Growing up in an isolated cabin in Montana in the mid-1990s, Jane has only her father to rely on. They live off of the land, use a woodstove to heat their cabin, and Jane is homeschooled. Her father tells her little about his past - just that he used to work for the tech industry until he decided that it was destructive and out to destroy humanity, and that Jane's mother had died in a car crash. Jane's father has a manifesto that is online that details everything that he believes about technology. He had Jane help him set it up, but she is questioning of his views, and when she comes across a picture of herself and a woman and the names were entirely different, she begins to question what else he is hiding. When he goes on one of his "trips" she asks to accompany him, planning to use that to escape him. However, everything goes horribly wrong. She is forced to shoot a security guard in self defense, and then jane goes on the run. When she sees news headlines detailing a horrific crime that she realizes her father was responsible for, Jane realizes she can never go back to Montana. Even though she had no idea what he had been planning, she is afraid she will be considered an accomplice to his crime, especially when both of their names are listed as being wanted by the FBI in connection with the case. Jane flees to San Francisco, to her birthplace, changing her name back to her original name. She hopes to find her mother, and decide who she is and how she will go on from here.

This book was so good. It wasn't a thriller, more of a general fiction novel. There was some suspense as the FBI closed in on her, and she was feeling cornered and didn't know what to do, but for the most part it was a novel about a girl who was trying to reinvent herself. Because she had led such a sheltered life, there were so many things she didn't know - she had never had a Happy Meal, or Flamin' Hot Cheetos, had no idea how to buy her bra at age eighteen, thought you had to go to the library if you wanted to look up a number in a phone book. Those parts made me smile. Other parts, parts where she was hurting, or rejected by a parent, or just didn't know what to do - those parts made me want to give her a hug. I can't imagine the culture shock of entering a world at eighteen, and not understanding most of what you see and hear. I can't imagine having a parent that raised you, that has done something so horrific, and now you need to make the decision whether or not to turn them in. I can not recommend this one enough!

4 stars

I try to go into books with as little information as possible, and this is one of those times when that strategy paid off. Prospective readers should come in the same way for maximum enjoyment.

Jane lives with her dad in a fully off the grid situation in Montana, and as any typical reader will identify immediately, things are not okay with him. Also, things are not great with Jane, though she does not really have much to compare to, so she's not fully aware of how different her life is from a typical teen's. Her dad's distaste for institutions, various aspects of technology, and general social norms makes him a tough nut to crack. It's one thing to control a child, but it's a whole other problem to confine an adult to a life without options.

Through some shocking turns, Jane makes dramatic realizations and backs them up with some equally dramatic actions. I really enjoyed the way Jane is written. She grows and reveals incredible resilience in so many disparate situations. She's a real testament to the human condition, and that was certainly not an outcome I was expecting from where I saw this all going.

Brown effectively captures the era in which most of this book is set, from the attitudes toward technology to the pop culture references (because we were all racing home to watch Buffy on VHS!). I loved the sense of place, the way the characters and plot evolve, and even the grittiness. This is a big win for this author and for readers, too.

Jane is growing up in a totally isolated cabin in Montana in the mid 90's with only her father. She only knows what he teaches her and is very evasive about their past and where they came from. All she knows is that her Mother is dead. The older Jane gets, she really starts to question things more and more. She finally talks her Dad into taking her on one of his mysterious trips to town. She unwittingly becomes an accomplice in a horrible crime that he commits. She has no choice to run. She has uncovered some details about their past that don't make sense, so she heads to California to try to find the truth. The more she learns, the more torn she becomes. She loves her Dad, but also knows that he's not a good man. The rest of the story follows her as she wrestles with the truth and gets involved in the newly emerging internet world. Will she do the right thing or get sucked back into her Dad's world, and will she get the answers she wants about her past. I would call this one a more literary suspense and great for Summer reading.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for this #gifted copy. Released on June 3, so preorder now!

Janelle Brown hit it out of the park with this one. I cried. I gasped. I enjoyed watching this mystery unfold and getting a glimpse into this really flawed family.

I wasn’t sure this one would be my cup of tea… but wow, was I wrong. From the very first page, I was hooked—and the story never loosened its grip until the very last line. Janelle Brown has crafted a rich, emotionally layered novel that’s all about the people: their flaws, their secrets, their tangled, beautiful connections.

At the center is Jane, a deeply compelling protagonist whose story unfolds with quiet power. This is a character-driven novel in the truest sense, and every one of them—Jane, her family, even the people on the periphery—feels real, complex, and achingly human.

What really struck me were the family themes, especially the nuanced exploration of father-daughter and mother-daughter relationships. There’s so much tenderness and pain wrapped into those bonds, and Brown writes them with honesty and depth.

Another standout element was the setting in the early digital age. It’s such a fascinating lens—watching the internet begin to seep into everyday life, before social media became what it is now. Brown captures that in-between era so vividly, and it adds a quietly powerful backdrop to the story’s emotional core.

What Kind of Paradise surprised me in the best way. It’s smart, intimate, and full of heart. If you love character-driven fiction with emotional complexity and just the right amount of nostalgia, this is one you won’t want to miss.

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown is a mesmerizing and layered story that will stick with you long after the final chapter. This isn’t your typical thriller; it reads more like a beautifully written blend of literary fiction and mystery. Brown crafts a slow-burning, emotionally complex tale centered on Jane, a teenage girl raised in total isolation by her father in a remote Montana cabin. Her journey, both literal and emotional, as she unravels her father’s secrets and searches for her own identity in late-90s San Francisco is utterly gripping.

Set against the early days of the internet and the shifting landscape of California, this novel explores big questions about freedom, trust, and what it means to truly belong. It’s eerie, poignant, and thought-provoking, with prose that pulls you in and refuses to let go.

I loved this book - a top read for 2025 so far! Thrillers are not my go to genre but I could not put this one down. This is one that will stick with you and the questions it raises around technology and the impact on humanity. I don’t want to give anything away by summarizing much, because I think the beauty in reading is being surprised as the story unfolds. This was my first book by this author and I’m looking forward to exploring her backlist for more! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

This book is a mystery, a thriller, a sordid history on the creation of the internet, a technological deep dive, and a profound exploration of family, loss, a coming of age story, and self-discovery—all wrapped into one. I could not put it down and definitely recommend.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I dunno, this was kind of boring? It had a very interesting premise, but I don’t feel like the plot went anywhere. Most of the action occurs when the MC isn’t around so the stakes don’t feel that high. The mystery itself unraveled fairly easily and was too neatly summarized. And the ending just sort of fizzled out.

The writing was nice and, again, I thought it was a cool concept for a story, it just never grabbed me and I wish the author did more with the ideas she was clearly trying to get at. However, this is getting rave reviews from many others, so don’t let my feelings discourage you from checking it out. It just wasn’t for me.

What Kind of Paradise is out 6/3

2.5/5

Janelle Brown’s “What Kind of Paradise” is a lot like its premise — similar to the journey our MC Jane finds herself in, you’re led to believe one thing when in reality, the truth is much different. Unfortunately, Paradise overstays its welcome fairly quickly, hindered by the author’s reliance on telling and not showing. Worse: the book’s description gives away over a third of its plot. By the time you’re past that point (near the 37% point), you may be too burnt out to continue. If you do, you’re met with a story that is pretty interesting, if not just a repeat of the first third: a naive girl making mistake after mistake.

It’s a shame because there’s a good story somewhere in here but it’s dragged down with a plot that takes too long to get there, and when we’re “there” the book is over. The ending, which I won’t spoil, is also a miss. Could have assumed that much given how the story begins (at the end), but was expecting something more than what we got. It’s a bummer. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

What Kind of Paradise was a bold and unforgettable story. Janelle Brown incorporated many relevant themes-parents and children; nature and technology; innocence and knowledge; the losses of our past and our dreams for the future. Collectively the dialogue, characters, themes and atmosphere Brown delivered in this coming of age story had me immersed from the very beginning and had me thinking at length throughout.

The novel followed Jane Williams a seventeen year old young woman. Jane grew up in a secluded cabin with her father. He began to question her sheltered existence during the late 1990s, when the internet started to become mainstreamed. Her father was a paranoid individual who believed the world was corrupt, and provided Jane with a limited reality. As Jane's father's erratic behavior increased, she sought a way out. She fled to San Francisco where she confronted the reality of her family's past and her own identity.

I most appreciated how the narrative focused on central themes that revolved around isolation, identity, family, and the power we have to shape our own destinies. I was especially intrigued by Jane’s escape from her isolated life in order to shape her own life. Her self determination and perseverance was evident. Even more, the moral dilemma Jane faced in regards to her involvement with crime, despite her being unaware of it, forced her to grapple with the weight of her past and choices she had to make in her life ahead.

In the same way as the themes set the tone for Brown’s novel, the setting created an unsettling atmosphere. It was rather claustrophobic at times. The isolated cabin. The secluded location. All the challenges and limitations of isolation, both physically and emotionally were portrayed. As the story moved forward, Brown highlighted the importance of human connection and the need for personal growth primarily through Jane’s character, and more specifically through her relationship with her father and the relationships she formed on her journey to finding out the truths of her past & her own self discovery.

All in all, What Kind of Paradise was a beautifully sinuous coming-of-age story about love, loyalty, family, and fate.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Jane's father is raising her in the wilderness of Montana, off the grid. He is teaching her survival skills and to hate and distrust the government and tech. As Jane grows up, he has her help him write his manifesto against the Internet and technological advances and she then helps him publish it on a website. Jane is desperate to escape from her dad, and one day asks to go with him on one of his adventures away. What she didn't expect is for it to be a bombing in Seattle, and when she realizes what her father has done and made her an accomplice, Jane is now on the run when she's never even been out in the world. Eighteen-year-old Jane finds out her real name, more about her mother, and what her father might be trying to do and why. Jane heads to the Bay Area to try to escape and stop her father and figure out how to live in the real world.

Wow, this book was not what I was expecting. I thought this was going to be very These Silent Woods, and it did start that way, but then it takes some very action-packed turns. Jane's father is a Unabomber- like character, then it has a touch of Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I have read and enjoyed Brown's books before. She writes good characters, but this one is much more, and I think it will be on a lot of Must-Read Lists this summer. If you like unique and well-written characters with a compelling and action-packed story, this one is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

2.5 Rounded up to 3 stars. Ugh, I think I have been reading too many, sad, traumatic family stories lately. I slogged through this one. It was definitely a slow read for a thriller and predictable. I felt really bad for the MC and enjoyed how the overall main story line wrapped but also didn't love how they brushed through the return to present day timeline in the epilogue.

This was completely different than the other two books I’ve read by Janelle. A slow burn mostly, and not really a shocking twist. However, a much deeper meaning to this book, and for that I’ll give 4 stars. It kept me turning the pages. & overall I was rooting for “Jane”

What Kind of Paradise is a book that takes you back in time to the 90's. The world is on the cusp of the internet taking it by storm. Silicon Valley is the place to be and tech giants are on the rise.

For Jane her life is far removed for the tech world or anything outside of the off grid cabin that she lives in with her dad. Her interaction with the outside world is very limited and now that's she's 17 she has a lot of questions that she knows her father won't answer. When the unthinkable happens it's up to Jane to decide what to do and if she will set out to find the answers and stop her father from making even more mistakes that there is no coming back from.

Having grown up in this era this book made it feel like going back in time. To a simpler time but a time when it seemed the whole world was tethering on the edge of something so big and life altering.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed.**

Brown's latest is an excellent genre mash up - a dash of literary fiction, an achingly difficult coming of age story, a drop of romance, a compelling mystery and a frightening thriller. Brown's story asks the question, simplified so as not to give away too much plot - what would happen if the Unabomber had been raising a daughter while pursuing his ideologic reign of terror. The book is fast paced and so good that I often wished I could shut off all the notifications on my phone and keep the outside world out so I could race to the end - the irony of this is not lost on me given that the thrust of the book is whether technology is good or bad? harmful or helpful? Whatever the answer, Brown's book is an excellent read. Highly recommend. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the DRC.

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown ! I could not stop wanting to know what was going to happen next. I was so intrigued by the characters, the plot, and overall story. Highly recommend this one! I felt like it was so different and unique of a story.

This book is as much about the main character, Jane's, journey in life as it is a mystery about her mother. I loved Jane as a character from the first page and although the first part is very slow paced (her isolated life in Montana) it really sets up the rest of the story. I saw a review that likened this part of the story to These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham and that was a very apt comparison. The story then shifts to Jane's discovery of the internet of the 1990s and the questions that begin to arise about her father's recounting of her past. She is determined to find out what happened around the death of her mother and who her father really is. The story is very deliberate and slow to build the tension for the reader. I really enjoyed this book but will say that there were parts I really had to push through. Overall, this is a solid read and I would love to use it in a book group because I think it would lead to very rich discussions. Thanks to Janelle Brown, Netgalley, and Random House for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book starts so very darn slow! I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't know that this was all just a set up for the rest of the story. I just wanted to get there faster. I loved reading along as Jane uncovers things about herself and her family and she grows. Her enthusiasm for things that we all take for granted was rather endearing! That was the best part. And I loved the Bay Area / Silicon Valley nostalgia that kicked in! Also, the somewhat nod to a certain crime spree was interesting. But, I didn't like that many of the characters were very self-centered and unlikeable. I suppose it needed to be that way, but it was a little disheartening. Thank goodness Jane is such an endearing character!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC!

This book was SO interesting! I loved both parts. Brown did such a good job of putting us in Jane's head. While the book is mysterious throughout, it's slower-paced that you'd probably imagine. The mystery grows for the reader as it grows for Jane.
I loved how the book felt very much of the time it was set - the 90s. Brown did a fantastic job of resurrecting that time period - from dial-up internet to phone books to the tech bubble in Silicon Valley.
I found both of Jane's parents to be frustrating in different ways. It was really interesting to see Jane spread her wings and figure out her own thoughts on things.