Great story! A father and daughter living off the grid in Montana. Thing’s start going awry when the daughter becomes a teen and starts questioning the circumstances that led to her and her father living the way they do. A large part takes place in the 90’s in San Francisco during the tech boom.
By no means a page turner but a well done slow burn
story. The writing was well done and the pacing was perfect.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a honest review. 4⭐️

Janelle Brown's What Kind of Paradise offers a compelling narrative that delves into themes of isolation, identity, and the impact of technology on society. Set in the mid-1990s, the story follows Jane, a teenager raised off the grid in Montana by her father, Saul. Their secluded life, filled with philosophical readings and a disdain for modern conveniences, is disrupted when Saul introduces a laptop into their world. He has demanded that Jane learn how to code so she can upload his manifesto. This event sets Jane on a path of discovery, leading her to question her upbringing and seek answers in San Francisco, a city undergoing its own transformation during the tech boom.

Brown's portrayal of Jane's sheltered life and her subsequent awakening is both poignant and thought-provoking. The novel effectively captures the tension between the allure of technological advancement and the desire for a simpler existence. Jane's journey is marked by her struggle to reconcile her father's ideals with the realities of the world she uncovers.

While the narrative is engaging, some aspects of the story could have been more fully developed. The pacing, particularly towards the end, feels rushed, leaving certain plot points and character arcs insufficiently explored. Additionally, the framing device used to bookend the story may not add significant value to the overall narrative.

Despite these shortcomings, What Kind of Paradise succeeds in prompting readers to reflect on the complexities of freedom, the influence of technology, and the search for personal truth. It's a novel that offers a unique perspective on the coming-of-age genre, making it a worthwhile read for those interested in stories that challenge conventional notions of progress and self-discovery. Three and a half stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on June 3, 2025.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
Despite this book being classified as historical fiction,( how the 90s are already considered historical fiction???) It was so freaking binge worthy. It had such a nostalgic feel, especially since I grew up in Silicon Valley in the 90s, right in the middle of the dotcom era. I found the story both intriguing and heartbreaking. It’s a complex slow burn mystery with tons of character development. I really enjoyed Jane’s search for her identity, along with the thought provoking commentary on technology and its pros and cons. With AI being such a huge part of our world now, this book feels incredibly relevant. It’s also very loosely inspired by the Unabomber, which added another layer of fascination and nostalgia for me. The blend of genres was so well done and I loved the little touch of romance woven in too.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
📈Coming of age
🎭Family drama
🔎Mystery
💻The 90s Tech world
💡Thought provoking
🤐Family secrets
📖Binge worthy

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:confinement, death, murder.

💻𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾💻
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀, 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓅𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝑜𝓅. 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒹𝒾𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓅 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻.”

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and Janelle Brown, for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕

I loved this new book by Janelle Brown just as I loved her other 2 books. Twisty and compelling, I stayed up late reading this one because I couldn’t put it down. Thanks for the ARC!

What Kind of Paradise was a surprise five star read for me. I went into it blind, and when I finished I checked out the blurb to make sure I didn’t give any spoilers in my review, and I was pretty surprised to see how many plot points were in there. I’m really glad I didn’t read that first because this book truly had me on the edge of my seat guessing what was next. I recommend you just dive right in if you are interested in a 1990s coming of age story in the setting of both rural reclusive Montana and dot-com era San Francisco. The author’s writing style is pretty flawless in my opinion, so If you already read the blurb, reading it will still be a great experience. And don’t worry, there’s definitely a lot more that unfolds.

Consider me Janelle Brown’s newest fan. If a movie adaptation is not yet in the works, it should be.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House for the ARC!

When we first meet Jane Williams, the narrator of What Kind of Paradise, it's present day, and she receives a knock on the door of her house in the woodlands of Marin, one that she's been dreading. Sure enough, it's a reporter from The San Francisco Chronicle. After years of hiding in anonymity, Jane has at last been found. "All these years later, I still wasn't sure I fully understood what had happened," Jane narrates. But she realizes it might be time for her to confront her past and try to make sense of it all.

From there, we flashback to November 1996. Jane is seventeen and living with her father, Saul, in a remote cabin the Montana wilderness. It's been just the two of them living this way for the past thirteen years, ever since Jane's mother, Jennifer, was killed in a car accident. "As a child, I had no understanding that our lives were not normal—it was simply the way things were." But at seventeen, Jane has started to question the isolation and long for a greater connection with the outside world. She's allowed small bits of contact. Once a month, she and her father travel to a bookstore in nearby Bozeman to deliver his hand-produced pamphlet "Libertaire"—twenty-four pages of essays railing against the government establishment. There she gets to briefly interact with the one person she knows her own age, the daughter of the shop owner, Heidi.

At the same time, she has almost no frame of reference for what "normal" should look like. Her solitary existence with her father—a Harvard grad who homeschools Jane on anti-establishment philosophers and survival skills—is all she knows, and despite the isolation, she is mostly happy. Things start to change more dramatically when she stumbles upon an old picture of her and her mother in her father's desk while he's away. On the back it's captioned "Esme and Theresa. February '83." It's clearly Jane and her mother Jennifer, so why are the names different? Jane calls Heidi with the news, and Heidi prompts Jane to consider the potential implications. "I mean, Jane, if he lied to you about that, then you have you ask yourself if he's lied to you about other things too."

What if Ted Kaczynski—the Unabomber—had a daughter? Author Janelle Brown roughly puts that premise to the test. The connection between Brown's Saul Williams and the real-life Kaczynski is loose but clear, and he is perhaps the most interesting character in the book. He's equally brilliant and deranged, a father who clearly loves his daughter and wants what is best for her, but his version of the best is clearly flawed. Jane's recounting of her childhood is regularly filled with the conflicted emotions and the challenge of separating her understanding now versus how she felt in the moment. "I grew up fully aware that my father was a brilliant man, whose expertise I should never ever ever question. Did I believe he was a good man? That's another question entirely. He wasn't without goodness." That nuance and multi-dimensionality elevates the story significantly.

We know from the prologue that things are going to head in a bad (or worse) direction. "Behind my lids I saw the same familiar ghosts flicker past, my life's movie on perpetual rerun. Blood spatters across a shiny red dress. The cold heft of a gun in my palm. A tower of flames, bright against the night sky." But by the time we get to the event referenced by the memory, we have a multi-layered portrait of a father-daughter relationship, one in which you dislike Saul the father regularly, and just as you're about to tip over to despising him, he does something sweet or generous for his daughter. It's really well done.

To say more would likely spoil too much of the story, and so I'll leave it without commenting on any additional plot details. The novel evolves in some interesting and mostly-believable ways, and it's thoughtfully constructed such that the reader is pulled in multiple directions. One can't help but root for Jane, of course; but I think many will also feel some small sliver of sympathy for Saul, who at his core believes he's doing what is best for his daughter and all of humanity, even if his mental demons have taken him off the rails. It's another strong effort from a consistently entertaining author.

Wow. This book is so interesting and different that I hardly know how to describe it without giving too much away.

Jane is a 17-year-old living off the grid with her father in rural Montana. She’s been told that her mother died in a car crash when she was four. Her father homeschools her, isolates her, and has taught her that technology is the root of all evil and will eventually be the downfall of society. She largely loves and believes her father until something happens one day that causes her to leave her home and her father behind and move to San Francisco, the place that in many ways is the root of all this technological evil she’s heard so much about.

And events transpire! I won’t say any more. But this book, in tone, feels like literary fiction but is full of twist and turns that’ll have you reading until you finish the whole book in one sitting.

This is a timely read as we as a society grapple with the growing impact of AI in the world. It’s not a light read, but it’s very readable. Also at times a fun 90s throw back. I definitely recommend this book to readers interested in these themes!

2.5 stars-Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, releasing this Tuesday June 3rd!

This novel follows Jane, being raised by her father off the grid in rural Montana. After a series of bad events, Jane flees to San Francisco, where she arrives at the start of the dot com boom happening in the mid-1990s. This novel was an interesting look at the rise of the tech industry and the beginnings of conversations about what effects the internet and technology would have on our lives-would they lead to a utopian future or to the destruction of all that makes us human? This was an interesting theme and I don't remember having read something that tackles these questions during this time period, so definite points for originality there. Unfortunately, while the book was a quick read and I generally liked the writing, I didn't really connect with Jane or most of the other characters-while I think given her background her naivete and the mistakes she makes weren't necessarily out of character, I found them frustrating and felt like I was just along for the ride as I read, instead of really rooting for her or being deeply invested in her story and its outcome. Overall I didn't feel much of a connection with anything in here.

Wow, this is certainly Janelle Brown's most gripping novel to date. As usual, she sets our characters in high risk and bizarre situations that have you thinking “what would I do….” Jane is pretty realistic teen FMC. I enjoyed the research that went into both the philosophical and technological elements. It did feel too heavy handed in these areas, just enough to show the madness that consumed Saul, and eventually Jane. Thank you very much for this ARC, I will be recommending it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and to PRH Audio for the alc.

This was another mesmerizing thriller from Janelle Brown. I was hooked from the first page. What I especially liked about this book, is that it played out kind of like a movie. Additionally, I don't think I have ever read anything quite like this book before. I loved following Jane/Esme's story and watching her grow as an FMC. As for the audiobook narrators, Helen Laser did a great job as always, and I had never listened to Peter Ganim before, but I would be interested in listening to more by him in the future. I can't wait for Janelle Brown's next book!

I did not want to put this book down! I was immediately curious about Jane and her father as we learn of their solitary existence in the Montana wilderness, then as events begin to occur and Jane is faced with some harsh realities, the pace of the story picks up and I was hooked. I loved the nostalgia of the 90s internet (remember flashing neon text on webpages anyone?) and some of the more complex themes in this story like how technology has shaped our society and how it influences children. This book does a good job of presenting both sides.

If you're looking for a traditional thriller, this is not that. I would consider it more of a literary suspense, as there is strong character development and significant literary themes to wrestle with as the story unfolds. There are definitely moments of suspense and a twist or two, but this story is less about the shocking twists and more about Jane's experience. I thought the ending was perfect.

My review will be posted to my Instagram grid on Monday, and I will highlight the book in my stories next week.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, even though it’s not my typical read! Jane is a seventeen year old who lives with her father in a remote area of Montana. She is homeschooled, but most of her education comes from listening to her father’s beliefs about technology and the threat of technology to the future of mankind. When a rare opportunity arises for Jane to leave their home with her father, things turn quite chaotic, and Jane enters a future she never imagined. Along the way she will find answers to her past, and her true character will be revealed.

Wow this is a dark novel for Jenelle Brown!!!!!!!!! It was a very, enjoyable read and i couldn't read it fast enough!!!!!!!

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown is a suspenseful read that is perfect for a summer escape! This author wrote another book, Pretty Things, that captured my attention so I was excited to get an advance copy of this story!

The premise of this book is that a girl named Jane lives in an isolated cabin in Montana with her father during the 1990s. The main character's name is Jane (or is it?) and she knows no other life than the life with her father.

As the story unfolds, Jane begins to wonder about her past. What really happened to her mother? Her father says that she is dead. Why does she live her life in such a remote area?

As Jane becomes older, she has more questions for her father. Soon, she finds herself an accomplice to a crime and must flee the only life she has known.

I really enjoyed this story. I found myself wanting to know more about Jane, her history, and to see where she would end up.

This book had the potential to be my favourite so far this year. It made me ponder the rapid rise of technology and its influence on our society, along with how it can impact relationships (in this case, family dynamics). Along with its thought-provoking message, the plot had me hooked from the beginning. At first, it reminded me of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, one of my favourite books. They had a lot of similarities — both teenage girls are trapped in isolated lifestyles and under certain political influences of their fathers. The ending was quite anti-climactic, though. I wish it had a stronger climax and more unravelling of the story after.

My first book by this author and I will certainly not be my last! What a ride. I loved the character progression and the atompshere was so immersive.

A beautifully written devastating novel about Jane, a seventeen year old young woman faced with terrible choices. Raised off the grid by her father in Montana, she has no understanding of so many things except that something isn't quite right. And then it's 1995 and her father who has been writing a manifesto based on his thinking about among other things, computers, buys a lap tap and gets her to learn to create a website. This opens her world, especially when she connects to Spencer in San Francisco. More importantly she finds a photo and other information in his desk that leads her to believe he hasn't been telling her everything about her mother. When he ropes her into a bombing at a tech company, it gives her both a chance to escape and puts her in a horrible position. It's the after that is tortuous as Jane who now knows she is actually Esme gets a job at a tech company and begins to build a life, always looking over her shoulder and for her mother. Brown acknowledges that her father, his thinking, and his actions echoes the Unabomber but Jane (and her mother) are unique. You'll feel for her as she struggles with all of it. This was a real page turner for me- what would Jane/Esme do? Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is terrific.

This was a page turner! I really enjoyed the story of Jane/Esme. I really rooted for her to get away from her dad and have a normal life.

Thank you for the eARC of What Kind of Paradise, I absolutely loved this story. The setting, the time frame, Jane/Esme's voice was fantastic!
If I'm going to offer any sort of criticism, what was her name!? lol
Excellent book, can't wait to recommend this one over and over!

Filled with tension!

A young woman is raised in an isolated cabin in the woods by her father who suffers from paranoia and delusions.

I really enjoyed this story! I can’t believe it took me so long to pick up one of Janelle Brown’s books, but I’m excited to explore her other titles now. The complexities of Jane/Esme’s parents surprised and swayed my opinion from beginning to end, and that’s something I always enjoy. At first, detesting her dad and then feeling sorry for him, while having the opposite reaction to her mother. I found the corporate tech angle of her parents’ backgrounds intriguing, especially her father’s spiral into paranoid delusions based on the future of the internet. Jane/Esme had an unfortunate life which she was able to break free from, making her instantly likable. The book definitely gripped me from the start, the pace was fast, and the story held my interest. I loved the 90s timeframe and San Fran setting after Jane/Esme and her father became separated and she finally meets her mother. The shocking scene with the security guard getting shot still sticks in my mind. I found the end satisfying after she finally gained independence, but also sad considering what happened to her relationships with her parents.

For readers who enjoy stories layered with suspense, about dysfunctional families, set in the 90s.