It’s been a while since I read a YA novel and while I struggled to get into it, it was worth it in the end.

When Dee was 7 her best friend got kidnapped while they were playing in the woods close to their homes. Ten years on and Dee hosts a very popular podcast about missing persons. She even manages to solve some cases together with her online following and the LDA (Laptop Detective Agency). Dee makes this podcast in secret in the middle of the night, her identity is unknown to the listeners as well. She started out of some of guilt over Sibby’s abduction. When a new kid in town gets kidnapped it sparks all these memories for Dee and her best friend Burke. Dee has never wanted to make an episode about Sibby mostly out of fear of her identity being revealed, but now she has all these questions. When she tries to find answer to her questions in person is when the book really gets on a roll.

The book at first is very slow going, lots of podcast transcripts, but you don’t get invested in the main character Dee, which is necessary for this book to work. You have to read about half of the book to get a connection and the book to pick up some pace. The characters are ok, bit one dimensional, but fine nonetheless. The story unfolds pretty nicely if you only start counting from half way or so in. Because I needed half the book to get invested into the story it took me a long time to finish it. If the entire book were to be as good as the second half I would have finished it a day or 2, now it took me at least 1,5 week.

In her small town, seventeen-year-old Delia “Dee” Skinner is known as the girl who wasn’t taken. Ten years ago she witnessed the abduction of her best friend, Sibby. And though she told the police everything she remembered, it wasn’t enough. Sibby was never seen again.

At night, Dee deals with her guilt by becoming someone else: the Seeker, the voice behind the popular true crime podcast Radio Silent, which features missing persons cases and works with online sleuths to solve them. Nobody knows Dee’s the Seeker, and she plans to keep it that way.

When another little girl in town goes missing, and the case is linked to Sibby’s disappearance, Dee has a chance to get answers with the help of her virtual detectives and the intriguing new girl at school. But how much of her own story is she willing to reveal in order to uncover the truth?- Goodreads

Let me be honest. I requested this novel via Netgalley because it was giving me Sadie vibes. If you have not read that book you should.  

What makes this book similar is the podcast but that is about it.  Dee creates this anonymous podcast to not help ease the guilt she is experiencing but also to bring light to those who as missing. I really like how this was done. It was detailed and follows a case from beginning to end. 

The pace of the novel was fantastic. I was heavily involved in this novel, which makes the next part hard for me to say. It was predictable. When Dee decided to do something, things moved fairly easily. And when I say easily, I am not saying that she had an easy road to the answer, what I am saying is her obstacles were defeated easily and it was a very straight and clear path. 

Also I consider Dee selfish. Unfortunately, if I tell you why it would be giving you a big spoiler. But she made a decision for her benefit alone without any thought to anyone else. Not only was she called out on it more than once, she used a new relationship to avoid her selfish decision. It was hard not to notice any of this. And I really hate characters like that. Yes,  she went through a traumatic event but that does not give her the right to be as selfish as she was. 

Beyond this (which you don't find out until past the half way point of the book), I loved this novel. I would have liked to see more development in Dee's relationships with other people.

Overall,  I liked this book. 

3 Pickles

Transcript of Krissa's Review Episode XXX - May 16, 2020

Host: I've just finished reading 'I Hope You're Listening' by Tom Ryan, a novel following Dee Skinner, 17 year-old true crime podcast host whose past trauma is quickly entwining with her present day life.
When a girl goes missing in a small town like Redfields, people notice. When another girl goes missing in the same small town, ten years later, within a block of the previous disappearance... people REALLY take notice. While this might seem like the perfect case for Dee's podcast Radio Silent to take on, Dee finds that this case hits too close to home, having been witness to the kidnapping of her childhood best friend Sibby.

Dee Skinner: Take it from me, even a sad ending is better than no ending at all, and that's always been my goal: to deliver an ending to as many unfinished stories as possible.

Host: But is there an ending to Sybil's story? If there is, it is one that Dee can be happy with? Someone out there knows. Someone out there has information that can give the town of Redfields an ending.

Listen up.
Let's try.

Pros:
-I love the addition of the podcast transcripts. Easily one of my fave parts of the book.
-Casual queen representation.
-Casual stay at home dad representation.
-A mystery that had me so SURE of what was happening, only to really throw me.
-Cult cult cult

Cons:
-we met -> you saw me in class -> my parents came over to your house -> i saved you from the paps -> i know your secret identity -> we are girlfriends in love
^romance moved way too fast and just was not realistic? also didn't really add anything
-a few characters that were introduced fully (like they'd have a role) that quickly just... didn't? (the twins, Burke, Dee's mom, the detective)

*Thank you Albert Whitman & Company + NetGalley for the digital ACR in exchange for review!*

3.5/5

This book has an interesting premise- ten years ago, two girls went into the forest, one came out. Now, ten years later, another girl goes missing and evidence suggests that her disappearance links back to the first. Intriguing, no?

The first half of this book was quite good, a solid four stars maybe. I enjoyed the podcast aspect, Dee and Burke’s friendship, Dee’s family relations, the mystery and hunting for clues... Everything was building up nicely and I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was behind everything.

However, the second half kind of went off the rails in my opinion. I felt like most of the clues and hints from the beginning were ultimately meaningless and left me dissatisfied when what really happened was revealed. And when in the second half a character mentioned something, it was painfully obvious as to what was going on, and erased all previous build up just like a snap of the fingers. That’s not to say it’s was completely dissatisfying, only mildly.

As well, there was a romance that while I enjoyed it, felt as though it came out of nowhere. All of a sudden these two girls were kissing and in love with one another and I genuinely thought I had missed a portion of the book or something. Then, Burke is hardly even involved in anything which was disappointing because he is Dee’s best friend!

Overall, I think this might be a good YA mystery for those who are looking for a place to start in the genre. I am also so happy to see a mystery feature a queer main character, because it feels like that doesn’t happen too often!

Thanks to Albert Whitman & Company for providing a digital ARC of I Hope You're Listening in exchange for an honest review.

I love mysteries. I don't think it's possible to be a reader and not like mysteries. No matter the genre, they're what keep us reading. I Hope You're Listening feels like a mystery for the modern era. Protagonist Dee was with her best friend Sibby when she got kidnapped over 10 years ago, but when another girl goes missing, a now 17 year old, crime-podcast running Dee is forced to examine the one missing persons case she's always been afraid to talk about.

The way Dee's podcast is set up felt really clever. There are a lot of moral issues people have with true crime podcasts and by keeping the podcast anonymous and something she's not profiting off of, the controversy surrounding the entertainment form doesn't impact Dee's story.

Dee's also casually queer!!! I've been reading a reviews for this book and the main issue people seem to have is that the romance feels forced and inserted just so the book can have a queer character but Dee and her love interest honestly felt no more forced than 90% of teenaged couples and considering the fact that I Hope You're Listening doesn't advertise "look how inclusive this is!" or the characters sexual orientation and that the author himself is queer, I don't really get where this is coming from. I'm the first person to say that authors need to stop forcing in half-baked queer relationships just to gain inclusivity points and I honestly don't think that's what was happening here. Yes, sometimes its fun to read about intricate, fleshed out relationships but I Hope You're Listening is about a missing person's case, not Dee falling in love and sometimes its fun to give queer characters their own hormone feuled insta-romances.

Dee Skinner is your average 16 year old girl. Except she's not. She was a witness to her best friend's kidnapping 10 years prior and has never been able to get past the feeling of helplessness and guilt by being the girl who was left behind. The girl who could never give enough information to catch her friend's kidnappers. Now that girl has grown into a popular, yet anonymous, podcaster "The Seeker", appealing to legions of "Laptop detectives" to help her solve other missing person cases. Now another child has disappeared and the case hits a little too close to home for Dee. She's determined not to feel helpless again. But can she do that and still be anonymous?

I enjoyed this book. I wanted to know what was going to happen and I wanted to see it all tied up at the end, and I got that. There were some extra things in there that didn't really need to be. I didn't understand the romance with Sarah it happened so fast and contributed minimally to the plot. I understand Dee needed to "out" herself as the Seeker to someone, but she ends up doing it with another character, anyway. I know this is tagged as LGBTQ friendly, but it almost felt like the author threw the love interest in to get that specific tag. It doesn't really have anything at all to do with the story. Burke, Dee's childhood friend, could have filled the role that Sarah filled and it really would have made more sense. That being said, I thought the plot as a whole was good and it held my interest.

If you like missing persons stories, you will probably enjoy this book!

“Sibby? Alright, I am counting down and coming after you.“ Never mind the chill in the woods, the nagging gut gnawing at her, it was hide and seek day for Dee and her best friend Sibby, to the treehouse, into the woods, pair of 7 year olds, nothing to stop Dee from buddy time with Sibby.

Except Dee never caught Sibby that day. And she also never saw her best friend emerging from that forest again.

10 years on, sitting in her bedroom, The Seeker is busy at work. Just over seventeen, scouring through requests to appear in her podcast, Radio Silent, her program to connect people who have missing persons in their lives. There are scores of enthusiasts and feelers alike ready to provide leads, all of them with the collective attempt, to break the silence for those who cannot be found. As a Seeker, this is Dee’s calling, to bring light to those who are lost, dead or alive, even if she still does not know what happened to Sibby.

In Dee’s small town of Redfields, a decade after Sibby, another disappearance has cast a dark gloom yet again over its residents. Are the two disappearances linked, and what is the connection between Layla and Sibby? Is it enough for The Seeker to finally confront her own demons? To seek redemption for who she lost in the woods?

This is an enthralling tale of hide and seek, where readers get to follow the trails of The Seeker, to discover, who are the ones who want to remain hidden? Who are those who are desperate to be found? And do they want to be found?

I Hope You're Listening is a fantastic read, Romance, mystery and missing persons.... what more could you want from a YA novel? It's inclusive, thrilling and has strong characters with pasts that keep you wanting to know more and keep turning the pages to read more.

The premise was promising, but yeah this didn't really work for me.
Almost all of my issues stem from the romance
1. They go from barely knowing each other to girlfriends like a snap of your fingers.
2. Given the premise and that the main character hosts this famous podcast that the other girl does listen to, it feels like there's an uncomfortable power imbalance there that is never discussed or acknowledged whatsoever.
So yeah, not really a fan of this book.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING by Tom Ryan in exchange for my honest review.***

Oh Tom Ryan, I’m falling in book-love with you. I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING is even better than Ryan’s last year gem KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF. I’m a sucker for missing person stories, so I knew I had to preorder. Billed as a cross between SADIE and TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET, I hoped the hype didn’t set me up for disappointment. Reading I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING is the opposite of disappointing.

I fell in love with seven-year-old Delia and her best friend Sibby. Ryan expertly captured Dee’s voice in a way that made me feel like a kid was telling me her story. Often, I can tell the gender of a writer by the representation of girls and women characters. Ryan’s female characters are as authentic as women writers’ in a way I haven’t read since adult literary fiction writer Chris Bohjalian.

I don’t want to give away any plot points for fear of spoiling a single word of I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING. Delia’s podcast episodes felt as real as Sadie’s. I hope publishers find a spectacular narrator to do the audiobook.

Rush right out and preorder or order I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING. Then schedule a day to read without interruption.

5 stars

I love YA, and I live for a great mystery or thriller, but I have been consistently disappointed when the two converge... until now!

Dee has a fascinating backstory, and while the events of her past very much shape her current choices and traumas, she also demonstrates strength and resiliency that make her a riveting character and a positive model. When the novel begins, readers learn that Dee and Sibby, her childhood best friend, experienced a horrific event ten years earlier: Sibby's kidnapping and subsequent status as a missing person. Dee is understandably devastated by her perceived powerlessness, ongoing guilt, and crushing loss of her best friend. Remarkably, Dee takes action by building a well-known podcast (that is kind of a mashup of several podcasts on the Exactly Right network but not exactly) and using this work to hide herself and to exert some form of control and empowerment over other missing persons cases. At the same time, Dee is a typical high schooler who is also developing a romance with her neighbor and working through some drama with her friends. She is both a realistic and exceptional character, and this makes her fun to read.

Other aspects of this novel that work well include but are not limited to LGBTQ+ representation (a character living through a really wild experience who just happens to be gay and whose identity affords folks the opportunity to be human or close minded), a tightly constructed plot that is less predictable than really all of the other YA thrillers/mysteries I've read in recent years, and a lot of really cool angles (which I won't list here because I hate spoilers) that work together instead of jump a bunch of sharks.

This is a great read, especially for folks who dig a solid YA novel and a good mystery/thriller. I loved the podcast angle, too, by the way. I'll be recommending this one to students, colleagues, and friends and family; it fills a lot of gaps in the genre and is just a fun ride overall.