Just no. I wish I had DNFed this book, and the intriguing synopsis is the only reason I didn’t. It’s painfully slow, and is almost written as a stream of consciousness, which isn’t a style that works for me. Even 3/4 of the way through the book, I still felt confused about most of what was going on, and while the big twist is fantastic, I was just over the whole thing by that point and wanted it to be done. Cherish didn’t have much of a personality and Farrah was honestly just a mess of a character, so I didn’t even find their creepy relationship interesting. I’m sure this book has an audience, but unfortunately it wasn’t me.

The first 35% was kind of slow but from then on it take off and I couldn’t put it down. It was gripping with an underlying eerie-ness that doesn’t go away. Then it was all straight up messed up! I read that it’s compared to Get Out and so I kept thinking of the movie. Which I guess is similarish. It was nothing like Ace Of Spades, this was darker. The ending is definitely something I was not expecting, at all. Ever. And I’m still left with a “whhaaaat” after it’s been a bit to process.

Cherish and Farrah become similar to sisters due to being the only Black girls in attendance at their private academy. When readers meet the characters, they are in quite different social standings. Cherish is considered WGS (White Girl Spoiled) due to being adopted by White, ultra-wealthy parents and Farrah is on the brink of a move due to her family home being foreclosed and mom losing her job. Throughout the novel, Farrah utilizes manipulation and tact in attempts to salvage her lifestyle and remain with Cherish. However, as the plot progresses, Farrah begins realizing she is not the only one pulling the strings in order to get her needs met.

Let me preface by saying this not my typical genre of book but the promise of a social horror was too good to pass up. I was excited to experience the weaving of social themes into a fiction plot. I wanted this to be good but it just fell flat for me. The writing made this book difficult to read. I understand Farrah is an intelligent individual, however as this book is written in her perspective the language used seemed unrealistic and was not easily digestible. More on Farrah, she was overall not an enjoyable character to spend time with. She simply seemed spoiled and out of touch, she orchestrated this whole thing just because she didn’t want to move with her parents. Finally, the plot took a long time to create, I felt like I didn’t know where the book was going for the first hundred pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own!

This is a charged young adult speculative novel about a young woman named Farrah. She and her friend, Cherish, are the only two Black girls in their very white community, but Cherish’s adoptive parents are very well off and white. Cherish and Farrah have a complicated, at times, antagonistic friendship, but Cherish’s parents really want Farrah to be a part of their daughter’s life. Farrah own home life has been challenging; her parents don’t have a lot of money and are struggling to hold on to their jobs and their home. Farrah exerts what little power she has an moves in with the Whitmans, but something isn’t right. Strange illness and afflictions begin to take hold of Farrah. This is a slower burn of a novel, which may or may not be worth the payoff at the end. Overall, an apt look at race, class and social order. Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

Incredible! I found this rather bone chilling and felt so on edge when reading. So refreshing to read a horror story with diverse characters opposed to middle class white couples in the suburbs of London.

Most ARC (advanced reader copies) of books I am invited to read from @netgalley are from authors I’m unfamiliar with and don’t have covers. This allows me to go into the read judgment and bias free.

Bethany Morrow’s “Cherish Farrah,” is a story of control between two black teenage girls. Cherish who was adopted by wealthy white parents and Farrah who becomes her best friend. Together they seem to have it all, until Farrah’s parents lose their jobs and their house is foreclosed forcing them to make some major changes. They leave Farrah behind with her best friend Cherish and her parents Brianne and Jerry Whitman. The book is told through Farrah’s eyes and all she has her eyes on from the beginning is control. Farrah works hard to make sure she doesn’t have to leave the lifestyle she is accustomed to with the Whitmans when her parents decide to move out of state. The Whitmans adore both girls and treat Farrah as their own. Cherish and Farrah’s friendship is more like sistership in the way they care for one another. However things are not always how they appear, and control can be manipulated in many ways. This book was chilling and unexpected. Kept me on the edge of my seat once I figured out things weren’t as simple as they seemed. Dark and twisted, with reflections on race and class, a thriller that starts with a YA feel but quickly turns to heavier subject matter.

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. This may have teenage main characters, but it is pretty dark. The author herself states that this is an adult social horror book but it could go either way. A mature young reader may find this entertaining, but it is geared toward the adult reader. If you enjoyed A Song Below Water it has her same beautiful writing style, but it is not the same.

This follows Farrah in the wake of parents unfortunate change in financial situation. She is used to living at a certain standard, so naturally she feels personally attacked and like she has lost control when her home is put up for foreclosure. Her best friend Cherish is the only other Black girl in their country club community and private school, but Cherish was adopted by white parents. While Farrah is used to a certain level entitlement that her parents wealth affords her, Cherish is a whole different level of spoiled and protected from the world. Farrah is determined to regain control of her life, and she has decided that she is going to manipulate her way into Cherish's family to do it. The longer she stays with Cherish, the more she finds that something is not quite right. The control she thought she had continues to slip away day by day as Farrah is plagued with illness and injury that have no explanation. To say more would be a spoiler.

I thought the characters were wonderfully portrayed here. Farrah comes off as a spoiled brat, while Cherish is portrayed as naïve. They are both spoiled in different ways, and their parents have tried to protect them from the horrible things in the world. Their relationship as best friends is complicated and intense. None of the characters are very likable, but you are quickly drawn into the story. The story starts of a bit slow but as things progress they get pretty dark.

This is a wonderful yet dark exploration into class and race. It is suspenseful and as far as psychological thrillers go, I had no idea what was going on until it happened. The story progresses fairly slowly. It keeps you on your toes waiting for things to happen. I enjoyed it!

Cherish Farrah is a twisted psychological thriller type book. It's the first novel I've read that is classified as "social horror". I think I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked up this book.

Cherish and Farrah are best friends. Farrah considers Cherish to be WGS (white girl spoiled) even though she is a black girl who was adopted by an affluent white couple, the Whitmans, who dote on her. Farrah is the only daughter of a black couple who has recently run into financial troubles and the Whitmans have graciously offered to keep Farrah at their home while her family gets back on their feet. And then the trouble starts. Or so the reader assumes... there is something sinister about the Whitmans and something seriously twisted about Cherish and Farrah's relationship.

This is a slow burn type of book and sometimes I have the patience for it if the end of the book redeems itself. Seeing as this is not typically a genre I usually read, this book just wasn't for me. The social commentary on racism and white privilege seemed to be buried under the implausible plot line and unlikeable characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this advance e-copy of the novel. This review can also be found on Goodreads and on IG @maria.needs.to.read

Thank you to NetGalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Cherish and Farrah are the only Black girls at their private academy. Farrah's parents are Black, while Cherish's parents are white. And Farrah describes Cherish as WGS, White Girl Spoiled. After Farrah's mom loses her job and their house gets foreclosed on, Cherish's parents, the Whitmans, take her in and allow her to live with them.

This book was a mindfuck. It's obvious in the beginning that Farrah is very manipulative and isn't afraid to do things to get her way. I just wasn't sure what the endgame was. There were a lot of things happening between the characters that were ominous. Towards the end it was more apparent and explained what was going on. If GR had partial stars, I'd rate this as a 3.5. I'm also not necessarily the target audience for this book, which I try to consider when I'm rating YA.

Farrah absolutely has a lot of inner demons that she is facing and throughout the book you, as the reader, are actually trying to determine who may be manipulating whom. I didn't particularly enjoy this story, but as a white adult, I understand their may have been nuances as well as character experiences that would not apply to me. I gave it 4 (3.5) stars because I know I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.

This book is unlike anything I've ever read, and it gave me a lot of feelings. Every few pages, I would stop and say to myself "I am so confused/outraged/freaked out/all of the above! This is unbearable!" and then I would dive right back in. Cherish Farrah couldn't be more different from So Many Beginnings, my only previous experience with Morrow's work, but wow, they are both masterful. I will be thinking and talking about this book for a long time (assuming I can figure out how to do so without spoilers).

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

intelligent. sassy. smart and sexy. i loved the main character in this one. so great and a book that will pull ou out of a reading slump. it did that or me.

DNF at 16%.
Writing style is one of the most important parts of a book for me. A good one will be able to carry me throughout a poorly thought out plot, and maybe even get me to like boring characters. The premise of Cherish Farrah was what interested me the most, yet I find myself unable to power through it because the writing style is so odd.
Every motion seems mechanical, every new information chewed up and fed directly into the reader's mouth, yet it also seems unpolished in a way that it often reads as confusing, as if we are missing vital content that isn't shown. Repetition is a thing I can't stand in books, and this one's full of it. The main character and narrator, Farrah, only wants one thing: control. And Morrow will not let us forget it.
To be fair, part of the emotional detachment of the writing style is certainly due to Farrah's own detachment of the people around her, but that doesn't make it any better. Editors should've been harsher.

Cherish Farrah by Bethany C Morrow is an enthralling social horror aimed at the New Adult market.
Farrah and Cherish are seventeen year old best friends, the only young Black women in their community, as close as sisters since childhood. At first glance they seem very similar but in fact their lives are quite different, and are about to diverge even more. Cherish was adopted as an infant by her white parents, who have devoted their lives to giving her everything she has ever wanted or even thought about wanting, leaving her what Farrah calls White Girl Spoiled. Farrah's upper class Black parents have never coddled her to that extent, and now they have lost almost everything. Farrah is determined to manipulate her way into Cherish's family, no matter what it takes because Cherish may be the only person in the world she truly cares about, and she is not going to lose her. At first it seems like her plan is working to perfection but the longer she stays with her new "family" the more strange and unusual things she starts to notice, until her whole world starts to unravel.
This book had me completely gripped, at first I was entranced by the character of Farrah , her motivation and the machinations and manipulations she set into motion. Then as the story unfolded I was hooked as I tried to figure out what was really going on, and I have to say I found the pay off to be totally worth the wait.
This is a book that left me thinking long after I turned the last page and is easily one of the best I've read this year.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Cherish and Farrah, best friends, are the only two black girls in their community. Cherish is the adopted daughter of twp white well off parents. Farrah is the daughter of two black parents who are going through a rough time financially. Farrah refers to Cherish as WGS, white girl spoiled. Cherish has everything she wants and everything Farrah would want but Cheriesh does not have to work for anything, it is simply handed to her. I won’t say anymore because I do not know how to even begin to describe the story in between. The ending was jaw dropping!

Damn. This book was amazing from page one until the final page. Narrator Farrah's voice was unique and fascinating (and sometimes incredibly disturbing), and it fully sucked me into this claustrophobic, cloistered world of (newly) self-aware privilege. The overall commentary on race, the insidiousness of white privilege and violence, and Black girlhood was great, and adeptly blended with an A+ thriller plot (that is very much a slow build, so be aware of that for sure). The characterization is truly fascinating and unique, and while both Cherish and Farrah are cosseted in certain ways, their portrayal still seemed 'realistic' in the context of this heightened world. And that ending!! I adored it, and it was super unapologetic and really added to the overall commentary. This book is NOT for the faint-hearted, or the earnest soul who can't deal with some dark, perverse teen girl relationships. While stylistically it might go down super easy, thematically it's sharp , it's jagged, it's angry, and it's SO GOOD.

I seriously enjoyed this book! The premise of this story was unique and well plotted. I would highly recommend to my fellow psychological thriller lovers.
Check this one out everyone!! Looking forward to.more from this author.

I really enjoyed this one. It’s a psychologically twisty story about two best friends who have an unhealthily close friendship, and you don’t really know which one is the villain of the story, or if they both are. A great choice if you want to be surprised.

Four words: slow burn mind f*ck

I can't think of anything else to say that doesn't give it all away. The intrigue is the draw. Even as an adult, I could see things coming but I couldn't quite grasp the shape of it all. The slow burn will entrance some teen readers and turn off others, but the ones who stick with it will obsess.

This was a great book! I have to admit that when I first got approved, I read a few reviews and was wary but I ended up really, really liking this! I won't say too much because I know that going into a thriller/socially based book knowing less is always a bit better. I think that the theme of control present throughout the novel was rendered so incredibly well and was visceral--I could really feel the tension and internal conflict. I also thought that the examination of the intersection between race and class was well done, and relevant. Most of the characters were grating, on purpose I am assuming, but were so compelling that I couldn't stop reading. This is my first work my Bethany C Morrow and I will definitely be checking out her other work! 10/10 would recommend! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Dutton for the opportunity to read and review this work!

This was just a strange, strange book. I felt that the main characters acted much younger than their actual ages and were very immature, which made the book not enjoyable. The codependency was over the top and unnecessary. Overall, it just felt very unrealistic (which is probably a good thing) but not in a good way.