such a big imagination that it often felt like they’re in their own special world. I will say there are a lot of made up words in this and not being able to visually read them left me lost in some moments 😆

Our narrator is a 10 year old girl who is on a journey to find her dad and try to bring him home. This is a very stream style of conscious writing, which is fitting for the story haha. We would be on our way to go down one path, and next thing Gilly is going on and on about different fruits she loves or memories of her family. Being a teacher myself, it really felt like being in the mind of a child.

I can see this being a story full of adventure and silly moments for children. Reading this as an adult you see the greater picture and Gilly’s naïveté is both endearing at a little bittersweet. While it’s a pretty short read, I still enjoyed Gilly’s journey and how different moments of her life and history are revealed to her (and the audience).

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Brave Fawn Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is like opening up the mind of a 10 year and diving straight in. Gilly is an excitable, talkative, dreamer. She takes everything in a literal sense. She writes every single detail of her life into her diary. Her best friend is Oggy, the keeper of “made up” words.

So many questions. So many opinions. At times it was a little too much but it was a great reminder that so much goes on in the the brain of a 10 year old. Perspective is everything.

It touches on some hard topics and how it is always best to have open communication because when you don’t, many misunderstandings happen.

There wasn’t anything really wrong with this, it just wasn’t for me. I think that for the right person it could be a very heartwarming, lovely story.

What an adorable book.

A young girl by the name of Gilly gives us a glimpse into her life, by allowing us to read her journal. With the support of her best friend, Oggy, her imagination & a few creatures they meet along the way, they are determined to bring back her father. But where is he?

This book is targeted towards kids, but I am surprised at how thought provoking it is. It is clever, fun, whimsical & enchanting, all while discussing complex familial dynamics. Casey Montgomery did a wonderful job bringing this creative work by Tsvi Jolles to life.

Is there a true plot to this book? I am not sure. But either way, I’ll keep this one tucked in my heart for a long time.

I need to purchase a physical copy ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook of Tangerines.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a middle grade story following the diary of Gilly a 10 year old girl and some of the occurrences in her life including leaving school to being picked on, living in the woods away from people with her mother and having a close friend Oggy who she confides in, and trying to figure out why her father left to the other side of the woods and never came back to be with someone named Mississippi who happened to be her mom's friend.

This story was not very cohesive, and though it definitely seemed as if it was told through the thoughts of a child, sometimes she seemed a little younger in mindset. I was trying to figure out the main themes of the story like possible grief due to her father leaving and finding ways to cope with her friend and using their imagination as the friend has also been through trauma in his life and this is what bonds them? If so, I feel the story was done well and also portrayed a young mind well, constantly jumping from idea to idea.

I feel like the undertones may be a little much for younger minds to understand and sometimes with her thoughts being all over the place could be a little confusing for them, but it was still a decent story.

This was a simple, yet complex story for a children’s literature book 🤍 The innocence of a mind at that age, but as a listener/reader, yk everything isn’t always as her mind depicts. Things being kept from her due to her age, but you understand it. It was lowkey sad, but Oggy sure brightens the moods. Overall such a bittersweet read!!

"When scared and hopeful meet in the woods at night, they have a sword fight. Only scared has an actual sword, but for hopeful to win, it just needs to believe it's holding a sword- One twice as sharp, three times as long, and five times as dangerous."

Loved this quote 🤍

I received an advance audiobook copy of Tangerines by Tsvi Jolles from netgalley.

The narration for this audiobook was wonderfully done.

Tangerines is a sweet story told by a child. Seeing the world through her eyes. Her questioning how the world works and her reasoning for why things are.

Tangerines is emotional and sweet. And easy quick read (or listen).

I’ll start by saying that the author did such a brilliant job of capturing the gears in a curious child mind that never stop turning. I do know this book is being published as a children’s book but I truly believe the people who would get the most out of it are actually adults. I loved the very amusing observations 10 year old Gilly makes about the world around her. It kind of reminds me of when you take your kid to the park and another child comes and sits down and just starts telling you every single thing that pops into their head and their whole life story, and they say things in such a non challant and matter of fact way that makes it clear that they’re a little naive to the reality or severity of a situation, but they definitely observe more than the adults around them likely think that they’re do.

It was an incredible exploration of the perception of a child and how that often is vastly different to that of the adults around them. A good reminder that adults see things that children don’t, but children also have the ability to see things that adults can’t. So while Gilly may be oblivious to the reality of her situation, that may be overwhelming obvious to an adult listener, she also makes observations about things/life that at some point we seem to grow out of being able to see.

I appreciate NetGalley and the author for giving me an opportunity to read and review this.