The Remembering by Dione Orrom is a fantasy novella that definitely needed to be much longer. There are some interesting ideas and world-building here, but none of it gets fleshed out satisfactorily due to the length of the book.

Thank you netgalley and Troubador for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a sweet concept and a sweet story but unfortunately, the writing was not for me. I understand it probably aims towards middle grade as the age range, but the writing felt to "childish" at time, to the point that it made me think it was watered down because "kids might not understand". Not sure if this made any sense, it cold just be my "adult" brain reading something for a lot younger kids

I received the ARC of this book after the release date. For this reason, I’ll be reading the final version as opposed to the ARC.

I'm just not sure how I feel about this book.
On one hand, it has a great message of looking after the planet, being more in touch with nature, with plants, animals, trees, oceans etc. and how in our modern time, how we are treating Mother Earth could mean it's complete destruction.
However, the story and writing itself was not really to my taste.
Early on, it was a bit repetitive. When Jack is first taken to the other world, they keep saying that he's the one to save them, and they've waited for him. But don't do much of telling him what to do (luckily this does come later). He meets Aster, who is made out at first like she's going to be his main companion for this adventure, but then she kind of falls to the wayside when Jack's neighbour, Mia, is dragged into the other world too, and suddenly she's also a saviour, even though there was no mention before that they needed someone else, it sounded like it all rested on Jack.
The story itself is quite short, so it felt a bit...stunted in places. Like there were bits of the story missing. I suppose most other books might have a bit of filler, but this was a single journey from one place to another which happened very quickly and involved a lot of disasters along the way. So there was no real calm involved. Maybe for some this will contribute to the story, as it makes their mission more urgent feeling... But then I found in places some characters were yelling about haste and needing to get moving then it was like 'let's camp out here' and there was no 'no! We need to keep moving!' It just felt a bit disjointed?
Like I say, I have mixed feelings. I made it to the end, I didn't seriously enjoy this book, but I did like the message it had. Despite this, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

This is a fun children's or middle grade fantasy story. It carries themes about bullying, friendship in adversity, as well as a larger message to respect and care for nature. Overall I enjoyed the bits of mysterious magic the most and thought the talking animals were cute. I can imagine young readers really enjoying this story's invitation to get lost in another magical world.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity for me to review this enjoyable read.

This isn’t a book I would read aloud to my class, but I think the voracious readers in the group would really enjoy this book. The pacing is good, adventure and characters are all really well written.

I really liked how this book used a magical storyline to send the message about appreciating nature and taking care of it. This is a very heartwarming, whimsical read.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. A children’s book for environmental awareness with a touch of magic. Perhaps we could compare it to Lorax for older children? 5th or 6th grade would probably be ideal for this level of writing.

It had a nice touch of surprise friendship between a bully and the bullied, which would be great for kids to read and see how sometimes home life can affect how children present themselves in public.

This started very strong and had such an interesting topic. There was an unfortunate revolving door of characters, however. It felt like every chapter had a new creature or tree or person and they all had a strange, vocal reasoning as to why they were there. It doesn’t allow kids to use their context clues or forward thinking to figure out the plot and purposes of characters.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was a sweet story following a boy and a girl as they attempt to save the world from The Forgetting. Have you ever thought you heard the trees whispering to you? What about swearing your dog could talk? In this story, a boy and a girl find the trees and animals can speak to them, but are losing their ability to speak from The Forgetting. Follow as they overcome space and time barriers to save everyone from losing their connection to nature.
A wonderful and heartfelt story I loved to read. It was easy to follow and I was able to finish it in one sitting. I would love to read more from Orrom soon.

I took a bit of time after reading to sit on a review. In truth, the book was not completely indigestible, but for me it wasn’t a hit.

Initially intrigued by the synopsis, especially in regards to magic and forests, I chose this book. After completion, I am left a bit wanting. For starters, the dialogue was very choppy and monotonous. Example of stylization would be something akin to;

“Wow that is really cool” said character 1. “Yeah, it is really cool” replied character 2.

There was no organic fluidity to the conversations between characters, and no personality to differentiate who was speaking either. All of the characters were varied in their descriptions, yet had no individualization. I feel as though a young boys narrative and an ancient tree gods narrative should be easily distinguishable.

Additionally, I’m not precisely sure what the target audience is. It reads very YA, almost bordering Junior YA, but then it mixes dark themes and topics that would dip over into an adult genre. Yet, it doesn’t blend into any one category well. As a mature adult, I wouldn’t recommend it to people in my age group, but it also seems too old for ages 5-8, and too easy for ages 10-14.

On a positive note, the concept of the plot was interesting. Infestation and disease magic that needs to be stopped with the help of those “who remember”. It harkens to a fairytale ambiance, where nature is trying to thrive against the changing tides of modernization. I have a fond spot for any stories that include nature and animals. The execution was lackluster in my opinion, there was this buildup and insinuation of high stakes, but nothing really felt tumultuous or at risk. Things would transpire, and then be neatly fixed in a very short amount of time. This type of pacing left no room for emotional attachment to anything or any situation, it was all blasé.

I regret that I couldn’t offer more praise to this work, and commend the author for all their hard work. Ultimately, this is not a read I will be recommending.

3 stars⭐️
thank you netgalley and troubador for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

i saw this book on netgalley’s ‘recently added book’ and thought the cover was gorgeous, and the premise of the book intriguing!!

The remembering is a children’s book about Jack who loves to travel to the woods with his dog Stan, unlike all the other children in the town. He stumbles upon a tree which transports him to the realm of the ancient tree council, and discovers his world is dysfunctional and needs saving. He teams up with a crew of people, animals, and trees to save the world from forgetting the beauty and necessity of the environment.

Overall, for a children’s book it is good. The message of this book is important, and this book is a great way of understanding the complexity of the destruction of the environment. This book is clear and made appropriate for children, by including fantastical elements such as talking animals, although the magic system is complex and not straightforwardly explained, as seen by Jack and Mia’s characters that are just as confused as the readers, asking questions about what everything means in almost every chapter.

I enjoyed how easily i could visualise the scenes and the characters, and the talking animals!

I recommend for children who want to read more about magic, and the environment!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

This was a charming story with a strong environmental message that I could see having in my classroom or on the bookshelf for my kids to read some day. Jack and Mia were both brave and, by the end, caring and understanding protagonists that were easy to root for. There were times that it felt like there were too many characters to keep track of at a time, and places where plot elements were unclear, but as the story progressed, many of these hiccups sorted themselves out.

This is a great book for kids, I don't know from which age writing speaking because English is not my first language, but as content goes I would say middle grade could be perfect.
This book meshes grief, bullying, climate crisis in a way that does not come out heavy.
Regarding the style and the atmosphere, it reminds me of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, and this is very much a plus.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. EVERYTHING IN IT HAS ME ON A CHOCKHOLD. LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT SO MUCH. I RATED IT 4 STARS.

I really enjoyed this book by Dione! It starts with a boy called Jack who sadly gets bullied because he is seen as different,- he likes nature and wildlife rather than playing games on consoles with friends or whatever his peers like. His neighbours, Tom and Mia are those bullies. Jack likes to spend time in the nearby wood, at times, with his father too before his passing. His father teaches him the way of the forest, how to appreciate nature in its natural form. The trees, leaves, running water in streams etc.

When he sits at the base of his favourite tree, something amazing happens and he's transported to a new world. A world like his own but different. He explores a bit and then returns home to return the next day to the strange forest world but this time, with an unwanted guest: Mia.

The underlying storyline/moral of this book is don't forget about nature, don't chop down all the trees, they are connected to other things, branches are homes for birds, sap helps other creatures, the roots can help hide warrens, the leaves provide shade etc. Deforestation is a huge issue and we can't forget the natural and beautiful side to the world. Learn about nature early on in life and appreciate it growing up. Lovely, heartwarming read. Found friendship is also good in a book too! Would recommend!

This was a lovely read. I am someone who loves to sit out and enjoy the nature around me. So I really loved this heartwarming read. The author did a fantastic job getting the main message across and I loved all the little details that were put into the story.