I love young adult mystery thrillers. This one had a lot of twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and I loved the mysterious aspect.

This book was wild. I loved the podcast element. This book really pushed me into seeking out more titles that have a podcast in the center of the story. Tom Ryan is a treasure in the young adult literature world, and I'll read everything he writes. This is not as strong as his first book, but I still rated it high.

I really liked the podcast element of this book. I liked Dee as a character and her backstory. I respected her reasons for starting a podcast and wanting to stay anonymous. I liked the LGBTQ+ rep and felt that it was done well. I did have some issues with the 2nd part of the mystery that was solved as it seems like we didn't get any information about that one. No insight into the clues that made Dee think her hunch was right or ah-hah moment. So that seemed a little rushed and unbelievable. As far as a YA novel I liked it pretty well. I've been finding it hard to get along with the YA genre lately as some of the tropes like absentee parents make it convenient for the characters to just do whatever they want are hard to believe, especially in parents that almost lost their kid years ago. I feel like that would make them very over-protective.

I've been a big fan of Tom Ryan since reading KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF a few years back, so this was a delight to dig into. It's a gripping and suspenseful mystery, and I read most of it in a single sitting. I love novels that incorporate a podcast angle and play up to the true crime genre, so that was a particularly fun element. Overall, a very satisfying thriller.

A fantastic thriller/mystery with a thrilling plot that leaves you guessing until the very end. Anmd it's queer

This was a gripping and satisfying take on true crime. I really enjoyed this and devoured it in one sitting.

Rating: 3.5



Summary: A small town put on the map by the tragic kidnapping of the young Sibby Carmichael is put back in the spotlight once again when another little girl disappears ten years later. Dee was there when Sibby was kidnapped, and the guilt drives her to action through her podcast. The podcast shines a light on current missing person cases, and Dee does it all anonymously.

Review: Dee was a great character, especially for the YA audience. The intense unresolved survivor's guilt is a massive part of her character and what is interesting is how we see her funnel that guilt into action. She was complex, with her desire for anonymity while unwillingly being stuck in this notorious role in a notorious story. Burke was an interesting character who I felt was underutilized. I liked Sarah, and Sarah and Dee’s relationship was sweet with solid chemistry. I do feel their relationship would have been better if the pacing had been more drawn out. The rushed nature of the relationship undercut my emotional investment. The ultimate twist and concussion was not something I had expected which is generally considered a good thing; however, the level of explanations required for the twists to make sense caused me to wish there was a bit more foreshadowing beforehand.

Loved this one! I liked the characters and the timeline and the flashbacks. My heart felt for Dee as she worked her way through her trauma and turned it into something meaningful.

I loved the incorporation of podcasts, as a fan of true crime podcasts. This is a trend in mysteries/thrillers that I appreciate and I think it was used creatively here. I thought the characters were very likeable and the story was easy to follow!

The premise of this book was super intriguing, but I was left unmoored by the execution. The podcast sections were a bit lackluster and resulted in the book feeling like it was two separate books that were joined together by a slim plot line.

Overall a satisfying YA thriller!

There are two different...mysteries, let's call them, to avoid any spoilers, one from 10 years ago and one from the current day. There are so many similarities that our main character, Dee, is pulled back into the trauma from 10 years ago when her best friend disappeared without a trace. Now 16, Dee anonymously runs a popular podcast of laptop detectives, people who help untangle threads of missing people, and that is getting tangled up in her mind as well. Plus the new (cute) girl who moved in on her street...there's a lot going on.

The unsolved mystery is handled deftly, as is the trauma Dee has experienced as a result - I suspected some of the events of the climax, but they definitely played out in a satisfying way. The 2nd mystery, the modern one, has a less satisfying ending, and is kinda brushed over without going into how Dee figured out the missing pieces, and how she convinced the police, but was still interesting enough.

Overall, I'd say this is a solid mystery thriller, a good YA novel, and a fun read.

What a remarkable story! I highly recommend to any and all lovers of mystery, thriller, and maybe a little bit of love??? Haha
It’s nearly impossible to put down so get ready with a cup of tea and a few hours of free time. You’ll love it.

While I did expect more from this thriller, I still enjoyed what I did read.
I did like the podcast element, it gave the book a little something extra, which is always fun.
I definitely see the Sadie vibes that other people have related it to as well,.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

When she was just 7-years old, Dee Skinner's best friend, Sibby, was kidnapped as the two girls were playing in the woods adjacent to their houses. Dee witnessed the incident, but as a 7-year old, was unable to help Sibby. This fact has haunted her every day since. Sibby has never been found.

As a teen, Dee has distanced herself from her peers. Her one good friend, Burke, has remained steadfastly by her side, even though she's a bit prickly with everyone else. Burke is also Dee's secret keeper. He's the only person who knows that Dee is the creator and host of a hugely popular podcast, <i>Radio Silent</i>, that discusses and investigates missing persons cases from around the country.

Dee feels like the podcast helps to relieve some of her guilt over not being taken while Sibby was. Dee hosts the podcast completely anonymously, using the name, The Seeker. Her many fans and listeners actively investigate the cases discussed on the show. Dubbed as the LDA, Laptop Detective Agency, they have actually found people!

Two things happen in close succession in Dee's life though, that soon threaten her hold on her anonymity. An attractive girl moves into the house directly across the street and a little girl, living in Dee's former house, has gone missing. Dee wants to do whatever she can to help find the missing girl, Layla, whose disappearance seems too much of a coincidence. Could it possibly be related to Sibby's disappearance? Even 10-years later?

As Dee and the girl across the street, Sarah, grow ever closer, Dee is able to open up to her in a way she has been unable to before. Even though it makes her vulnerable, it also gives her strength, because now she has someone on her side.

Dee has always felt like the people in town judged her after Sibby's disappearance; like they felt she could have done something to help. Since Sarah just moved to town, she doesn't have any preconceived notions of who Dee is, which helps Dee to be able to connect with her more naturally.

After Dee opens up to Sarah, the two girls begin to investigate Layla's disappearance together and go on one heck of an adventure doing so! Reading Dee and Layla's relationship evolve was one of my favorite aspects of this story. I loved how Dee could finally let her guard down and be honest about herself with someone else. I think it means so much to find that one person you can truly be yourself around, especially when you have been hiding a bit, like Dee was.

In addition to the evolution of the girl's relationship, which if you are wondering, is romantic, I also enjoyed the overall evolution of the story. How Ryan went out revealing the situation with Dee and Sibby; everything that happened leading up to the kidnapping and shortly thereafter. I also very much enjoyed, unsurprisingly, the podcast element. Listening to the audiobook, you really get a feel for what <i>Radio Silent</i> actually would have sounded like. That was quite compelling.

It got pretty crazy towards the end, but by then, I was committed to these characters and this story. A lot of it was great, wild and fun, but there were a couple of plot points at the very end that just seemed to be wrapped up a little too conveniently for my tastes. Thusly, my overall enjoyment suffered just a wee bit; but seriously, just a tiny bit. Regardless, I definitely recommend this for fans of YA Mysteries, missing person, or cold case tropes, and of course, people who love a podcasting element to their Mystery/Thrillers.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Albert Whitman & Company, for providing me a copy to read and review. I had a lot of fun with it and look forward to reading more from Tom Ryan!

I Hope You’re Listening is a contemporary sapphic YA mystery. This isn’t my typical choice of genre, and that’s made it a bit harder to review for me than I thought it would. It was certainly easy to keep reading and had an unexpected reveal, but I’m not sure I followed it all the way there. In other words, I prefer the solution to be something I’d be able to reasonable guess and I didn’t feel like that was the case here. But it’s possible that I missed some clues.

As for the positives, the flashbacks were well-implemented, and Dee felt realistic as a narrator who was a teen with trauma in her past. The setting of a small town haunted by tragedy (and now hounded by media journalists) was immersive. I’m glad Dee’s parents weren’t absent, and the romance was cute if (as is always my complaint) a bit rushed. There was one side character Burke who Dee had a complex relationship with and I actually wished he got more page time. All in all, I Hope You’re Listening delivered well on what it was offering, it simply didn’t impress me beyond that.

I usually love books that incorporate podcasts into their plots and while I felt that “I Hope You’re Listening” took advantage of that, it also felt like it could have been better executed. That being said this was a fun read for fellow crime junkies though it did take a bit to really catch my attention.

This books seems great, but unfortunately it's a bit too long to be considered as a Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, which is what I requested the arc for.

The mystery didnt really do it for me. I felt the writing was more geared almost toward middle grade. This just did not tickle my fancy

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

OH MY GOODNESS!! I loved this book! I surprisingly haven't read many books about podcasts, despite being a big fan of both (Sadie by Courtney Summers being the only one that comes to mind off the top of my head. If you liked that one, I think you'll really enjoy this one, as well, BTW!). I'm also a big true crime guy, so this book had A LOT of potential to either go really right or really wrong for me. Good news, it smashed it out of the park! I'm not surprised, as I read Tom Ryan's previous novel, Keep This to Yourself, and really enjoyed my time with that one as well. Really excited to see what this author does in the future!

This book is one where I feel like if you took away all the excess writing and plot points, it would be good at its bones. The premise felt familiar with the radio and a kidnapping case where two people go in the woods/one comes out. The characters didn't feel very well developed, even counting the ending that we all knew was coming. When we first heard of the kidnapping, I was fine with how little the victims were developed because I thought we'd get a better picture as we moved through the book. But, the ending just felt abrupt and very forgettable. Lastly, I thought that the book struggled with an age group they were targeting. At its core I almost felt like it could have gone to a younger age group, but the book was sprinkled with random drug use and cursing.