This book was fascinating. I loved the short chapters and the plot gripped me. I empathized with Jane - rooting for her throughout. That the main character was loosely based on Ted Kaczynski - the Unabomber - was well done as well as the descriptions of the early days of the internet. It brought me back to my college days-early 20s. The social impacts were deeply explored too - the relationships, feelings, morality and choices made. This is a unique coming of age story that has a lot of heart. One of my favorites this year!

"Humans may believe that we are in charge, but we shouldn't be, because we can't be trusted with that power.”

What Kind Of Paradise is allegedly 368 pages, according to Goodreads. I read the ebook and it felt more like 500+ pages so I’m assuming the font was tiny and the margins non-existent (someone with the physical copy please confirm).

This was a BOTM pick and received raving reviews far and wide, so I understand I’m in the minority here. I found it slow, boring, and predictable. Yet somehow also incredibly unrealistic? I’m disinterested in the FMC-raised-in-isolation-and-doesn’t-understand-societal-norms plot that has been overdone the last few years.

2.5⭐️

Took me a little bit to get into but it was so worth it. Not the typical book I would read, but I really liked the main character. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Great book. Jane has lived in the woods in Montana with her reclusive dad her entire life. It is the mid 1990s and while Jane knows all about survival skills she is homeschooled and has limited knowledge of the world. Jane's Dad is very anti technology with a harsh view of the world. Her whole life has just been the two of them. Things happen and she realizes he hasn't been honest with her. Seeing her learn about the modern world and deal with her problems was fantastic. Highly recommend.

This isn’t something that I would normally pick up but I was sent a widget and ended up loving it. The main character was so great and I ended up feeling bad for the dad in the end. Can’t wait for more from the author

The first half of the book tells the story of Jane, a teenager whose father has kept her isolated in the woods of Montana to shelter her from the technological revolution of the '90s. She seems to be fairly happy until she asks her father to come with her on one of his mysterious ventures from the cabin and things do not end well.

From there, we discover a lot about Jane as she discovers a lot about herself, including a new name and history she never knew. We see another side to her father, learn about her mother and watch as she tries to assimilate into modern society after 18 years away from it.

This is a thought-provoking, deep book. It's hard to decide which side of the argument you are on, as all are provided in meaningful ways through emotional connections to characters and their interactions with each other. While the end sort of wrapped up quickly and a little too easily, this is definitely worth reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Jane Williams, an intelligent and sheltered, has been raised by her father, a jaded and paranoid sovereign citizen, in a lone cabin in the remote forests of Montana. Jane only has her father for companionship and socialization. As he grows increasingly maniacal in his Luddite philosophies regarding modern society and technology, Jane longs to experience a wider world, despite her naivety. Jane maneuvers a chance to breakaway, but with unexpected and dire consequences.

This was an excellent novel. The suspense, the character development and flow of her writing were outstanding. Thought provoking as well. Her book is a definite must read.

Similar to These Silent Woods and Educated, but I enjoyed both of those more. I liked this one a lot, just didn’t love it like I had hoped.
Intriguing and well paced - it kept me moving though it and I was interested to see where it went!

Janelle Brown delivers a captivating and thought-provoking novel in What Kind of Paradise, skillfully balancing suspense with emotional depth. I was particularly impressed by the strong characterization—not just of the main characters, but also the supporting ones, each of whom felt fully realized and essential to the story. The writing is both powerful and accessible, making it an easy read despite tackling complex themes.

The plot kept me intrigued throughout, never veering into predictability or "fluff." If anything, I found myself wishing for more details about Jane/Esme’s life “after”—her journey felt so rich, I wanted to stay with her longer. Still, this is a compelling and well-crafted novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommended. Thank you to the published, author, and Netgslley for the ARC.

I loved this book. It's set in the 90's and is about a father and daughter living off the grid. The daughter escapes to San Francisco and the early internet industry.

This new novel by Janelle Brown will scratch your itch for any number of literary conventions. Here are a few: woman on the run; off-grid living; early internet; conspiracy theories; bad parenting; and self-discovery. In other words, there's never a dull moment.

Jane grows up living with her father in remote Montana. Her father educates her and does it well. She has little interaction with the outside world. It's the 1990s. Her father occasionally vanishes for a few days and Jane takes those opportunities to watch TV, which he keeps locked in his office. He brings a computer home and tasks Jane with uploading his "Manifesto" to the brand new Internet. Her curiosity and innate talent will both tangle her up and serve her well.

There is a lot to dig into with "What Kind of Paradise." It's not a rip-roaring story, but one that carefully peels back its layers to a reveal an un comfortable core. Jane's journey will lead her to surprising places and we will be along with her This is an intelligent novel which explores both the off-grid movement and the excitement of early tech It's human and beyond. Janelle Brown does not disappoint.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital review copy for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

i enjoyed this ride a lot (and considering i’m a huge sucker for any off the grid style fiction, i was already counted in). jane grows up in a remote cabin in montana with her dad, who is mysterious and a little off. she’s homeschooled, raised on old philosophy books, and lives completely off the land. she knows nothing about the outside world, and her past is a total mystery. then she learns something horrible, escapes into the real world, and starts digging into what actually happened to her mom.

this was a slow burn, but in the best way. the writing was so lovely and atmospheric, and i thoroughly enjoyed it. highly recommend if you’re into complex family dynamics and slow, mysterious unravelings.

I love books that are set in the 80s and the 90s. And this was a different read for me because I had not yet read a book in the later 90s more based on the beginning of tech and the Internet. This covered that well but without going into so much detail you’re bored.

Jane has been living in a remote isolated cabin in the woods of Montana with her father for the majority of her life, since her mother has passed away. Jane finally makes a friend with another girl, her age at a local bookstore on their occasional trips into town. Her friend has some different ideas about Jane’s father for sure. It starts to open her eyes.

It’s definitely an immersive drama/mystery as you’re not sure exactly the truth about Jane or her father‘s past. I loved the writing. It unfolds very well. This wasn’t a book that I would’ve normally picked for myself, and I definitely will have to say that I very much enjoyed it. I wasn’t super fond of the ending, but I understand The outcome that had to be achieved.

Thanks to Netgalley for my electronic advanced reader copy and exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love a good "growing up in isolation and I don't know any better" book. What Kind of Paradise did not disappoint me, for the most part. At times it was hard to put my finger on some inconsistencies - how much did Jane really understand about the rest of the world? But her dilemma as the story progressed was very interesting, and how she interacted with people really held my interest. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Another very different book……I think I have a love/indifferent opinion of it.

The MFC is a 17-year-old girl, Jane, who lives off the grid in Montana, with her father. Very, very much off the grid. They have lived there for fourteen years, with just a few trips into civilization for supplies. Her father has told her that her mother died.

The time frame is the late 1990s. It is the dawn of the internet era, and it is good times in Silicon Valley. Computers are starting to become mainstream, and there are bigger and better things to come.

This is a coming-of-age story, for both Jane and the Internet. Jane is discovering that there is a lot of life outside of the woods that surround her. The Internet is on its way to becoming part of everyone’s life….whether it be good or bad.

The storyline is great. It keeps me turning pages. Parts of it are fast-moving, then it slows down to a crawl before it picks up again. For me, there is a bit too much philosophizing in it. The last half is quite dramatic and interesting.

This book would make for great discussion in a book club. There is the good/bad conundrum of life before and after the Internet. There is the upbringing of a child. There is truth and untruth. A lot to think about, especially twenty-five-plus years after the setting of the book.

The ending was good. For me, this is one of those books that I can appreciate a lot more after I finished reading it. At that point, I can look at it as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing a copy of the book.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this book! Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for early access in exchange for my honest opinion. I mixed up reading and listening to the audio which is expertly read by Helen Laser - she is becoming one of my favorite narrators!
What Kind of Paradise starts in the mid-90s outside of Bozeman, MT, where a dad is raising his daughter off grid. They grow/raise their own food and have minimal contact with the outside world. Jane has been homeschooled, learning from her dad's love of ancient philosophers. She is starting to test her boundaries a bit, looking in her dad’s locked desk when he leaves their cabin on occasion and secretly watching 90s sitcoms on their tiny TV. When her dad returns with a computer one day, Jane learns html to be able to type and share his Luddite Manifesto on the Internet. Jane believes her mother died in a car accident when they lived near San Francisco but is that really true?
The way this book built suspense time and time again, I could not stop reading. I could visualize the cabin and felt for Jane’s desire to expand her life beyond their small homestead. The 90s nostalgia really comes through when reading it. I thought parts two and three were even more compelling than the first, and I want to say so much more but I absolutely don't want to spoil this fantastic book for people who haven't read it. Go read it (it's available now everywhere) and message me to discuss more!

I really loved this one, it’s got that coming-of-age feel with a main character who grows up totally off the grid with her genius but totally unhinged dad. When she finally enters the real world during the 90s dot-com boom, it’s such a crazy shift and reminds me of how people still view technology. Loved the setting, loved the 90’s vibe, and the writing was just so good. Totally pulled me in!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

I liked that this work was set during the emergence of the internet and computers going into the hands of the general public. It’s an interesting time in American history and the author did a great job incorporating it.

The second half of the book diverges into a few sections of flashbacks from the father’s POV, one of which is in the format of a letter. I didn’t prefer these sections. They broke up the steady pace of the work and, despite providing relevant background, I don’t know that it was needed to enjoy the primary plot. I also disliked how many reflective sentences were used, sentences about what the protagonist did or didn’t do or know, or how she did the best she could at the time. I would have preferred it if the author had let the reader interpret this from the actions and context we were given rather than this approach.

There were also many things that felt really convenient for the sake of the plot. Some things relating to June’s childhood (can’t believe she never got sick enough to need a doctor), and how easily she transitioned into society aside from a few cosmetic things (subways? What are those?).

Overall this was a decent work of coming-of-age fiction. My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4.5⭐️.
I want to be honest the first 30% of this book really was slow for me and then something happened and it all turned around Jane/Esme isn’t amazing character. The way that Janelle Brown has written her is just extraordinary. Raise off the grid by a father who fears and hates technology. Her life is simple and yet completely remote. She has a small contact with the outside world in a bookstore and a few other things but mostly it’s just she and her father living in Montana. Her father wants to get his message out and when he realizes that the Internet in the mid to late 90s is the place to do this. He brings in a computer and suddenly Jane has access to an entire world that she didn’t know existed. What happens that was the turning point for me I don’t want to give away, but the last 2/3 of this book were riveting lots of things going on lots of changing Locations and views for Jane/Esme. I enjoyed all of this book. I loved watching her grow up and learn about the world and about herself. The end was very satisfying for me. I’ve read the last four books that Janelle Brown has written and they’re all outstanding for me. Highly recommend

I devoured this book! I could not put it down!

Jane and her father live in a remote cabin in the woods of Montana, eschewing contact with the outside world. Her paranoid father regularly warns her about the dangers of "the feds," the internet, television, and other forms of technology. When Jane finds an old photo in her father's desk, she sets off on a course of self-discovery, coming to terms with the fact that her father has deep secrets that call into question her way of life.

Jane was a very interesting character, if a little overdone. She is so very naive about the outside world that at times I had a hard time believing that someone could be so sheltered from current culture. But then I got to thinking about how much of our knowledge about news, current events, pop culture that we get from social media, websites, apps on our phone. For me, it's probably 99%.

I also felt a kinship with Jane as she is very socially awkward, not having much contact with others her age during her developmental years. I admit that I'm socially awkward at times too and I felt myself empathizing with her.

If you've read my other reviews, you know that I like books that make me think - especially novels that force a little introspection. One of the premises of the book is that technology has deadened society to things that truly matter - the beauty of nature, personable interactions without the distractions of our phones, real connections with family. While I know I couldn't completely rid my life of technology (nor do I think it would be reasonable), the book made me think about how often I'm without my phone within arms reach, or the last time I did something totally analog, or how much screen time I'm getting. While Jane's father took things to a psychopathic extreme, some of his thoughts ring true. We are a totally technology-dependent society that in many ways has lost our human connections. I'm guilty!

And I loved the ending of this novel; it's not a perfectly happy ending tied with a bow, but I think it ended as it should.

Kudos to Janelle Brown for a really excellent book! I'm looking forward to reading more of her works. 4.5 ⭐s rounded up!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a complementary digital copy of this book!