4.5 rounded up. Highly recommend for fans of THE CIRCLE (Dave Eggers), Annie Bot (Sierra Greer), and THE COMPOUND (Aisling Rawles).

Premise - Octavia Crenshaw, a Jamaican-American coder living in Manhattan, loses her job after developing a program that spilled all her coworkers' secrets... eep. Broke, grieving her parents' death, and burned out, she lands a dream gig at Eustachian Inc, a Big Tech company specializing in audio entertainment.

From the start, she knows she'll have her work cut out for her at Eustachian Inc. She's one of the only Black employees at the company and the only one who seems to notice things her coworkers are blissfully aware of: tech glitches, cryptic remarks, a mysterious secret floor...

When another Black coder, Walcott, recruits her to work on a secret project, code name Zion, she sets aside her suspicions to go all in on developing this new kind of AI-powered storytelling, one that should help launch a future free from racism and sexism. A dream, right? But Eustachian is hiding something and when Octavia uncovers what it is, it's impossible to ignore...

This is written in second person. That would ordinarily put me off, but this story needed to be affronting so it really worked and didn't feel gimmicky at all. Farley writes so well, and the voice is so engaging and relatable, that I came away from this actively glad that was in second person - it was the right perspective for this story, told this way.

It’s definitely a slow burn story and meanders a bit in the middle, but I enjoyed every bit of the time spent with (as?) Octavia. This tale is SO well told and it’ll stick with me for a while. BRB, telling everyone I know to read this!

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Bahni Turpin. Another new talent (for me, at least) to watch! She did an amazing job with the different characters and voices, and really nailed the main narrative voice. It was a soothing, cozy listen even as the subject matter was beyond creepy (making this story more digestible and me less apt to run away and hide).

Thanks, NetGalley and William Morrow, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Harper Audio ALC
Woah, what an excellent novel. This is in second person, which is something I struggle with usually, but paired with Bahni Turpin's fantastic performance, I quickly found myself sucked into the story. The exploration of tech and AI was so thought provoking. It made me think deeply about the tech in my life. Octavia made such a nuanced main character. It was easy to empathize with her, root for her, and also was surprised right along with her. This story hit at the heart of what someone will do to survive when confronted with ethical dilemmas in the work place. I highly recommend adding this to your fall TBR.

Who Knows You by Heart by C. J. Farley (book cover is in image) is the story of how Oliva Crenshaw, a Jamaican American software developer in Manhattan, is struggling to survive. Taking on a job in with a big tech company, Eustachian Inc, she has to navigate office politics, racism and classism, and the mysterious and morally questionable work Eustachian is undertaking.

Being a former developer and being a woman in tech for over two decades, I often found myself laughing out loud at the often accurate, satirical approach she takes to addressing the issues women of color face in the corporate world and particularly in technology fields.

The narration by Bahni Turpin is truly amazing. I loved her in the book People of Means by Nancy Johnson and Dominion by Addie E. Citchens, and she did stunning job here as well. I highly recommend this book. Can't wait to see what this author brings on next.

Thank you @harperaudio, @williammorrowbooks, and @netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC and read this eARC.

Pub: Nov 11 2025
Rating: 5 Stars

#HarperAudioAdult
#WilliamMorrow
#WhoKnowsYoubyHeart
#CJFarley
#BahniTurpin
#Humor
#Satire
#ScienceFiction
#Dystopian

For shits and giggles I asked ChatGPT to write a review of this book with a pretty solid prompt. What did the AI do... Hallucinate and vomit back circular sentences that had no connection to the text... Which is kind of the perfect place to start with this review.

Farley is able to accomplish a lot of lofty elements well, creating a funny, smart, and at times unnerving novel about race, technology, self worth and connection in a world that is becoming more disconnected that feels real, timely and very successful.

Second person that manages to be relevant and not passive ✅

Cutting commentary without becoming preachy or limiting characters ✅

Naming conventions that easter egg amazing Black authors ✅

AI that accidentally on purpose keeps biting the hand that made it ✅

Microaggressions that are both hilarious in the horror of the experience. ✅

I will say that I loved this book. It was all I wanted from books like BlackBuck, a cutting commentary, a near future mirror to society, deep funny honest and characters that feel rich and full. Turnpin leans into the depth of experience, pushing the prose in a way that feels like you are listening to a good friend rant about her shitty day instead of reading a book.