I wondered why I felt such a disconnect in this story. It felt like I was missing something and I am just discovering what that is… I didn’t realize this was the third book in a series, as it wasn’t advertised as such (thanks NetGalley). I think had I read he fist two novellas before reading this this novella, I would have felt a little more anchored inside of this world.

I was intrigued enough by this story to know I want to go back and read the previous novellas. I think the writing is great. I have read this author before and was born away by the amount of emotion they were able to park into such a short book. The same can be said in The First Thousand Trees. You are immediately compelled by these characters, even when you are disappointed by their actions.

I will have to revisit my review after reading the first two books.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book!*

We pick up after the events of The Annual Migration of Clouds, where we find Henryk paying for his cowardice actions. He is ostracized in his community and ultimately leaves to find a new home with his uncle Dex. We follow his journey to the new location, and the challenges that arise trying to find his own way in a broken world.

This novella concludes the trilogy, and I think it’s a good ending with enough ambiguity that we can make our own thoughts (happy or not) about what the next part of the journey is for these characters. There’s a ton of action and tension in this short novella, that is very satisfying to the progression of the story. I’m glad I read the first two novellas before this, as I needed the context for this novella. My favorite quote from the book is towards the end, no spoilers but I believe it strikes a chord with all that is going on in the world today:

“Of course we are not the first young people to leave home and declare that we are going to be the ones to save the world, but I feel that we’re some of the first who might actually be able to do it. And that’s something too.”

m starting to be a big fan of Premee Mohamed. It's not often that I feel like there's a book written specifically "for ME" but this entire trilogy seems like it might be.

I expected this novel to follow Reid as she returned to her campus, but instead we follow Henryk on his journey to his Uncle's more Northern community.


Feeling bereft after Reid's departure, Henryk sets out on a wild adventure, traveling with a makeshift map to find his Uncle. With more luck than skill, he's able to find the community. Henryk is taken in conditionally and really does give it his all to fit in and be visibly productive in a vastly different community than the one he left. He struggles much in the same way he struggled at home, making some poor decisions, and being, in general, not very welcome. Much like his past, as series of disasters follows him, and while none are notable his "fault" dystopian communities seem to have no time for accidental blunders. After a particularly spectacular error Henryk somewhat redeems himself and makes a choice to move on.

For me, I wanted Henryk to desperately have sort of a hero's arc of redemption, but that does not occur, and to be honest, this seems so realistic as so many of us work very hard at being in community with others, and despite our efforts we aren't always successful.

In the end, the message I took away again was that people often survive better together, and no one really wins unless everyone can share in the winning. I love this message as it's one I believe in whole heartedly.

The writing again is precise and story construction is on point. These novellas are great for book club as there's so much to discuss- themes of belonging, community, class systems, the environment, poverty and wealth, community building and more!

The First Thousand Trees comes out September 30th! I am grateful to ECW press for the opportunity to read the novella as an Advanced copy!

The third book in Mohamed’s post-apocalypse series could be read as a standalone because it focuses on Henryk rather than Rain. His trek to find his uncle leads him to answer the universal question how do I fit in. More importantly, he asks — and answers — why he wants to. Mohamed explores a different angle on what it takes to survive a future dystopia, and what’s left after … everything. It’s a hopeful book, in the end, without being at all trite.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and ECW Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5*

I went into this book blind so wasn’t aware that it was the third novella in a series, but it did somehow work well as a standalone read for me.

The prose was beautiful while still being easy to read and fast-paced.

Henryk is an introverted overthinker that constantly seems to make the wrong choices despite his desire to prove himself. Mohamed did an excellent job developing this easily unlikeable character and giving him nuance — yes, he’s naive and lacks courage and often foolish, but you can’t help but pity him while also resenting him a little. His heart is in the right place, and he does try (again and again).

Because I lacked the context of the first 2 novellas, the ending didn’t make the most sense to me in terms of a satisfying conclusion (that’s completely on me) but the tension throughout this book was balanced so well. There is so much heart and emotion packed into this novella — a quick but powerful read.

If The Annual Migration of Clouds offered a fresh perspective on Harry Potter, and We Speak Through the Mountain revisited the tropes of Divergent and similar YA dystopias, then this third installment, The First Thousand Trees, reads as Mohamed’s response to works like The Walking Dead. Here, the return to an isolationist, tightly controlled social order proves ineffective against external threats, especially the most dangerous kind: other humans.

The narrative shifts focus to Henryk, a stark departure from Reid and the more capable protagonists of Mohamed’s earlier works. Incompetent, unreliable, and prone to paralyzing overanalysis, Henryk disrupts the narrative momentum built in the second book, making this installment feel more fragmented.

Mohamed deliberately rejects familiar post-apocalyptic blueprints. The pastoral commune, the techno-utopia, and the authoritarian stronghold are each explored and ultimately dismissed. A nomadic model rooted in Indigenous traditions is also proposed and left behind. Yet she offers no clear alternative. What remains is a flicker of youthful optimism, a naive yet persistent hope that a better world might still be possible. This unresolved tension leaves readers wondering what future Reid might carve out, especially while burdened by a less capable companion. And as with all of Mohamed’s work, it challenges us to flesh out an ending for ourselves and reflect on what better alternatives we might envision for our own fractured communities.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for providing an advance reading copy.

I’m gonna give us four stars. I actually enjoyed the writing style in the main character. I wasn’t aware of going into this that this was the third one in a trilogy so I just read this by itself and it works like that. I think because of that I did enjoy this more than others because I’m not familiar with the other two books and the narrator in that one. I just took this book as is and I thought it was pretty good.

While enjoyed the story and the writer's storytelling, I was hoping this would be a continuation of the story from We Speak Through The Mountain. It ended with a cliffhanger and I was excited to read about Reid's journey back home. It really threw me off when the POV changed to Henryk. I'm glad that in the end Mohamed brought back Reid and provided closure...just wished there was more of Reid. Overall an enjoyable trilogy.

Thanks to ECW Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The First Thousand Trees is the third novella in this series, set in a post apocalyptic world where climate change has ravaged the environment and left the remainder of humanity battling a cordyceps parasite/symbiont.

This story focuses on Henryk, the best friend of Reid who is the protagonist in the other two stories in this series. Henryk is lost without Reid, and is struggling to find a place for himself, having always felt like an outsider in the only home he has ever known.

Henryk decides to visit his Uncle, his only living relative who lives in a different settlement far away from the world Henryk has known. Hoping he can find a new home there, Henryk soon realises that it isn't that simple.

This was good but it is unfortunately my least favorite of the trilogy. Henryk was just a less compelling narrator to me and I struggled to care about him in the same way I did for Reid. His decisions were so bad at times I half wanted to cover my eyes while reading because I was so embarrassed. Dale was an interesting foil and I did think the story as a whole was sweet, but something about it kept me from truly caring. Still worth a read as I do really enjoy this series, but not a new favorite.

In this third novella in the series that began with The Annual Migration of Clouds and continued in We Speak Through the Mountain, readers discover what Henryk is up to while Reid is at university. In the world of these books, Mohamed creates a simply astonishing and deep world in which climate and disease have caused a radical upheaval in life on earth. While the first two books focused on Reid, a smart young woman with an unfortunately common chronic and terminal illness called Cad, this entry gives us her friend Henryk's story of leaving their city for a smaller settlement where his uncle lives. Both Reid and Henryk struggle with survivor's guilt, ethical challenges, and physical trauma (this is not a series for the squeamish), and in the aftermath of a tragedy, Henryk is desperately trying to prove his worth--the idea of having worth and what that means, exactly, being a central theme of the books. Henryk will, I think, come across to readers in one of two ways: as a sympathetic, self-punishing young man seeking meaning and connection in his life, or as a not-very-observant or oblivious and incapable self-pitying and needy child; the canny reader will see how he is both, and how both aspects of his personality give him a lot of room to grow in different directions. We get to watch this growth over the course of the book, and the ending feels very right for readers who know the previous volumes. Reid and Henryk spoke to me personally--as someone for whom returning to my parent's home after having left it for educational experiences would have been, to me, a terrible personal failure, these stories helped me see how coming home doesn't always have to be interpreted that way, and can in fact be a sign of strength and compassion and consideration. The First Thousand Trees does stand on its own, but your reading of it will be richer if you read the other two books first.

A continuation of Henryk’s story after The Annual Migration of Clouds.

Henryk has the worst luck and as a somewhat naive introvert he really doesn’t seem cut out for surviving ‘the end of the world.’ This makes him a super interesting character in this unique dystopian novella.

I’m sad that this ends our time with these characters being the third book in the trilogy.

I read the previous book in this series. I found this one interesting. The writing style is easy to read and enjoyable. The story is entertaining, but like the previous, I just couldn’t seem to get more into it…

4.5 stars for the series, 4 starts for this novella. This is the third and final book in this novella series. I usually don't start something that I know is part of a series, but the first book really intrigued me, so I took the gamble. I love the books, the characters, the writing. Perhaps I was also persuaded but the beautiful covers. I really love this series. I've been recommending it to readers but with the caveat that maybe they should wait until the series is done before they start, and now I'm free to recommend without reservation. I must say, that though the series is done, I really wish there were more coming. But, on to the story...

In book 1, we meet Reid and Henryk in a post climate/pandemic disaster (decades after the disaster, but not so far in the future that people don't remember how it used to be, and the infection is still present in many) where they live in a pretty stable community on an old college campus. Reid heads off to university and Henryk, her friend and perhaps soulmate, is left trying to find his place in the community without her. In book 2, we follow Reid to university. Now in book 3, we are back to Henryk's story. He leaves the campus and heads to the home of his uncle, in a community focused on rebuilding a more agrarian community. This novella is about his attempts to blend into the community. I won't go into details, because, spoilers, but I will say it is not a conflict-free adventure.

These novellas are in part about what different communities build in the wake of disaster. The pros and cons of the communities as well as the how our main characters bristle and conform. This novella is a fast read and I'm happy to engage with this story again. I do think this book on its own would not be as strong as it is as part of the collection. My recommendation: read the series. I'm excited to explore more of this author's writing as I greatly enjoy this series.