Thank you to Random house publisher, Netgalley and Janelle Brown for allowing me to read this book. Wow! This book was so captivating it cost me sleep. I woke up early to read it and stayed up late. I couldn't flip the pages past enough to see what happened. I am recommending this book to everyone I know. The characters and story line were memorable, the only minor negative could be maybe to much technology. I can see this book being made into a movie. Thank you for writing a book that I loved.

I went into this book pretty blind. I had heard about it from a podcast I love, and was curious about its Montana setting. I was very excited when I discovered it takes place in the mid-90s (I’m currently obsessed with that decade and reliving my youth), but I hadn’t even read the synopsis when I started.

This book is about a teenage girl who lives in isolation with her father in the deep woods of Montana. The only people she interacts with are her father and, on rare occasions, a friend from the nearby town. The only world she knows is the woods and her father’s teachings, who insists he’s giving her a Harvard education for the price of nothing. She spends her days helping him care for the land and their cabin, reading philosophy and other antiquated texts, and wondering what her mother was like. All she knows is that she was a kindergarten teacher who died in an awful car wreck. As Jane gets older, she starts to have more questions that expand as her father starts doing odder things. She begs to go with him on his trips away, and in doing so, puts herself in the middle of a tragic event. From there, her world starts to unravel and the question becomes whether she will put it all together again, this time alone.

This story turned out to be more than I thought it would. It was unique and kept me invested. There are themes of nurture vs. nature, found family, coming-of-age, and finding oneself. But the most prominent theme to me was technology and what it does to society. I found myself rooting for the main character, for her to find herself, realize the truth, and set out on her own.

One of my favorite lines was “Life is a constant emotional calibration” … because isn’t it just??

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I had seen a lot of positive reviews on this book, so was excited to read it, but I was underwhelmed. I didn’t like any of the characters, except maybe Lionel, and the pacing was so uneven. I do think the author captured the vibe of the 90s dot-com boom, but that’s my only highlight.

I received and ARC of the ebook from the publisher on NetGalley. Overall, this was a well written story. There were a few periods that felt a little slow and the storyline took a bit to pick up again. It does hook you from the beginning and takes you on the path with the FMC through her discovery of the truth of her life. Overall a good read.

Enjoyed the e-ARC so much that I chose it as my BOTM for June.

Jane and her father live on the fringe of society, only leaving their small Montana cabin to deliver her father’s anti-technology zine to the local bookstore. When he brings home a computer so his manifesto can be published online, Jane starts to question everything he’s taught her.

Developed characters in an engaging plot. Excellent pacing that moves the plot along. Main character does have a minor romantic arc that doesn’t distract from the rest of the story.

I especially enjoyed seeing Jane learn the modern world in “real time” and the self awareness she builds as she begins interacting with more people.

Janelle Brown is an excellent writer, she pulls you in from the very beginning.
The story itself had a very interesting plot.
I was immediately captivated by the plot and premise of this book, and it held my attention until the very end.
The book was also very well-written, making it an easy and enjoyable read.
The characters were believable and very well written.
Believable characters and expertly woven details make this a terrific novel.

I love when the stars align perfectly and the exact right book lands in my hands at the exact right time for my reading mood. With the world a mess and feeling pummeled by the constant cycle of bad news at my fingertips, What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown was both a wild escape from - and a think piece for - our current realities. It introduces us to a teenage girl, Jane, growing up in the late 1990s off the grid—in a cabin in Montana—with her increasingly paranoid father who has been educating(/indoctrinating) her in his movement against the march of technology since her mother’s long-ago death in California. It’s a coming-of-age story, as Jane starts to piece together more and more hard truths about her existence and a string of events upends the world as she knows it. It’s a suspense story exploring people’s evolving moral compasses and the mental gymnastics of determining—while suffering the consequences of one’s mistakes—how to make things “right.” It’s a story of love, loyalties, and families lost and found (and lost again). Not knowing how this book (out in June!) will be marketed, it’s hard to talk about it without giving away its twists and turns. But I thoroughly enjoyed coming into it without knowing exactly what I was getting into—even while knowing in my gut parts of what would come next (after all, this is loosely based in part by something very much in recent memory). I think this is going to be a big hit this summer! It was a mesmerizing win for me. Reading experience comparison: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Thanks to @netgalley for the digital copy I started with before getting my greedy hands on this ARC.

This is my first book by this author, and it was a winner. Jane and her dad live in a cabin in the woods of Montana. She knows nothing about her past except that they used to live in San Francisco and her mom died in a car accident, but as Jane comes of age, she starts to question everything her father has ever told her. She then learns that her dad is a criminal, prompting her to escape and head to San Francisco to investigate her past.

Janelle Brown writes beautifully, and I don't mean in a flowery prose sort of way; her writing sucks you in and keeps you turning pages to find out what happens next. This was such a compelling read and very thought-provoking. There are plenty of genres to describe this one, and it didn't bother me at all. This is a character-driven literary mystery, a coming-of-age tale, and a smidgen of romance all in one. It asks the question, "Has the internet and technology improved our lives or has it ruined us?"

The author magnificently builds suspense and slowly peels away the layers of family secrets like an onion. This isn't just a mystery or thriller in the usual sense; it's really about how our parents' choices impact our lives far into the future and whether we can ever escape them. The premise is utterly unique and executed well. I have to admit that it is a slow burn as we learn about everything from the past, but in a really good way, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And it was a great throwback to the '90s.

3.5 stars. This one was not at all what I expected, and I think it has a different vibe from what Brown usually writes. I expected a thriller, but this is definitely more of a family drama, and once I settled into that idea, I became more invested in the story. Jane is raised off the grid in the Montana woods by her dad after her mom dies in a car accident. I can't discuss too much more of the plot without giving away huge spoilers, but I like how Brown depicted the isolation of Jane's life, and how she changed throughout the book. There were parts of the plot that frustrated me as a reader, and I tried to come back to the character development to better understand the plot choices Brown made. This one isn't my favorite by Brown, but I will still check her out in the future.

This book had me thinking long after I finished it, and I think that has much to do with the impact that AI is having on our world today. As an educator, I have been thinking all year about the impacts of AI on students, their educational life, and their future. What Kind of Paradise is focused on the impact of the internet on society and the "evils" that some people thought it would bring with it.

Of course, it is also about so much more. The plot is very engaging, and I was drawn in quickly to see what this woman was so afraid of in her past. And then it jumps in time back to Jane as a young girl growing up - completely off the grid - with her father, who is crazily insisting that the world is out to get them. And at first, I had no idea why he felt this way or who he had been in the past, but slowly we begin to realize that he was/is a tech genius. As we learn more about why he brought his daughter to live completely alone in the woods, we also begin to see her develop as a modern woman and form relationships with people other than her father. The whole time I was rooting for her - with Desi, who you knew was going to trick her, with Lionel, whom she meets in a chat room, and finally with her mom. But I won't say more about that as you need to read the book to see how it unfolds. I highly recommend this book, and thank NetGalley and Random House for the e-arc.

What Kind of Paradise is a page turner unlike anything I've ever read before. The story was one I couldn't put down and I stayed up all night reading. I've never read a story like this, and I really enjoyed the getting to know the inner workings of the main character and learning while she learned. It's left me thinking about a LOT and I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a summer read they won't be able to put down.

A father living isolated in the Montana wilderness, I thought this was going to end closer to These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant. Then we twisted and dived and ended up somewhere closer to Karin Slaughter's Pieces of Her. I had no idea where this book was headed for the longest time and for all the twists and turns it makes the message is still "life is what you make of it".

I love how complicated the characters were. If felt that Brown really knew exactly what was happening with each character.

The 90's setting. As a child of the 90's it's hard to believe this is dated and nostalgic now. Sometimes it does seem that life was simpler when we didn't have the internet keeping us constantly connected. And yet, I wouldn't have a copy of this book without it!

Jane and her father live a reclusive life in the wilds of Montana until she begins to suspect all that her has raised her to believe is not as it seems. Helping him publish a Luddite’s Manifesto to the web in the late 1990’s and taking part in his first act of revolution, Jane breaks free and discovers much about herself in Silicon Valley. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Slow start but it picks up. Unique story but not in a way of a father and daughter living out in an isolated cabin in Montana, away from civilization, in fear of government and waiting for the world to end. When the daughter is drawn into hers father’s paranoia, something awful befalls them, where they end up on the run. He from the law, and she towards a new life in California having discovered her life with her dad has been a lie where he omitted some pretty important information. How sad it was that in her naïveté and innocence of the real world because of how her upbringing shaped her, she struggled. But thank goodness that she found a friend to help her, although the future she was seeking which she thought was lost truly was lost to her. A great read until the end. But it does make you think why no one stepped in to help her in the ten years she lived in isolation. Many thanks to #netgalley #janellebrown #randomhouse for the opportunity to red nd review this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House and Janelle Brown for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of What Kind of Paradise.
This is an interesting commentary on the beginnings of Silicon Valley’s explosion to the expansion of the computer world. The action centers on Jane and her father who live off the grid in Montana. Her father, reminding me of the Unabomber, became disillusioned with the intense competition in San Francisco. He wants to protect his daughter but his methods don’t pan out. This is a family drama involving more than Jane and her dad. The whole community has a part in this giant money maker.
The characters are well developed -good and bad traits included. I was immersed in the story from start to finish. There are a lot of pieces to this story and I enjoyed seeing how they all fit together.

I love when a book holds your interest from beginning to end with no slow spots. This was utterly original and fascinating. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

I loved this novel and thought it was beautifully written. It explores the theme of the dangers of AI and technology, intertwined with isolation and family. This is not a fast-paced thriller but rather a well-crafted story that draws you in and makes you question what the future will look like. With the recent rise of AI, the questions raised in this book become all the more compelling.

Would recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers and fiction that liked how the crawdads sing

Thank you Random House for my gifted copy!

“‘Every living thing on this planet, including human beings, are products of nature, squirrel,’ he said. ‘Humans may believe that we are in charge, but we shouldn't be, because we can't be trusted with that power.’”

I was in fifth grade when my teacher taught us about Y2K and the 2012 Mayan Prediction. It is truly a marvel that it took so long for me to be diagnosed with anxiety. Those two events shadowed the trajectory of my life, until on December 21, 2012 when the world didn’t end and I had to reevaluate everything I thought I knew and had nightmares about.

I remember crying the last day before winter break, 1999. I’d celebrate my 11th birthday, and then a few short days later, the entire technological system would collapse and we’d descend into chaos and anarchy. So I spent that New Year’s Eve watching the clock with one eye and printing Spice Girl pics on our printer - because why not? The world was ending and my parents couldn’t yell at me about wasting precious ink.

All that rambling is to say that holy shit this book made me nostalgic. It’s a weird thing to realize: you’re now old enough to have experienced the rise of the World Wide Web, social media, pirating digital content, and the tech boom. Things being taught in history books were our lived reality. Weird. Bizarre. Unsettling.

What Kind of Paradise held me in its grasp, feeding my anxious nostalgia, making me feel eleven and scared again. And I loved it. This book was so beautifully written, it was hard not to empathize with someone who had their finger on the pulse of the eventual downfall of society, with unlimited and unrestricted access to the internet. Some people screamed that the internet would be the end of mankind. And some called them conspiracy theorists. I, myself, refuse to use AI in any way I can get away with. We are on the precipice of something just as big as the boom of the internet, and there are people that embrace it, and people that fear it in equal measure. I feel that this book has its finger firmly on that particular pulse.

what kind of paradise by janelle brown was a slow burn for me. it took a little while to get into the flow of the story, and i found the writing style to be a bit too sophisticated at times. but i was drawn in by the plot, which is layered, mysterious, and genuinely thought-provoking. the central character, jane, really came to life as the story progressed. i loved watching her transformation and self discovery. the exploration of love felt authentic, and the depiction of friendship had real depth.
in the end, while the writing might not have been the easiest for me to connect with at first, i’m glad i stuck with it because i really enjoyed this read. 4/5 stars!

thank you random house & netgalley for early access in exchange for my honest review!

Contemplative, profound, and authentic. I was very drawn in to this sad but not hopeless story. Special thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.