A phenomenal read....hands down one of my favorites of the year. This is a must-read for fans of books like The Great Unknown. Absolutely loved this book.

The book blurb sounded so interesting, but I thought the book dragged getting the story out. Of course Jane had no clue growing up off the grid what her dad was possibly about and how she was sheltered. Like her, I was also shocked to find out the truth about her mom. She really didn't have a chance at all as she was 4 and only knew what her dad taught her and told her.

This was so interesting!! I loved this book. The slow burn, the family drama, and the unexpected twists. My only complaint is that I wanted more at the end!

This book follows Jane, a girl being raised in remote Montana by her father. Jane knows her father is a little unique with his fear of technology and "the feds", but has no idea how bad things are until she starts to access technology herself and accidentally becomes an accomplice to a crime she didn't know was going to happen.

Such a timely topic. The plot and characters are well developed and drive the narrative forward. We are rooting for our Jane/Esme the entire time, experiencing her realizations as she does. Great themes of family, loyalty, identity, technology, and radicalism. Well done!

I started this book with a general idea of what is was about-- a girl raised off the grid by her father—but I wasn’t familiar with the specifics. After reading, I'm glad I didn't know more of the details going in—especially about the Unabomber-like character and the Silicon Valley world—because discovering those elements as the story unfolded made the experience even more interesting, This is not the type of book I'd normally choose, but it was a timely, worthwhile read.

Raised in very rural Montana, Jane has grown up thinking her father is her whole world. Unexposed to a changing world, she has learned the rudiments of survival with only a smattering of experience. Then suddenly she isn't, because nature has a way of transforming humans and causing them to question. Loosely based on the life of a famous recluse, this book reads quickly with just the right amount of tension and coming of age.

What Kind of Paradise focuses on the story of a teenager who has been raised in complete off-the-grid isolation by her anti-technology father, who is loosely based on the unibomber. I absolutely tore through this story, and it reminded me a lot of a fictionalized version of the memoir Educated, which I also adored. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes survival stories, family dramas, and coming of age stories, especially that deal with issues of conspiracy theories or cults. I really hope this gets adapted into some kind of film or show- maybe a miniseries? I will be first in line to watch!

I'm kind of between three and three and a half stars with this one. It started off pretty good - Jane, a teenage girl and her eccentric, doomsdayer father living off the grid in Montana, with an escape plan for if the Feds ever show up.
But things start to get unhinged when Jane's dad takes her on one of the trips he's been taking solo for years. It gets a bit convoluted and melodramatic for my taste - not too bad - which is why I'm iffy about the rating.
Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse for this #arc of #whatkindofparadise in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a BIG fan of Janelle Brown and especially loved I'll Be You and Pretty Things, so I could not wait to get my hands on this one. And it did not disappoint.

Jane grew up in isolation in a cabin in the woods with only her dad. Things were fine, even great...right? But then Jane gets older, and becomes more curious, and finds out that things aren't quite what they appear to be.

I really enjoyed this book and liked the way the characters were written. I thought it was a fast, thought-proviking and riveting page-turner. I would absolutely recommend it,

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the chance to read and review "What Kind of Paradise" by Janelle Brown.

Janelle Brown has been a favorite author ever since I read "Watch Me Disappear". This new novel may be the sleeper hit of the year. Brown has created a layered and mysterious story of Jane and her recluse of a father. Jane grows up in the Montana wilderness with just her father and very few trips into town. As she becomes a teen she is curious about the world and longs to experience more of it then the small plot of land they live on and their infrequent trips to town. When her father brings home the pieces to make a computer and access the internet she starts to see small bits of life beyond her current small world and begins to learn more about her father starts to wonder if he has been truthful to her about her mothers death and how they came to live in the woods so far from others. Also what is he doing when he goes away and leaves her for days at a time on her own?

I was not interested in any of these characters. The story felt kind of slow. Some of the story kind of drug on and on and did not catch my interest.

Though not a technology buff myself, I found this novel extremely engaging. Loved the main character. Very enjoyable read. Will definitely read more from this author.

In this novel, it’s the mid-1990s, and Jane has been raised completely off the grid - in a cabin in the wilderness with her dad with little contact with the outside world save for the occasional trip to town for supplies and for her dad to distribute new copies of his anti-technology zine. But at the age of 17, she finally starts questioning this life she has been raised in, especially once her dad connects them to the internet so he can publish his manifesto. Basically, imagine if the Unabomber had a daughter.

This was a really good and interesting one. There are slight suspense elements, but really it’s a character novel about Jane and her coming of age in more ways than one, as she tries to figure out who she really is and what world she belongs in. I also love how the story is written from the perspective of Jane looking back several decades later, so her older self can reflect on her younger self’s choices and naïveté. And definitely gave me a lot to think about and made for a great buddy read discussion!

I thought the premise of this story was interesting, and I was engaged while reading. I just didn't love the last third of the story. I found the ending to be too neatly wrapped up and not believable.

I was completely immersed in this story. If I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I read both the ARC and the audio together. I do think the audio increased my enjoyment.

Raised in isolation, Jane trusts her father, until she's tasks with a project to post his manifesto online and discovers a chat room. Exposed to the outside world, and placed in a dangerous situation by her father, she takes advantage of the circumstances and escapes to make her way on her own.

This novel was described as coming of age, but it didn't necessarily read that way as much as it did "cult survivor." My interested and attention to the story definitely came in waves, at times I was much more drawn in than others. It did raise a lot of interesting thoughts about technology and the state of the culture we are raised in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House.

What Kind of Paradise took a little time to hook me, but once it did, I was completely immersed. Janelle Brown does a masterful job peeling back the layers of each character and revealing a web of secrets that kept me guessing. The slow start pays off with rich atmosphere, compelling relationships, and a sharp exploration of privilege, power, and the lies we tell ourselves and others. A smart, suspenseful read that stuck with me long after the last page.

I liked the story and man is a lot of the subject matter timely. The middle drug a little bit, and I was frustrated with the main character at points but realized I was expecting adult behavior from a kid. I wanted more at the end - it felt like it wound down quickly.

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown is a gripping, timely novel about a girl raised off the grid by her radical father—loosely based on the Unabomber—who believes technology is destroying the world. When she escapes into modern society, the story unravels layers of truth, control, and survival.

Brown masterfully explores the tension between digital life and human connection, questioning whether tech is saving us or ruining us. An excellent, haunting read.

Thank you Random House for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Jane has spent her entire life off the grid—living in a one-room cabin in the Montana woods with her father, homeschooled in academics, survival skills, and the dangers of the outside world. After her mother’s supposed death in a San Francisco car crash, her father moved them to the wilderness to "protect her." But when Jane starts asking questions about their past, the answers never come—just cryptic warnings and the ever-present threat of having to run.

Her world begins to shift when she uncovers documents suggesting her mother might still be alive. Following her discovery, her life spirals when her father drags her on a mysterious “trip” that turns out to be a premeditated crime—resulting in Jane becoming an accomplice.
Fleeing from her father to San Francisco, which is on the cusp of becoming Silicon Valley, Jane sets out to find the truth about her past while attempting to untangle her father’s “truths” from her new reality.

I was truly engrossed in this book from start to finish. There were parts to it that were a little outlandish to me but, overall, I couldn’t put it down. I was intrigued not only by Jane’s relationship with her father but also with Jane’s survival once she fled her father.

Read this if you like psychological suspense, morally grey characters or books with unreliable narrators.