Member Reviews
Twins? A podcast? Did they write this for me? It felt fairly fresh and modern for what was a fairly basic family parentage drama without feeling forced. I thought the family seemed authentic and no one seemed one dimensional which is often an issue in family dramas. I want to see what else she has written!
The Kid Are Gonna Ask is a fun, quick read. It's suitable for young adults and adults. I enjoyed the way Gretchen Anthony used different communication formats to move the story along: text chats, phone messages, emails, letters, pod casts, and, of course, dialogue. All forms seemed seamless and natural as I read.
I liked the McClair family, and Sam Tamblin was a fun villain to root against. This was a gentle and fun story about the serious subject of finding your roots.
I was provided an ARC through #NetGalley
I enjoyed that this book had multiple narrators and had a character driven plot. Sometimes where there are many characters, I struggle with keeping everyone sorted out, but that was not the case here. I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed books such as Ask Again Yes, Dear Edward, and Little Fires Everywhere.
I found the premise of this book intriguing - twin siblings who want to find out about their biological father, and create a podcast to do so. Parts of the book were slower-moving than I might have liked, but I did appreciate the thought that the author put into this.
Thank you to HARLEQUIN and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.
17 year old fraternal twins decide to try and find their "biodad" through a podcast which they host weekly from their grandmother's home. Their mother died when a bridge collapsed and "Bess" still haunts the family. Why did Bess never tell her children about their father? Why didn't she marry him? Who could he be? Will he want to meet them? Does he have another family? Is he in jail? When an unethical producer offers to "help" the twins get their podcast national recognition in an effort to get more information about who their father could be, things take an ugly turn. Will finding their father tear apart the unconventional family that they already have?
After reading "The Kids are Gonna Ask", I wondered if the author had intended to write a book for the adult or the young adult market. It certainly could be read by young adults and might appeal more to them than adult readers. An interesting premise that had potential for so much more.
Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
DNF. This book was all over the place! Too many voices telling the story, and none of them doing it well. I liked the premise, but poor execution.
It was very interesting to read about kids who had true ambition, even after losing their mother. They still pressed on and even produced a podcast! The tale of finding their father through a podcast was a unique way of searching for a lost parent. What if he didn’t want to talk to them? Did he even know about them? They’re twins too, so how would he react to that? Did he have an entirely new family??? How would things play out? I loved reading about their journey.
While the premise of this books caught my attention (teenagers and a podcast), it just didn't capture my attention in the way I thought it would. I only read about 50% of the story before I gave up. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the copy but it just wasn't for me.
Didn’t love this one as much as I’d hoped I would. It’s basically about a teen brother and sister that want to learn more about their biological father, so they start a podcast. They were counting on the repercussions to follow. There were definitely parts that could have just been skipped, but it was a decent read.
What happens when two charming children launch a podcast designed to find their biodad? Thomas and Savannah certainly don't anticipate becoming the focal points of a culture war about privacy, parental rights and the rights of adoptees, that's for sure. They definitely get more than they bargained for - but with the trials comes beauty as well, because they get to know more about their mom who died before they really got to know her as a person and the life she lived. Intriguing and poignant, THE KIDS ARE GOING TO ASK is a wonderful read.
Charming, timely and compelling tale told from multiple perspectives - this was a nice, feel-good read.
The premise of this book was good, but the story itself fell short. There seemed to be lot of unnecessary parts that added nothing to the story. One example: Thomas’ run time in track was down 0.02 tenths of a second added nothing to the story. This book could have been a lot less pages and maybe be better. I admit I felt I was wasting my time reading this book, so I skipped a lot of pages in the middle. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Harlequin. All opinions expressed are my own.
Savannah and Thomas McClair are seventeen year old twins who live with their Grandmother, Maggie. They host a podcast featuring an eclectic mix of dinner guests at Maggie's infamous get-togethers - but one guest will change the course of their podcast, and indeed their lives.
When Savannah & Thomas launch a new podcast seeking to find their biological father, many issues arise - privacy, morality, the treatment of women in media, viral culture, loyalty and trust to name a few.
I loved this. I loved Maggie, as the kooky matriarch. I loved the twins, trying to navigate normal teen life on top of dealing with the pressures of growing up in a digital age. I loved the plot, I loved the idea, I loved the writing.
This SHOULD be huge. Keep an eye out for it. It will be published in July and I'll have a full review before then.
Full review to come.
Keep an eye out for this one, it deserves to be huge.
This is a modern day book about kids and podcasts. It is realistic and has deep story line that should appeal to all ages. I liked the way each person tells their story from their own perspective.
Interesting story about twins who are looking for their biological father via a podcast. A media storm kicks off and we are taken along for the ride when the twins appear on national tv and become the focus of a national controversy. The real father is introduced as a character as well. Entertaining and original, this is an enjoyable story from start to finish.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Kids Are Gonna Ask.
My reading preferences tend toward the mysterious, horrifying, macabre genres, but the premise sounded intriguing so I was pleased when my request was approved.
After the untimely death of their mother, the McClair twins use social media as a way to find their father. With the help of their hip grandmother, Maggie, and family friends, Savannah and Thomas get more than they bargained for, but in the end, find out that family means more than being related.
I enjoyed this story more than I expected.
The twins, Savannah and Thomas, are likable, relatable young people. Savannah is smart, educated with big Hollywood ambitions to become a powerful female producer. Her brother, Thomas, is athletic, tech savvy and it is his desire to find their father that sparks a social media controversy.
As the twins enlist the help of armchair detectives, fans of their podcast and eager listeners, they are subjected to trolls, haters, and power hungry social media moguls who only care about one thing: money.
During the course of their search for their biological father, the twins, Maggie, and their bio-dad, Jack, come to terms with their own personal demons; accepting the choices they make and the path those choices have led them to, the journeys they still have to take, and accepting the loss of a mother, daughter, and lover taken from them too soon.
I loved Maggie; she is a rebel, sociable, kind, accepting, non-judgmental. She helped her daughter raise twins as a single parent in a society that stigmatized unwed mothers.
But, she was also angry; angry that her daughter was killed, angry that her daughter made poor choices in men, but she was always grateful for the existence of her grandchildren.
By the end of the book, the twins and their father, have grown, matured and adapted to their new life, each setting out on a journey with less of a burden on their shoulders and more love in their hearts.
The Kids Are Gonna Ask is a little bit of everything; a domestic drama, the pitfalls of social media, how cruel and chaotic being a teenager is, the woes and cruelty of friendships and strangers, how even in a close family things are left unsaid and how that silence hurts nearly as much as the truth can.
This is not just a story about the love and loyalty between siblings and families, but the bond you have with those who care and love you, not related by blood; the desire and need to find your tribe, and not be afraid of confronting the truth.
I look forward to reading more books by this author.
The writing quickly pulls the reader in, and the plot was a bit different from most books I've read. I really enjoyed Maggie, the strong-willed grandmother. I also liked using podcasts, which will likely be relevant and connect with many readers. Some parts were a bit hard to follow at times, but this was a quick, enjoyable read overall.
I'm not going to lie, this isn't my typical style of read, but I really enjoyed it. I got a "Nathans Run" vibe, but with humor. I'll be looking for this author again!
This book grabbed my attention right from the start but quickly lost me. I loved the unique storyline, interesting characters, and play on today’s social and viral tendencies. It may have been timing but this book started to miss the mark for me about 1/3 of the way through. The story became a little hard to follow and I found my attention wandering. I wanted to love this book, and while I loved the idea of it, it didn’t end up as a favorite for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book. It’s about Thomas and Savannah (twins). They live with their grandmother Maggie. They have a podcast. They each have their own issues. Savannah is bullied because she is smart and Thomas is an athlete. One day Thomas mentions about finding his bio dad. ( their mother passed away) on the podcast. Everything snowballs. This s a journey about them trying to find him through their podcast and research. I think young adults would enjoy reading this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for an early arc. This my honest opinion.