Book Review: An Adventure Through the Togetherwood (2023) by Sean Anderson

My thanks to author Sean Anderson and Sulis International Press for a review copy of this book.

A children’s/middle-grade fantasy–adventure, An Adventure Through the Togetherwood (2023) by Sean Anderson is a lovely story of friendship where our three adventurers, lost in the Togetherwood, face many challenges, learn (and help others realise) many things—from the relevance of communication to seeing the brighter side of things, and make new friends, forming bonds for life.

The story opens with eleven-year-old Eleanor exploring the woods near her home, a favourite spot. On the way back however, she spots and follows an owl, ending up following a path her father had warned her against. This takes her to a mysterious cardboard box which magically transports her to strange surroundings, which she later learns is the Togetherwood. Before long she meets two others, Dax a black labrador retriever who might be a little ‘dim’ but is loyal and full of enthusiasm and his friend Claire, an orange tabby who quite typically drips sarcasm. The two have similarly tracked a lost ball and an owl and ended up lost. The three decide to travel together and find their way back home, the journey introducing them to an assortment of animals (all of whom can talk, of course) and who help and are helped by our trio.

We meet frogs and badgers, beavers and ducks, a deer and a raccoon and even a gorilla. But none of these are ordinary, for among them are a professor and an explorer, battling armies, petulant children and overprotective mothers, a wise storyteller and even a soul who believes in the power of transcendence. Yet as our adventurers find, willing (and some unwilling) to help though these may be, many, in fact most are as lost as themselves, though in different ways. What starts off as a journey to find the way home, thus turns into one which helps numerous lives and forms strong bonds of friendship and loyalty.

This was a sweet and enjoyable adventure story which has many important messages to give but does so mostly by showing rather than telling, though in some instances the thought or idea may be spelled out.

Our three main characters are in some ways typical (Dax for instance shown to be not too bright and Claire caustic and sneering), but as we travel with them, we learn their backstories (each with sorrows from their past) and get a better sense of why they might be as they are. And yet, they are also far from typical for despite being so very different from each other and having different ideas of what they should do, they manage to stick together and be there for each other, solidly all the way through. There are moments of dejection and despair as there would be when one is lost in a completely unknown place, and tempers are at times ruffled but ultimately their friendship withstands every test and carries them through. All three (in fact all the characters we meet by and large) are also very likeable.

In these adventures and the encounters with the various animals they meet, the author explores a range of themes. Many, in fact most are ‘lost’ souls, experiencing negativity or a loss of relevance, escaping reality either through stories or a too-deep belief in transcendence or engaging in battles when none is needed, or simply misunderstanding each other (with a couple of less than scrupulous characters in the mix). Through interacting with our trio, both sets realise the relevance of communication, of optimism and belief, of friendship and of not only helping but being open to accepting help (things even adults often lose sight of), things equally important in the real world.

All of these aspects and characters come together in a grand finale with more than one soul finding a home!

A lovely story which adults can enjoy as much as the intended readership!

Book details: Riversong Books, 2023, pp. 286 (ebook); paperback 277 pp