The author did a wonderful job presenting this as though it is the voice of a ten years old. The way the story jumps around like a stream of consciousness was honestly really refreshing to read. I honestly felt like I was reading a journal entry made by this girl. This is a story about coping with loss through the point of view of a ten year old girl and it was executed very well. I liked the audio narration too. It brought alot of life to the story.

This was a beautiful audio book to experience. It felt ephemeral and like listening to a kid’s whispers. The story is poignant but told in such a hopscotch way that it ebbs and flows like waves, washing the truth of the story up before hiding it a bit, then washing it all clean again. Once you get the feel for the narration, it becomes such a melodic experience.
I actually love that it’s not really a happy ending. The journey doesn’t end as expected, but even in its sadness there is still an element of beauty.
The pacing is good and the story flowed well in the style of stream-of-consciousness.
Even as an adult, there was something really refreshing to hear a story told much in the way my brain hops around. I wish there had been more of this when I was growing up.

This book is told by the perspective of a child coping with a loss - this means that most of the time we don't know what's real and what's a fantasy created to help a child cope with their feelings.

I loved the narrative - it's simple, a bit repetitive and direct to the point - just like a child's mind. It captures their innocence and worldview perfectly, and shows how much they mirror themselves in their parents and the people around them.

Gilly sets off through the woods to find her father, taken from her by a woman named Mississippi. Oggy is her best friend so he stays with her. This is presented from Gilly's point of view, as though she's writing it, but there's it also feels surreal because of how Oggy talks and names things.
I always love unreliable narrators and Gilly admits she is, but this is really a journey to her heart as she faces difficult things in her life. It would be hard to read this without getting emotionally invested in these adorable children, and the narrator does a wonderful job.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

3.5⭐️ Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book - it felt so immersive and atmospheric like we were all in the forest together with all their made up creatures and Oggy. I loved the randomness and flight of ideas she had and it felt really realistic for a 10 year old girls diary. I also liked the ending and how it felt very realistic!

If you want a nice easy read from a small cute narrator that you want to give a cuddle but also feel all the feels!

As an adult, I really struggled with many parts of this one. It is written from the point of view of a ten-year-old who leaves school because she is picked on when her stories are not cohesive and instead jump from topic to topic. So as a reader, following the jumps and repetition of her diary entries was difficult. Yes, it made me feel as if a child (albiet one of much younger than 10) was telling me stories. However, there are many clues dropped in the entries that as an adult, I was trying to figure out what was happening for real instead of the 10-year-old's skewed interpretation. It didn't seem to have growth even though the characters snuck out on an adventure. I was a little lost much of the time and did not like the relationship between the 2 main characters. I feel like my brain was trying to make a story where it struggled to find one.

What is the saddest word you know? A loaded question, isn't it? But it's a question 10 year old Gilly has asked herself: "longing". And that word summarizes the book Tangerines rather perfectly.

Gilly lives in a forest with her mom. Her best (and only) friend is Ever-So-Wise-Or-So-He-Says Oggy, a passionate 10 year-old who believes in magic and makes up his own words and spells. Gilly's father is no longer in the picture, living on the other side of the forest, and by way of her diary Gilly narrates around the deep longing she has to have her father back. Gilly and Oggy devise a spell to get him back from his live-in girlfriend, Mississippi, whom Gilly loathes and thus lists FIRST when musing on the topic "If people HAD to die in order..."

Welcome to the magical world of 10 year old brains with 10 year old imaginations and fitting childlike interpretations. It's unreliable narration at its finest and funniest: Gilly has no qualms about admitting she lies. Her directness is refreshing and witty in a manner exclusively reserved for preteens. But more than that, the reader immediately senses, apart from Gilly's inability as a 10 year old to process adult complexities, that things are also being kept from her.

In her writing journey (Gilly hopes this becomes a book one day), Gilly ponders about family a lot. Along with magical words made up by Oggy, they discuss equally powerful real words like "psychology", "high sensitivity" and particularly "heredity". Both kids marvel at the concept of heredity, thinking that if one parent likes something, they will inherit that same like. Or that same choice. Or behavior. These conversations and these kids' life experiences so far give us a lot of insight into Oggy's motivations especially and how he affects Gilly. Without giving much away, I thought this was just beautifully woven together.

Much like the world this story takes place in. Initially, we think it's a timeless sort of enchanted forest, with tangerine trees, and 'yanika' animals (I listened to the audiobook, please forgive me for not knowing the spelling). So when Gilly suddenly mentions Disney and Stephen King, it's really jarring! We're in the modern world after all! But it's a very, very isolated, small world for Gilly. She doesn't attend school and has only her mom, her Tangerine tree, and Oggy. Oggy is clearly her whole world, her diary full of Oggy-isms. He's her anchor in life.

Despite that, Gilly is full of light and humor, her journal a chronicle of a journey, but also full of random observations and delightful information, such as her having been to Oggy's house 53 times. Of Oggy's parents having "a special mirror above the bed. Oggy swears it's for catching night smiles." Or of Oggy being just "this kid in front of her" or "that boy she knows" when they're in a fight. The way I chuckled at all of this. Kids are awesome.

But stowed away in between the Oggy-isms or the 1000 references to yanika's, she works in thoughts like: "Beautiful things should stand on her own," referring to her individuality. And the heartbreaking question she longs to ask her mom: "'Do you love me?' I know the answer, but I just need to hear her say it."

These sensitive, honest thoughts made me physically brace myself for Gilly towards the end. I was fully invested, and upon finishing the book I found myself entirely baffled to be suddenly in tears. Again without spoiling the ending, as a person whose own childhood was full of questions about family and belonging, so much of this just resonated. I kept flashing back to my own chaotic journal entries from when I was 9 years old. The stuff that mattered then (cringe!) with little hints of hope and heartbreak scattered in between. You know, the soul-shaping stuff in a little time capsule. This little book has got all that.

Once again, I'm blown away by how deep a children's book can be. There were quotes that I absolutely loved.
The simple style, the distractions in between, the fact that she couldn't distinguish the importance of matters and wrote about everything equally, and the fascinating imagination made the experience feel like reading the real diary of a ten-year-old girl.
The audiobook and narrator also fit the tone of the book and made the whole experience authentic.
I loved the experience!

This book is the diary of Gilly, a 10-year-old girl.
In the diary she recounts her personal events and the plan, devised with her best friend Oggy, to go to Mississippi where Gilly's dad is staying.
Gilly names everything; the tangerine tree in her garden is called Orti and it is a special tree because it is full of hearts carved into its bark by Gilly herself. Oggy, on the other hand, is a neologist, making up incredible words and having an answer for everything, more or less.
On their journey to Mississippi's home Gilly and Oggy meet a yanaka and a monkey.
A very nice book with the point of view of two children in adult dynamics. The interaction between Gilly and Oggy is very very nice.
The story has everything: it is beautiful, it is funny but also sad, it is simple but also has complex themes.
I hope they will translate it into many languages, it is worth it.
Highly recommended!
I listened to the audio version paired with the book. The reader did a great job, I found some differences between audio and book, I hope the differences are corrected.

An absolutely adorable book, very easy to listen to and full of nostalgic emotions. The journal style of the novel was done so well, it made it very easy to connect with Gilly and her story. A perfect read for young readers and adults seeking a comfort read alike!

3.5/5 stars for 🍊
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a middle-grade book this touching. Tangerines captures the magic of childhood perception, where imagination turns everyday moments into something special. Seeing the world through Gilly’s eyes truly felt like being ten again—wrapped in nostalgia, remembering how the world once seemed vast and beautiful, full of mysteries and wonder, and simply right. It made my heart ache for that innocence and trust in the world. If you’re looking for a cozy and endearing read, I highly recommend it!

4’3/5✨ First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of “Tangerines” 🍊 I really really enjoyed this book, specifically the audiobook. It’s a perfect glimpse into the mind of a little girl with a lot of imagination. It reminded me a lot of when i was little and everything i learned was very interesting to me and i was always asking a lot of questions xd Seeing the world through Gilly’s eyes has been truly inspiring, her descriptions of her life in the forest, all the people she meets. The animals, the trees, her feelings and internal debates…it feel like spring and childhood. Highly recommend if you want a cosy and endearing read 🧡

I listened to the audiobook while following along on my kindle. From chapter thirty, what i was listening to didn't match up to what i was reading, so eventually i decided to stick to listening since i loved the voice of the narrator so much. The cover is beautiful and the story was good as well. When i get the chance I'll surely purchase it for myself. I found Oggy to be kind of a jerk, but at the same time he was just like kids in real life, with the thought of 'knowing everything' and having random believes. I wish I had a childhood in a forest as well. The audiobook was 3 hours, so I finished in a day.

Wow, this was such a lovely, lyrical story following ten-year-old Gilly through her journal entries. These entries are filled with so much curiosity, and they truly made me feel like I was following the thoughts of a ten-year-old girl as she processes the world and her experiences through her writing. There were moments when the pacing of the story felt a little slow, but I was still intrigued to see where Gilly's journey would go.
The audiobook was also very well done. The narrator captures Gilly's voice beautifully.
Overall, I highly recommend this middle grade story!

Incredible!! We follow Gilly through her childhood in a magical forest, adventuring with friends, and searching for her father. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and a truly gorgeous, whimsical, unique read.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me an e-ARC and an audiobook.

"Beautiful things should stand out on their own"

This book is a lovely story of a girl named Gilly who's on a journey with her friend Oggy to find her father as they venture through the forest. She meets friends along the way - and renames them multiple times.

"Tangerines" perfectly captures the mind of a young child. I've felt a range of emotions as Gilly narrated her story. I love her relationship with Oggy, and how trusting she is towards him. Oggy is my favorite character in this book that he made me laugh. A few times. He was also unpredictable with a wide range of imagination which made it so fun to read.

I read this in one seating and I would recommend it to anyone. It was such a great read.

This is a very sweet, lyrical audiobook, beautifully read by Casey Montgomery.

Plot wise, not much happens; the focus is more on friendship and growing up. It's an easy listen but I did find my attention wavering halfway through.

The writing is lovely - It's quite melodic and flows well. It was a pleasure listening to it being read aloud.

The audiobook was mostly well produced but certain parts would repeat for me. I found this quite confusing but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment.

Overall, it's a very sweet middle grade book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ALC

I loved the format of this book. Reading via diary entry made me feel really close to the narrator. I really enjoyed getting to see a young minds perspective of life

This is a sweet child/preteen book. It is a journal type of writing style which isn’t my favorite, but it did allow for great insight into FMC viewpoint and a great reminder for what childhood thoughts/feelings were like.