I thoroughly enjoyed this book about music, grief and healing. I enjoyed the contrast between the two different narrators - ten-year-old Joan and bereaved Gavin. The relationship between the two develops nicely over the course of the novel. A really nice, easy read with lovely, relatable characters - but maybe a bit too nice at times.

The Reminders is a touching, sweet and heartwarming book.

Joan, the ten-year-old protagonist who remembers everything, is a funny and thoughtful child. Her mission to create music so that her family don't forget her is poignant and moving, especially as it is set against her grandmother's painful demise into Alzheimer's. Joan's memory is used a comedic foil as well as a tool for solving the mystery of another character's last moments. Emmich balances this dual function well, and Joan maintains her sharp wit throughout.

The book sometimes veers too far into sentimentality and was a little too saccharine for my tastes at points. However, it's a warm and charming read that was a strong debut overall.

The Reminders by Val Emmich is one of the quirkiest books that I have read in a long time. It centres on the unusual friendship of Gavin and Joan. Gavin is an actor who has recently lost his boyfriend and he isn’t coping with the loss. Joan is a ten year old girl who has HSAM – a condition which means that she remembers everything that happens to her. Gavin and Joan form an unlikely alliance; Gavin has Joan tell him stories about Sydney and Joan has Gavin help her write a song for a competition that she is desperate to enter because Joan wants to be remembered the way she remembers everything.

The Reminders is a wonderful story of loss and grief and, in a sense, a coming of age tale. Emmich has managed to create a very realistic and believable situation with his two protagonists and maintains clear narrative voice for them both. There is a massive heart at the centre of The Reminders which makes it a likeable one-sitting read.

The Reminders by Val Emmich is available now.

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The Reminders is a heart-warming novel about grief, friendship, and memory, with a quirkiness that stops it being too sweet. Gavin is trying to deal with the death of his boyfriend Sydney, but when that process ends up with him setting fire to every reminder of Sydney in their home, Gavin realises he must try something else. He ends up travelling from LA to New Jersey to stay with friends and their ten-year-old daughter Joan, who has a rare condition meaning she can remember every detail from her life. With Joan, he can uncover memories of Sydney, whilst she ropes him into helping her write a song for a competition because she never wants to be forgotten.

The real heart of the novel is the way in which Gavin and Joan bond and help one another to deal with their own problems and goals. Each chapter alternates between the respective points of view, giving Joan’s distinctive powers of recall and worldview mixed with Gavin’s grief and attempts to remember what feels too painful to recall. Though it is a happy novel, Emmich shies away from making things too sickly, instead making characters face reality and learn from it. Music is constant throughout the novel and Joan’s obsession with songs and creating her song add a quirky creativity to the narrative.

The Reminders is a great light read with a sad undercurrent, a tale of trying to deal with a partner dying and of how unlikely people can help you out more than expected. It is a charming book that will probably appeal to fans of books like Lily and the Octopus.