Genre: YA; Magical Realism; Thriller/Mystery Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆

First, thank you @netgalley and @elledesamours for is this free e-ARC and giving me a chance to read and review this wonderful book. Overall, this was an amazing debut novel. I loved the concept and uniqueness of Sariyah’s abilities and the awareness about sickle cell anemia and mental health issues, particularly depression. This was perfectly atmospheric, I didn’t want to stop reading, especially when it got closer to how and why Deja disappeared. The only issues I had, was the pacing did slow down towards the middle and some of the twists were predictable. However, the ending and its fast-paced action and twists made up for that. Although I did like Sariyah’s character overall, there were times where she did annoy me - especially how she sometimes treated Jude. I do wish we could have explored their dynamic a little more, as opposed to her and Malcolm, who I had so many mixed feelings about.
 
Still, this was a wonderful debut novel with an interesting and different concept, a unique main character, and an engrossing plot. Hats off to the author– this was amazing read. I can’t wait to check out her future works. Highly recommend adding this one to the TBR!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

FINALLY AN ENDING THAT DIDN’T LEAVE ME HANGING! I know y’all think people are lying about book reviews on here but I really enjoyed reading this one! I love a good young adult that gives mystery, suspense and all the feels 😭 Thank you to @netgalley @wednesdaybooks @stmartinspress for this ARC.

Sariyah, the FMC, is a high school senior who has a gift of being able to hear people’s “needs” at the moment but doesn’t know or understand how it truly works, just that she needs to fulfill them or she will have a migraine. We follow her as she struggles through high school bc she is distracted, her mom is depressed, her brother has sickle cell… then, they go to a music festival and all hell breaks loose because one of her bff’s disappears causing her to wonder if her gift is a curse. I actually couldn’t figure out the plot twist beforehand because it seems so many people could have been involved.

The only things I found myself wondering about is her family history, especially her grandmother who passed down this trait to her and WHY Sariyah didn’t kick her raggedy friends to the curb by the end 😂

I enjoyed how this YA mystery dove into social issues surrounding missing people and how the police, society, and the media prioritize who matters. It's a sad reality which leads the main character Sariyah and her friends to take matters into their own hands when their friend Deja goes missing. Sariyah has a special ability to hear people's needs telepathically, except those closest to her, and I liked how the gifts she gives others played a role in how the events unfolded in the book. I also appreciated the real-life circumstances she faced and how real the characters felt. I read this one mostly on audio and the narrator, Alaska Jackson was great to listen to.

This was such a fantastic book with so much to unpack in such a small page count. This book is super easily digestible while also packing an absolute punch. I cried quite a few times throughout the book, especially when Sariyah was dreaming and talking about Tessa. That last line of the book DESTROYED ME. Part of me wants second book because I loved following Sariyah and seeing her strength. I wanted some more closure to the Tessa storyline, but also, a stronger part of me, realizes how perfect the ending of the book is.

My only hold up is the actually mystery part. I personally feel like this book was more YA Contemporary Speculative instead of YA Mystery Speculative. The mystery aspect was definitely the least developed and didn't entirely work. I also didn't love learning the behind the scenes of what was going on with Deja. That was a bit frustrating and not my favorite "twist."

But overall, it was amazing and I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an e-ARC. These are my honest opinions.

*I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review*
*3 Stars*

Overall, I wasn’t a fan of the way this book turned out. It started well, got super slow where very little happened towards the plot, then *everything* happened all at once and in ways that didn’t make a lot of sense.

Things I Liked:

- Sariyah: I thought she was a great MC! I loved seeing the use of her abilities and how it affects her life and mental health, and how accommodating her friends and family were about it. I wish we saw more of it and maybe some more explanation as to how it worked/her grandmothers backstory, but I understand that the novel didn’t end up being about that at all. Though she wasn’t suspicious enough throughout the book — if people in my life are acting suspicious while someone is missing, I’m pouncing on them!

- Family Dynamics: I really appreciated the honesty with which Sariyah and her family were depicted. Her mother and brother both face mental/physical health issues and the way they were handled in this were really well done and actually affected Sariyah and the plot.

Things I Didn’t Like:

- The Plot Twist: Didn’t like it. At all. And I can’t believe we forgive everyone involved at the end, even enough to be cool with them. Sariyah says it herself to one of the characters involved when she finds out: “you’re sick.” It was a very, very sick thing to do, especially while they’re ruining people’s lives and health and emotional wellbeing to do it. Yet we’re still cool at the end? Nope.

I also did not like the rushed conclusion. When the mystery/stakes were rising at the end, I was definitely way more engaged and eager to continue reading. But when everything was revealed I kept saying: “that’s it?” And yeah, that was it. The motive of “whodunnit” made no sense and was super over-complicated for no reason. There wasn’t enough foreshadowing to make me go “ahh now I understand!”

I feel that way about most of the book. There were too many things and plot lines and relationships and character dynamics going on that it was hard to tell where the story was going. Characters got dropped halfheartedly halfway through the story, or there’d be relationship or backstory development with another character and then we never discuss it again.

That being said, I didn’t hate this book, and enjoyed Sariyah and her gifts. I wish they were wrapped in a better plot/ending!

Desamours does a wonderful job of creating richly detailed and diverse characters. The pace was a bit off at times, but it balanced out overall. Sariyah is a relatable protagonist. The author does a wonderful job of portraying the struggles associated with adolescence, particularly with finding one's place in the world. Supporting characters are well utilized and distinct. There are a number of important social issues addressed, and the author handles them in a sensitive manner. There is enough suspense, as well as twists and turns, to keep the reader actively engaged in the mystery of Deja's disappearance. Dialogue felt natural and unique to each character. Desamours perfectly blends mystery with fantasy. Readers may discover that just when they think they know who the bad guy is, they find out they were wrong. I look forward to reading future books from this author.

I loved this SO MUCH! It has everything I look for in a book - an intriguing initial premise, an entertaining and satisfying storyline the whole way through (in this case, solving the mystery of our MC's missing best friend), and extremely poignant social commentary that is featured in the plot of the book but also can be discussed and applied to real life. The supernatural abilities of the MC were just enough to be interesting and feel original, but not too much to feel like I'm reading fantasy instead of YA contemporary. Speaking of the fact that it is YA, I loved that the author included a subplot related to the MC's mother and brother and the added responsibilities that she takes on. Not only does it make the plot more believable, because you get the answer to the "where are the parents?" question that can often come up in YA books, but also it adds a layer of commentary related to parentification that you just don't get in adult books. Overall this book is 10/10, I'd highly recommend it to fans of Tiffany D. Jackson and Brittney Morris, and also I'd recommend it to everyone.

3.5 ⭐

The beginning of the book was a bit slower and difficult for me to fully get into, but then around halfway through I was hooked trying to figure out what was going on. I loved the discussion of social issues and bringing up extremely important topics. This book discusses how black girls/minorities don't get the same media coverage or attention when missing as white girls. Other subjects mentioned in the book: dealing with sickle cell disease, depression, and ADHD.


Although this book was good and highlighted a lot of very important issues, this book is still a 3.5 for me. There was a lot of buildup and I feel like the conclusion was almost too rushed and quick for me?

I was absolutely engrossed in this story and didn’t want to put it down. I love the magical realism and special power/gift that wasn’t secret to Sariyah’s close friends and family. This was such a fun read that had me guessing til the end. The audiobook was so entertaining and the characters were teenagers I would’ve loved to have been friends with at that age. I feel like the end was so perfect; but at the same time, I would love to see where it would go if there were to be a sequel (please Channelle Desamours😉😉).

Thank you @macmillan.audio for this fabulous early listening copy. I was also lucky enough to get a digital copy too from @wednesdaybooks (thank you to them as well!)! I devoured this one in less than two days.

Add this to your TBR if you like:
✨magical realism
✨mysteries
✨young adult
✨red herrings
✨great characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

NEEDY LITTLE THINGS will be available on 2/4/25!

This book is so good, and I would be happy for any person who gets their hands on this.

There are so many stories told in this book that depicts the life of not only a black girl, but of a teen who has to act as the adult in her life. She has the power to hear peoples needs, which puts her in the position to always put others before herself. Then, she is also dealing with personal struggles, while her best friend goes missing. There is so much to take away from this story, and on top of that an interesting mystery.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to, or reads diverse books.

Sariyah can hear the needs of other people. Ironic because what she needs most is the world to give the same support and attention to missing Black girls that they give to missing white girls. She has already experienced the loss of a friend—one that years later, still hasn’t been found. Unfortunately, a fun night out has Sariyah reliving her worst nightmare. Another friend is missing! This time, she refuses to let her stay missing just to become another forgotten Black girl.

It does take awhile for things to REALLY get interesting, but once it did, I was ALL in. I eventually used the clues to solve one of the twists, but the ultimate suspect was a shock to me. That person hid their crazy well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s press for my digital copy. Although this is a YA book, I really enjoyed it. Sariyah is a 17 year old with the ability to know what you will need before you do. When one of her best friends goes missing during a musical festival, Sariyah and her friends Malcolm and Jude try to find her. There are a lot of important issues addressed in this book such as how white women get more media coverage when they go missing compared to women of colour. Depression and drug addiction are also addressed. I look forward to reading more books by Channeller Desamours.

Love love loved this. I was hooked from almost the first chapter. What a fascinating, and surprisingly emotional and heavy magical gift for someone to have; especially a teenager. Sariyah is savvy, caring, and so strong to deal with this "gift" while trying to navigate school, her home life and helping take care of her younger brother, just normal teen stuff. And that's on top of the trauma of her best friend having done missing in her past.

Now MORE drama is heaped on her, and I absolutely admire her determination to "do the right thing" and use everything she can to help find another friend that goes missing, while also dealing with guilt about the unexpected and long term consequences of her magical ability.

This book was raw, emotional, gutting, but also funny and sweet at times. The feelings of loss, inequity in the treatment of Black teens, especially Black girls going missing, dealing with issues like depression in such an open way, I really love how this was written for teens - I think this is going to mean a lot. The writing itself was so easy to read and relate to. I love the YA romance and how it's slowly developing with a real connection.

I was SHOOK by the twists, it did NOT go anywhere I was expecting.

The cliffhanger had me SCREAMING OUT LOUD. I am going to need another book ASAP please please please!

I both read and listened to this one and I enjoyed both versions!

75/100 or 3.50 stars

I liked what the author was doing with the social commentary and the world-building with Ri's skill. I think her power was done well and added a unique take to this YA thriller!
I would have liked a little more of the book to revolve around her power, especially with that ending! That was such a cool way to end the story, and bumped my rating from a 3.0 to a 3.5 star. There were some parts that dragged on a little too long, and so my interest did slow in the later half of the story. I would be intereseted in another story that dives deeper into her power and expand on the world the author created with it.
The synposis and desciption didn't quite live up to what I was expecting and hoping for the story, but I did enjoy this.

Short and Sweet Review

Sariyah has a unique ability to hear the needs of those around her, and the only people who know about her ability are her family and her best friend Malcolm. Sariyah, Malcolm, Deja, and Jude go to a music festival, and Deja ends up going missing. Earlier that day Sariyah fulfilled a need for Deja and now that Deja is missing she’s beginning to wonder if her gift is more of a curse. Deja isn’t the only friend Sariyah and Malcolm have had gone missing a few years ago Malcolm’s sister Tessa went missing and was never found. Sariyah knows time is of the essence and she’s hoping her gift can lead her to Deja.

This book started off great but then as it progressed I started to become annoyed with the characters and by the end I was furious but first I’ll start off with the good. I thought Sariyah’s ability was interesting, she could hear the needs of those around her like if they needed a pencil, a hair tie, maybe a hat, that kind of thing but it did take a toll on her if she wasn’t able to fulfill someones need. There were different things that were brought up that were important like mental health being discussed, sickle cell disease, and unfortunately how when people of color go missing there isn’t a big hurry to find them. That’s about all I liked so let’s get into the bad. When Deja goes missing, Malcolm and Sariyah get into arguments and they have the worst attitudes with each other and it was awful and Sariyah our main character would have this nasty attitude with not only Malcolm but other characters in this book more often than not, obviously having someone close to you go missing is scary but them arguing wasn’t helping. Sariyah has a romantic interest named Jude and she wasn’t great to him either, I felt bad for him that he had to deal with her, she suspected him of being guilty and then she got made at him because his aunt got a job. Later on we see Sariyah’s mom in a depression which means Sariyah has to take care of her younger brother JoJo and she decides to use her gift to make money which ends up attracting people who are dangerous. We also meet some side characters who live in a different town and they’re important but learning about their stories started to muddle things going on. Finally as important as it is to bring awareness to people going missing especially those that are minorities some of the characters went about it the wrong way, and this is where the author lost me because after finding out what happened I was seeing RED, I was ticked. If I was in this book I wouldn’t be protecting anyone and those characters would either get repercussions for their actions or never hear from me again, well they probably wouldn’t hear from me if they weren’t punished. I don’t want to ruin anything so I’ll just say I hated the ending and I feel like it ruined this book.

Overall, I liked the premise, Sariyah being able to tell what people need and trying to make sure Deja wasn’t another statistic, but the ending is something I won’t get over and will be ranting about for a long time and not in a good way. If you want to read this book, I will admit it started out great for me and ended horribly but others could think the ending is genius, so with that said to each their own.

8.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2025/01/28/needy-little-things-by-channelle-desamours-review/

A little bit of a slow start and a little bit of cringe-worthy teenage angst spells the beginning of the end for Needy Little Things. Or so I thought. On the surface, this was just another impulse buy (or review request) for a YA clone of any number of semi-original ideas, that turned out to be just the same as any of those preceding them. A niche talent, a minor magic, transforms an average teenage girl into anything but! And yet, the more I read of this, the more it felt… well, not different, exactly—as it’s still that same setup—but more meaningful. As Sariyah struggles to find her lost friend, the story becomes more than just about Deja. Life comes for Sariyah hard, and it’ll take more than her ability to see her through it. Yeah, there’s still awkward teenage angst (and some cringe-worthy romance), but even I found it mostly bearable.

And beneath it, the story—Sariayh's own, if not the mystery unfolding around her—begins to shine through.

If I’m at all honest, I really didn’t relate to any characters in this. Sure, the anxiety and other mental exhaustion Sariyah grapples with over this story (warning for anyone sensitive to that), reminded me a bit of my own life, though the circumstances are entirely different. Our history, setting, culture, personal experiences, gender—I mean, it’s pretty much all different. And, even though I didn’t really relate to ANY of anything in this tale, I still loved it.

I even ran this past one of my best friends before ultimately writing this review. And we (you know, mostly) agreed. The characters were all solid, and mostly human, as the author was not squeamish about squeezing in mental health issues, race-relations, and general anxiety of life into something that probably would’ve sold okay had it included the bare teenage angst and romance instead. And there is even some of that—though never at any annoying level. The book works great as a standalone, or even in setting up a potential sequel, with a true bombshell of an ending. I really can’t recommend this one highly enough, which, since me, is… impressive. Take that as you will.

I requested this book so long ago that I can’t remember what drew me to it in the first place, but when I got the approval this month, I was excited to dive in. The premise certainly interested me– a young girl with special powers gets embroiled in the mystery of her missing friend and uses her powers to aid her in her investigation (along with some other friends and good old-fashioned detective work). I really liked the way the story played out; I was always on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I also thought the topic of depression (through Sariyah’s mother’s character and Sariyah’s reactions) was handled very thoughtfully and impactfully. I won’t ruin it, but I didn’t see the ending coming (and I have some thoughts about a few of the characters’ actions…) If you’re looking for your next YA thriller, look no further and pick this one up when it hits shelves in early February 2025!

*Thank you to NetGalley for exchanging an e-ARC of this book for an unbiased review!

I wanted to read this book because I've been looking for YA mystery books I could use for independent reading.

I really enjoyed both premises of this book: The first one is that Sariyah, a high school student is constantly bombarded by the "needs" of those around her, causing her migraines, ADHD, and terrible grades in school. The second is that Sariyah's friend Deja goes missing from a music festival after Sariyah earlier in the day heard that she would need pepper spray.

Desamours' story would definitely be one I could see my students getting engaged with as it explored both the more fantastical side of Sariyah's story as well as the disparity between how black girls' disappearances are covered by the media compared to white girls'. One of Sariyah's friend's sisters went missing five years before and was never found, so Sariyah has multiple layers to deal with due to Deja's disappearance.

I enjoyed Sariyah's narrative and the various impediments in both Deja's case and Sariyah's life.

Needy Little Things has adept magical realism with its focus on Sariyah's premonition-like abilities. Interwoven into this story is the awareness of the reality of deficits in concern by law enforcement of missing Black girls and women. I feel that the author did a good job of finding the balance between these two forces as she developed the story. The story has twists, action, and is fast-paced, which added to the urgency and need for the mystery of Deja's disappearance being solved. I didn't want to stop reading this story.

Sariyah can sense what other people need - not what they want, but what they need and will make a difference to their life. And if she doesn't give it to them, her magic increasingly nags at her until she does. This unique magical talent alone would be enough to make a fascinating YA fantasy novel, but Desamours layers on top of it thrilling mysteries and danger, excellent character building, the urgent need to save Sariyah's sick brother, and the ever-present struggles of being a Black teenaged girl in 21st century America.

Altogether, it was a well-written, fast-paced, stay-up-all-night-reading kind of novel.