Interesting premise, especially as someone who likes podcasts. Unfortunately I didn't feel strongly about the book, and could have done without reading it- it dragged a bit.

Podcasts are a recent popular form of entertainment, so it's not a surprise that novels featuring podcasts would not be far behind. Gretchen Anthony's The Kids Are Gonna Ask features twin teenagers, Thomas and Savannah, who host a podcast that takes place at their dinner table. Their grandmother Maggie likes to invite all kinds of interesting and odd people to dinner, and Thomas and Savannah created a podcast around that.

Thomas and Savannah live with Maggie; their mom Bess died in a car accident years before, and they don't know who their father is. They decide to create a podcast about searching for their father's identity, with Maggie's reluctant blessing. (Maggie doesn't know the father's identity.)

Thomas and Savannah hope that the podcast might go viral, helping increase their chances of finding their father. Their wish comes true when a national podcast producer hears their story and wants to bring them to a wider audience.

It all sounds too good to be true, and as we all know with social media, things can go wrong. (The news is filled with stories about people who have said something on social media that ends their careers.) Thomas and Savannah's story blows up, with people choosing sides and voicing their opinion/threats on social media.

I found that part of the story so spot on. I follow lots of social media, and it always astonishes me how people get so angry that they write horrible things online that they would never say in person. I do not understand how people can get so worked up about things that do not personally affect them. Everyone has an opinion about what the kids are doing and feels free to share it.

Thomas and Savannah are typical teenagers- Thomas runs track, and Savannah has set her sights on becoming a producer. She is symbolic of young women today who speak their minds and will not settle for being treated less than because she is female. Their twin sibling relationship is well done too.

There is some good foodie parts to this novel- Maggie has a personal chef, Bart, who makes delicious food that had me salivating. (Who wouldn't love a personal chef? Never having to decide what to make for dinner each night is such a luxury.)

At it's heart though, this is about Thomas and Maggie looking for their father, and also hoping to find out more about their mother, who was taken too soon. It's a beautiful family story, with warmth and humor, appealing to all ages, from teenagers to middle-aged adults (I loved the character of Maggie). I recommend The Kids Are Gonna Ask.

Love a podcast set in a book. This one was a little darker for me than I realized going in, but this is an enjoyable read!

This is the second book I’ve read from this author, and the second book that’s a little... odd.

I did enjoy the story of twins searching for their biological father via podcast. But some of the things that happen are a bit extreme, odd, and even unbelievable. 

I like the twins and the grandmother. The other characters were kind of annoying. Overall an interesting idea and story.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, but the execution failed for me. I got bored and felt like this dragged on and on. By the end, I was just trying to get to the end, and I was glad when it was over and I could move on.

The premise of two teenagers using a podcast to try to locate their biological dad is interesting. These twins lost their mother a few years ago, and they never knew who their dad was. They live with their grandmother, but she doesn't know the identity of the father either (really?). By putting this on social media, they are then subject to trolls and criticism.

The novel goes from the twins' perspective to their biological father and some other minor characters in the book. I wasn't invested in any of the characters and honestly thought this would have been better if 100 pages had been removed. There is so much extraneous stuff in here that it really took away from the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before it was archived. The book is no longer on my Goodreads "want to read" list, but I will update my review to reflect an updated opinion if I decide to finish at a later date.

This was completely different from what I have been drawn to lately. It was a fun and heartwarming story.

Thomas and Savannah lost their mother in a freak accident. An accident that made them question the other half of their parentage. A question that starts a phenomenon.

When their podcast starts garnering national attention Thomas and Savannah are even more excited to search for the man who helps make who they are. A search that will test love, loyalty and strength for all involved.

I was unable to finish this one. There was a lot of weirdness in how young people were written and how things like going viral work that really challenged my ability to buy into the story.

The humor in this book made me love it even more. A tale about family and fame it was sweet, and very well written.

I liked this quirky book filled with eccentric characters.  I enjoyed the humor along the way.  
Many thanks to Harlequin and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A terrific read! Seventeen-year-old twins Thomas and Savannah lost their mother to a car accident several years ago. Their eccentric but loving grandmother, Maggie, is raising them, but Thomas in particular wonders about the birth father they've never met. The twins decide to search for him using a variety of sources, including their own podcast about it. Of course, things get complicated quickly, and old family secrets and tensions threaten to tear the McClains apart.

This is a hilarious book, although I also cried more than once while reading. The story is told from several perspectives, and Anthony manages to give each a distinct voice. The twins definitely think and act like teenagers, which means sometimes they're extremely frustrating, but better than books where kids more like small adults. I would love to know what happens next with their family!

This was a pretty good book. The plot was different enough to make me interested. The characters for the most part were like able and well developed.

It took me awhile to get into this book but once I did, I found The Kids Are Gonna Ask to be entertaining, and fun. The dynamic between the twins and their grandmother was funny, poignant, and original. The twins' search for their biological father was interesting and I enjoyed the podcast and all of the eclectic characters they met on their search. 

4 out of 5 stars for The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony. Thank you to Harlequin/Park Row and NetGalley for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) Park Row and Gretchen Anthony for free e-ARC in return of my honest review. 

Thomas and Savannah McClair find themselves lost when they reach 18. They are twins who lost their mother at 13 in a horrific accident, live with their amazing grandmother but they never knew anything about their biological father. When they their mother, she was illusive probably waiting out for older age. Their grandmother never got her answers too, so at one point in their lives kids decided to find their bio-father via a unique approach - public podcast. I guess it is a new age of a research. 

I find the story interesting and engaging. First of all, I think the whole idea for the story line to be a public podcast is pretty cool and new age. Secondly, I think that main protagonists, Thomas and Sarah, were well-done, they were nicely developed and came to life through the pages of the book. Biofather was interesting too, I assumed him to be worse and surprised that the author decided on a positive picture. I wish the media mogul story would be better developed, on the other hand it was not about him. 

Overall, I enjoyed The Kids Are Gonna Ask.

I'm not going to rehash the story here as the blurb for the book does that better and I don't want to give any spoilers away, but I LOVED this story!

I loved everything about this book.  I loved the twins Savannah and Thomas.  Both were relatable characters.  I especially loved the fact that Savannah was a strong character (stronger than Thomas in my opinion). 

What really was great for me, was their grandmother.  Maggie, she stole the show and made me miss my grandmother something awful. 

Thank you so much to #NetGalley and the publisher Park Row for the arc!

*Quick Take*

   Twin siblings Savanna andThomas searching for their biological father using their podcast. After losing their mother Savanna and Thomas are living with their grandmother and decide it is time to figure out who their biological father is. The twins bring it to their podcast that ends up going viral. There was a definite young adult feel to the story, because most of it is told from the twins perspectives. I did like both of these characters and really enjoyed the podcast episode sprinkled throughout the book. The mystery as to who the bio dad was may have been answered a little too early in the book. The twins crazy fame also was pretty exaggerated in my humble opinion. This was a good book, just not the best I’ve ever read.

*** Big thank you to Harlequin for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

The rise in popularity of books featuring podcasts has opened the door for novels like "The Kids Are Gonna Ask," a story following two twins using the format to broadcast their search for their biological father, the identity of which their mother gave no clue to before her untimely death.

Exploring fame and family, "The Kids Are Gonna Ask" switches perspectives between the two siblings, Thomas and Savannah, and other characters as the podcast makes their personal search very much public...and divisive.

The unfolding of the mystery of who their father is creates a great momentum to move the plot forward despite the novel's somewhat-too-drawn-out 400+ pages. But the length also allows plenty of time to build the main characters and watch them grow. Although the real strength of the book is actually the sections of the podcast script sprinkled throughout, which I’d be interested to hear in audiobook form, and which add a dynamic layer to the book.

But despite the well-rounded characters, the story is very much plot-forward, a trait that ends up working against the story overall. Readers will have to suspend their disbelief when it comes to how much fame the podcast garners and the amount of input people have on the kids’ lives, as well some other oddly placed details of the book, such as that the family has a personal chef that makes intricate and high-end dishes despite the fact that no one in the household seems to have any stable income. 

Even more so, the story doesn’t seem to know exactly what it wants to be. Without enough intrigue to be a full-on mystery, and with a reveal that comes too soon for the genre, the book also feels oddly placed in the ‘domestic drama’ territory. Hints of magical realism also arise within the novel but aren’t fully realized for the book to be considered fantastical, and end up feeling incomplete and odd. And, an adult fiction in its pacing and themes, the story follows the teens in the novel more than any adults and takes on their younger perspectives most of the time. 

I rated "The Kids Are Gonna Ask" 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Kids Are Gonna Ask was decidedly meh for me, unfortunately. While I initially really enjoyed the story, particularly the podcast conceit, reminiscent of Courtney Summers' Sadie, the last third of the book fell pretty flat. The plotline about the twins' skeezy podcast producer Sam didn't really do much for me, and I found the way they finally dealt with that problem--no spoilers--pretty unrealistic. I felt like the book was constantly poking at the real meat of what trauma does to people, particularly with Nadine and the twins' response to their mom's death, but it never quite achieved the level of depth I was hoping for. The book also lost a lot of steam once the text let us know who their real father was--too early, in my opinion. All in all, probably better suited for someone who wants something fluffy that tugs at the heartstrings.

It took me a little while to get to this ARC, missing the pub date, but I finally sat down with it in earnest this weekend and I am SO GLAD I DID!  It was a great read.  I found it to be so, so good.  Each character on their own was intriguing and unique and worth every bit of my attention while reading.  There were no 'throw away' characters.  I loved that and I loved that, while the cast was moderately sized, I didn't get lost with the introduction of each one.  The way Jack is handled is wonderful.  The humanization of Bess as the story draws to a close, blending her great 'badass' spirit with her life-ending choice to be see Tad.  Dang. Loved it.  I kept thinking Maggie was going to do I and I was going to be SO MAD if that happened.  This was a great read and would be a great book club read, too.  Thanks for the ARC!

Gretchen Anthony has done it again with this fabulous novel about family secrets and how far one might go to find answers.  Anthony's characters are realistic in their desires and reactions and she lets the reader slowly unfold the plot along with Thomas, Savannah and Maggie. I would recommend both this novel and her previous work, especially if stories about families, drama, and the complications that can come with it all are what you seek.