Sariyah has a special talent. She can sense what people need without them telling her. This is not a skill she necessarily wants or enjoys. It is constant distraction for what she should be doing, like passing the 12th grade. But when her best friend, Deja goes missing, the second friend of hers this has happened to, her specail gift might help to find her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books, St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I loved Sariyah. She was a force to be reckoned with. She cares deeply about those around her, even when she can't hear their needs. Her friends are her world, so when Deja goes missing, which she blames herself for, she is overwhelmed with what to do. Coupled with things going on in her household as well, it's a lot to land in the lap of a young girl. There is a part that was a bit predictable, but it played out differently in my mind.

Young adults will enjoy this book. 4⭐⭐⭐⭐

Needy Little Things blends coming-of-age, mystery, and the supernatural through the story of Sariyah, a Black teen in Atlanta with the power to sense what people around her need. When her friend Deja goes missing, echoing a similar disappearance from her past, Sariyah is pulled into a deeper investigation that critiques the racial disparities in how missing persons are treated.

The relationships—especially with her brother Jojo and her best friend Malcolm—are emotionally grounded, and the Atlanta setting adds authenticity. While the concept of Sariyah’s ability is compelling, its origins are left vague, and the mystery gets muddled with too many side threads.

Still, this is a strong debut with heart, tackling grief, obligation, and systemic injustice in a unique and memorable way.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with a digital ARC of this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I rated this book 4 stars. It was honestly a great read. I found Sariyah such a compelling FMC, and the magical realism element of being able to hear others' needs (which is what drew me to the book) was done in such a clever way that made the story feel firmly in the thriller genre, rather than fantasy.

I have to say the plot was really well executed. I was surprised by how much the twists in this book caught me off guard. I often see twists coming, especially in YA mystery/thrillers, but this one genuinely surprised me.

It was incredibly thought-provoking and really explored how missing children—particularly Black girls—are treated in America, without ever coming across as preachy or heavy-handed. The thriller part of it really worked, but this book was so much more than that. It offered a look at family dynamics, friendship, mental health, growing up too fast, and what it means to have to take on a parental role for a younger sibling.

If I had one critique, it would be that I wished for a bit more tension surrounding the mystery of Deja's disappearance. At times, that thread felt like it lagged behind the other elements Sariyah was juggling, which pulled me out of the urgency of the mystery a bit.

Still, it’s hard to believe this is the author’s debut novel because the writing was incredibly strong. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on what Channelle Desamours does next.

✨ The Vibes ✨
Speculative YA with a powerful message

📖 Read if…
✨ You love a good YA thriller
✨ You don’t mind some speculative elements in your thrillers
✨ You like fiction that offers a powerful message about the real world


Needy Little Things is a debut speculative YA thriller that focuses on Sariyah, a teen girl who has the ability to anticipate the needs of those around her. Her powers can be burdensome, and they become even more so when her friend Deja suddenly disappears after Sariyah fulfills her need.

I can be picky about stories with speculative elements but I thought this one was excellent! Sariyah’s powers are balanced really well with the more grounded elements of the story. Sariyah and her friends were all really well-developed characters and the way their stories intertwined felt very natural. As you read, it was clear why Sariyah felt burdened and you could understand her motivations and some of her more questionable choices as she investigated Deja’s disappearance.

One of the key themes of Needy Little Things is the way the media and the justice system prioritizes disappearances of white women, while paying less attention to the disappearances of women of color. It’s a frustrating reality and Desamours really illustrates the human impact of these systemic failures, through not only Deja’s story, but the other missing girls that are mentioned throughout.

Needy Little Things is the perfect book for anyone looking for a unique YA thriller that doesn’t shy away from real world issues. It’s an impressive debut and I’m eagerly anticipating Desamours’ next book. Needy Little Things is out now. Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has truly blown me away—definitely one of the best I've read this year! The pacing was spot on, keeping me hooked from start to finish. I couldn't help but feel the deep emotions of the characters, completely immersing me in their journey. The storyline was compelling and delivered its message without feeling heavy-handed. I was so captivated that I devoured it in just four hours! It was an absolutely fantastic read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an early advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really interesting and kept my attention the entire time! I loved the magical realism aspect though I had one question that didn't feel fully wrapped at the end of the book but it was not big enough for me to dislike the ending.

I like the main character, though I didn't really care for Malcolm.

The social commentary in this book is accurate and raises good questions.

4.75* rounded up

Before I started this book I had forgotten what the synopsis and mistakenly assumed it would be about her using her Needs ability to track down the missing girl by like walking around until she heard something. I was wrong, but I'm not upset about that. I loved this book, the mystery took me in and I had to force myself to put down the book to get some sleep.
The reason it isn't a full 5 stars for me was due to a couple of aspects that I wasn't the biggest fan of - the mother subplot line and the first big twist of the book. However the cliffhanger at the very end was brutal, and I hope that the author writes a sequel to this book. If she doesn't I still think the way the book ended was amazing.
One powerful theme the book highlights is how so many missing BIPOC girls do not get the same media attention as white (typically blonde) girls.


Thank you Netgalley, Channelle Desamours, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was really enjoyable. It had great ADHD rep, a very interesting mystery, and characters that I really enjoyed following. I will say that the main character's power in this book is lowkey my nightmare, but that is not at all a detriment to the book. It's very well done and I will totally be reading the author's next book

I absolutely loved this book! It gripped me right away. Soriyah is pragmatic and has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders. She was such a relatable main character. I was really intrigued by her powers and the guilt that she feels about her ability to hear other people's needs. I loved the exploration of whether her abilities meant she owed others the fulfillment of their needs. I also loved the discussions about how racism affects the criminal justice system and how quickly cases with Black victims get solved. The mental health representation was portrayed with a great amount of nuance (her mom suffers from depression). The mystery had me hooked and the topics the book brought up were dealt with so thoughtfully. I'm hoping that there will be more books in this series because that ending left me wanting to spend more time in this world.

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

I am now on an ALA committee and cannot leave a real review. Thank you for your patience. Sorry for the inconvenience This is NOT a rating. This just a place holder because I had to.

Sariyah Lee Bryant has the ability to hear the needs of others. She spends a lot of her day providing people with these needs to stop the voices in her head, while also trying to care for her ill brother, and depressed Mother. Years ago, Tessa, her best friend Malcolm's twin sister went missing. When her best friend Deja goes missing, she refuses to let her become another statistic and so she decides to use her powers to make some extra cash, in the hopes of finding her.

I think this book did a great job with blending social commentary with mystery and magical realism. This was a slow burn story, but I really liked the overall message of this story. It tackles the topic of the unequal treatment of minority victims in missing people cases. I listened to this on audio, and the narrator did an incredible job bringing Sariyah to life. I really enjoyed Sariyah as a main character, and I was so intrigued by her power. It almost felt like her power was an analogy for OCD with the constant intrusion in her thoughts, and the compulsion to help meet the needs of others - but I could be wrong. I do think the topic of mental health, especially with her mother's depression was well done. The ending was interesting, and took a turn I really hadn't expected. It almost felt like we were left on a cliff hanger, so I am hoping there is another installment!

Needy Little Things had such a cool concept and important themes—missing Black girls, a supernatural twist, and a heroine trying to do it all—but the vibes didn’t totally click for me. I loved the idea of Sariyah’s power and the way it tied into community and survival, but the story sometimes felt like it was juggling too many plot threads without fully diving into any one of them. The pacing dragged a bit, and while the mystery kept me curious, I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I wanted to be. That said, I really appreciated what this book was trying to do, even if the execution didn’t land perfectly for me. Solid debut, just not a personal fave.

I am very thankful to have been gifted a copy of this book; however, at this point this book will be moving to my DNF shelf. It sounds like something I would have really enjoyed, and will happily come back and re-review once I am in a better mindset for the book.

4.25 stars

Sariyah is a seventeen-year-old girl who has the gift (or curse?) of being able to hear other people's “needs.” These needs are on repeat in her mind, unless they are fulfilled, or the person is out of her reach. From years of experience, Sariyah learned to keep a bag full of random items, like gum or a pencil, to give to people to fulfill their needs. But when her best friend, Deja, goes missing shortly after Sariyah fulfilled her need, she starts to feel as though her ability is more of a burden than a blessing.

Knowing from past experiences that the police won’t put in the effort to find yet another missing black girl, Sariyah, along with her friends Malcom and Jude, take the lead in the investigation. But as Sariyah delves deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she realizes that even those nearest to her are keeping secrets.

Yes, I did read 61% of the book in one afternoon, and yes, I probably should have been studying for exams, but it was so good! Although the page count was low(ish), Desamours was able to tackle so many topics at once, without slacking on any of them.

Social justice, friendship, dealing with trauma, racism, romance, family dynamics, personal responsibility… all of these were prominent in the book, and all were executed well!

What I really liked is how she was able to blend all those themes with magical realism, and how the characters were well-written. I feel like all of the characters felt real, which shows the skill that she had to create relatable characters in her debut novel.

What a gripping, unputdownable debut! I can’t wait to read more from Desamours, especially (hopefully) the sequel! I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a great mystery book that has relatable characters and a well-thought-out plot.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was so good! It is a ya mystery with a touch of magical realism.

It follows a high school girl named Sariyah and what her and her friends go through when one of them goes missing. This book highlights the pitfalls in society when it comes to missing persons depending on race and sex. It really showcases the disparities in how cases are handled when the missing person is a white girl versus a black girl. I'm pretty dense when it comes to mysteries, so I gasped at each red herring and at the big reveal at the end! Everyone in the book was keeping secrets and it kept me on my toes the whole time. I really think the author did an amazing job handling heavy topics of inequality, race, mental health, addiction, and dysfunctional family units.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Whew!

Needy Little Things skillfully blends mystery and social commentary, and adds just a touch of unique magic. From the very first page, the gripping who dunnit storyline kept me guessing all the way through to the final chapters. I truly did not know how the story was going to go.

The author expertly weaved together the realities of teenage life (teachers and parents IYKYK) —dominated by social media—with the deeper, unsettling issue of missing Black children and the troubling disparities in media attention compared to their white counterparts. [A great topic for a persuasive essay or research paper.]

The magic system, though intriguing and original, feels somewhat abruptly introduced, leaving unanswered questions about its origins and deeper implications.

Nevertheless, Needy Little Things is undeniably thrilling, chilling, and socially relevant. The cliffhanger at the end will no doubt haunt me...

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book!

I really enjoyed this. The MC is a teen girl who is dealing with a lot. She has premonitions of what people need, but only those she isn't close to. Her mother has severe depression and when her best friend disappears from a music festival, she's unsure what to do. All she knows is she has to find her friend.

There were some twists in this one. i clocked farily early on something was awry but the journey was still worth it. This is a really involving read!

(4.5/5 stars)

Needy Little Things is a debut YA speculative mystery by Channelle Desamours.

Sariyah inherited a form of premonition from her grandmother; she can hear what people need, be it a bobby pin, paper straw, or a pencil. If she doesn't listen and/or fulfil the need, she's prone to migraines. One day, after she fulfils a need for one of her best friends, her friend disappears. Since Black girls don't get as much air time as white girls, Sariyah and her other friends band together to make their missing person search go viral.

This is a solid debut novel! I borrowed the audiobook from my local library while I followed along in my physical review copy. The narrator did a great job in making me really feel like I was following a bunch of high schoolers, along with voicing all of the other older and/or diverse characters around town. Every character was distinct, and it was really easy for me to follow along with the story.

I really enjoyed the magical realism here. There's some mixed media elements, mostly in the form of text messages or emails.

As a neurodivergent person, I think the author did a phenomenal job with the representation of depression found in this novel. There's also great representation of different family structures. For example, Sariyah's parents are still married but live apart, so her younger brother can be closer to better hospitals due to his sickle cell disease.

I'm really hopeful, especially because of the ending, that there will be future books featuring Sariyah moving forward!

Sariyah Lee Bryant is a teenage with clairvoyant type powers. While she doesn't get visions she can hear people's needs without them voicing them. In fact she hears them so loudly she walks around with varying items to gift people to silence the voices in her head. The loud voices make it hard to concentrate and as a result she's doing badly in school. The problem is this gift doesn't work on those she's closest with. While attending a music festival with her friends one of their friends disappears. For Sariyah and her friend Malcolm this hits too close to home as Malcolm's sister was kidnapped a few years before. Now Sariyah must try and use her gift to piece together her friend's disappearance.

This book address a number of issues from dealing with a family member with chronic illness, depression, family separation, money troubles, and ADHD. And that was in addition to the discussion surrounding the way missing Black girls are treated.