Pitched as a "Get Out" meets "My Sister the Serial Killer", Cherish Farrah by Bethany C Morrow is the story of two best friends, Cherish and Farrah. Both are young black girls, the only black girls at an expensive academy full of rich white kids. They've been best friends since third grade.

Cherish has everything, including two adoptive white parents. Farrah used to have everything, until her parents lost their house to foreclosure. Now, she is staying with Cherish and her family while her parents sort things out. Farrah's inner monologue is dark....very, very dark. To be perfectly honest, she's kind of an asshole. Her jealousy is apparent from the beginning and she's controlling and just straight up mean. BUT....as she tries to bring reality to Cherish...Cherish's parents recognize what she's doing....and...my GOD.

Just....this book. Look. I read this book in two nights because it was insane. Yes, I did have some issues withe the how slow the beginning was. And yes, I had issues with Farrah's inner monologue and the language she was using because was 16/17 year old talks like that. BUT STILL.

This is a book about social horror. About society. About race. About toxic friendship. About society. About wanting more. About wanting to be seen. About the modern way of life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Dark, nerve-wracking, terrifying. A social thriller for the social media age.

This is about a toxic friendship that is more sinister underneath - even at the end it was hard to believe. The ending didn't make sense and it wasn't explained well why the characters would act the way they did. The narrator was twisted and made for a not very enjoyable reading experience. Likely would have DNF'd if this wasn't an ARC.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable for the fact that we need more books with complicated, prickly girl protagonists, but the pacing in this book felt way off. Somehow the pages were moving quickly but hardly anything happened plotwise until the last 20% of the book, instead it was a lot of Farrah repeating herself in her head.

This novel is dark. Very dark. And awesome. I loved Farrah's voice. Social horror as social commentary is powerful. As her mother tells her, "Whatever else you are, you're still a Black girl. One day you'll know how impossible it is to tell the difference between personalized terror aimed straight at you, and good ole run-of-the-mill systemic prejudice."

From the publisher: ". . . a new adult social horror novel . . . about Farrah, a young, calculating Black girl who manipulates her way into the lives of her Black best friend's white, wealthy, adoptive family but soon suspects she may not be the only one with ulterior motives. . . .

Seventeen-year-old Farrah Turner is one of two Black girls in her country club community, and the only one with Black parents. Her best friend, Cherish Whitman, adopted by a white, wealthy family, is something Farrah likes to call WGS--White Girl Spoiled. With Brianne and Jerry Whitman as parents, Cherish is given the kind of adoration and coddling that even upper-class Black parents can't seem to afford--and it creates a dissonance in her best friend that Farrah can exploit. When her own family is unexpectedly confronted with foreclosure, the calculating Farrah is determined to reassert the control she's convinced she's always had over her life by staying with Cherish, the only person she loves--even when she hates her.

As troubled Farrah manipulates her way further into the Whitman family, the longer she stays, the more her own parents suggest that something is wrong in the Whitman house. She might trust them--if they didn't think something was wrong with Farrah, too. When strange things start happening at the Whitman household--debilitating illnesses, upsetting fever dreams, an inexplicable tension with Cherish's hotheaded boyfriend, and a mysterious journal that seems to keep track of what is happening to Farrah--it's nothing she can't handle. But soon everything begins to unravel when the Whitmans invite Farrah closer, and it's anyone's guess who is really in control."

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Morrow's latest novel is marketed as a social thriller. It's a tale of two Black girls, Cherish and Farrah, who are best friends but told from Farrah's eyes. Cherish is known for being White Girl Spoiled growing up with two adoptive white parents. It was slow to start but half way through the plot picked up the book turned dark and addictive. This was a complicated story about intense friendships, toxic relationships and dysfunctional families. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this story as much I had hoped. Maybe it will be one for another time.

Read this book suspicious of everyone and everything because I knew something sinister was afoot. I do wish that I didn't read the synopsis first because it had me on high alert for suspicious activity (of which there was a lot of).

What did I think of this book?

Very much "Get Out" social commentary horror.

Very much "you in danger, girl" but the question is who is the girl that is truly in danger.

Very much important message laced with a dark and sinister themes

I loved the perspective of this book, it’s honestly what made it most interesting and nerve-wracking. Farrah’s perspective is controlled and dark, it’s full of angst and anger, and even though we know from the start that something is wrong with her, I still found myself rooting for her since she was the one telling me the story. I loved everything this novel touched upon; from family dynamics to the different experiences people have based on their skin color and their status. I think this was a great read and a heart pounding journey.

the writing is okay but the story is ludicrous. the characters act in such a juvenile and spoiled way as to be completely unbelievable.

Bethany C. Morrow’s recent foray into adult fiction is a smashing success. Her new book, Cherish Farrah, follows two 17-year old Black girls growing up in a privileged white-girl world. The only two Black girls at their private school, Cherish and Farrah naturally gravitate toward one another. As the girls grow closer, so do their families.
When a financial downturn befalls the Turners, The Whitman’s offer to help. With the girls almost like sisters, it seems natural to the Whitman’s to offer to allow Farrah to live with them while the Turners look for new employment and a new home.
Farrah is quite mad at her parents for messing up her life. She is happy with the Whitman’s and tries to guilt her parents into leaving her with them, perhaps permanently. Although knowing how manipulative Farrah can be, Mrs. Turner decides having the two girls together would be the best solution at this time. At first everything seems to be going Farrah’s way until events begin to happen that make Farrah realize she is not the one in control her destiny.
This book has cross-over appeal so I think teens would like this book as well as adults. Although the two girls here are privileged, the book also touches on race, class, and poverty. Cherish Farrah is a smart work of fiction and the surprise ending will shock most readers.

Robyn Heil, Buyer for Brodart Co.

I couldn't get through the second chapter. The author's writing style is hard for me to follow, making the character's train of thought and the chain of events really hard to concentrate on. It almost feels like stream of consciousness to me, separated into sentences. I couldn't get into the story because it felt like too much work to follow.

Well written and quietly terrifying. Also some truly gross moments. This book was too creepy for me to love. Best for teens who like very dark books.

Cherish Farrah is pretty dark and delivers on the tension. But the synopsis had me thinking I'd be reading a story with a different feel from what I actually experienced. I don't even mind how slow it was like so many others seem to. What I got from it overall is 'meh' and 'messy'. It's more like a 2.5 star rating for me. I did like it but...

I will say the story is unique and could've been great. But being in Farrah's head became so tedious and frustrating. I don't know if another point of view would've helped. Maybe if Farrah had a little more going on in the personality department. I get that she has issues, that is very clear. But she sees everyone's words and facial expressions as moves in a game everyone is playing with her and changes her opinions accordingly and that got old fast.

I'm left with lots of questions, wondering if most of what happened was even necessary to the plot. Also, no one acts in a realistic way. Suspend disbelief and maybe it would be really good? Maybe I'm just not the right person for this story. I do appreciate what Cherish Farrah is trying to say, just not how the story was executed overall.

Thank you Dutton Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

WHEW what a ride. This book is a slow burn, but worth every moment. This is my first Social Horror and it won’t be my last. The friendship between Farrah and Cherish is one you can’t seem to look away from or figure out completely. The conversations about race in this story are ones I will be unpacking for a long time.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately, I don't think Bethany Morrow's writing style works for me. I find her sentences tend to wander around and circle back and I have to keep rereading them to understand what she is trying to say. I also thought this one was a bit too heavy handed with its portrayal of Farrah as calculating. I would've rather her calculated-ness be shown through her actions, and not have her continually tell the reader again and again that she is calculating without evidence. The synopsis claimed that Farrah manipulates her way into Cherish's house; I did not think there was any manipulation involved and it seemed like the situation was a product of Farrah's family's circumstance. Overall, I was just not convinced by Farrah as a character and found her character development lacking.

This has been pitched as “Get Out” meets My Sister the Serial killer and I think it is fairly accurate as far as the central themes.

Like the sisters in My Sister the Serial Killer, Cherish and Farrah have a very unique, complicated, almost unhealthy relationship with each other. Cherish is one of two black girls in her wealthy community. She was adopted by a white family. She has everything her best friend Farrah wants. Farrah’s family home is foreclosed on. As her parents work to get back the luxurious life they had, Farrah is invited to stay at Cherish’s house.

Almost immediately you can see the unique, co-dependent relationship between the girls. As you progress through the book, it just gets weirder and weirder.

I liked this book. Although it wasn’t what I expected, I thought it was a unique story and I flew through it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Cherish and Farrah have been best friends since they first met at school as the only Black girls. Cherish was adopted and raised by her very rich, very white parents that doted on her every need. When Farrah’s parents lose their house to foreclosure, everyone agrees it’s best that Farrah moves in with Cherishs family for the time being. But what is the significance of one two three four five?

3.5 stars. Wow. This book was so fucked up. I’ll start by saying this is a slow slow slow burn. I started to get a bit frustrated when I reached 75% and still not a lot was happening. That said, the last quarter of the book I could not put down. The friendship between Farrah and Cherish was such an interesting dynamic especially when you added in all the parents relationships. I don’t want to say any more and give anything away. Overall I enjoyed this book.

Cherish Farrah
by Bethany C. Morrow
A Review by Jamilla @LandsAwayBooks on Wordpress.

I very much liked the idea of this, an adult social horror. I was excited at the prospect of a delicious, creeping tension and a grand unraveling. But I found that I really couldn’t get into this story, into these characters. Which is unfortunate because I think the point it’s trying to make is an necessary one.

And the exploration of privilege and class here was indeed fascinating! I think that this is the type of book that would be perfect for a book club group discussion, and I’m the future I will be giving it another try.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I enjoy reading social horror and can appreciate what this book was getting at, but I really struggled to get into it, and it took me forever to finish reading it. I kept waiting for something to happen - there was definitely a ton of tension building throughout, but the burn was tooooo slow, and the story felt disjointed, so when things finally did happen, they didn't make a whole lot of sense. This is the book for someone, but that someone was not me.