This book wasn't what I was really expecting and not particularly in a good way. It was dark, deep, and disturbing. Not something I would typically choose to read or recommend.

This is not a story that instantly grips you in the way I was expecting, but the social commentary embedded in the thriller made the pay-off totally worth it.

This book was much darker than I expected, but I ended up really enjoying the read. I did not see any of it coming and I’m still trying to process!

This is one of the most bizarre, disturbing books I’ve ever read. It’s a slow descent into social horror with an unreliable narrator, which sounds good in theory, but the whole time, I felt like I was missing something. The ending takes a hard left turn into bonkers territory.

What the heck did I just read. First, this book was the slowest of burns when all I wanted was the Indy 500. And with that ending (although it was given away quite easily early in the book), it felt more like a shock and wow factor, than any sort of meaningful social commentary.

I just truly don't know what to think with this one and would be interested to see more Black reviewers' thoughts.

This book....wow. It reminded me a lot of the movie Get Out. This book is more of a social horror than like a jump out loud scare. I think this is a really good book to read due to our social climate. This was very good and I highly suggest this one.

This one was just too much of a slow moving story line for me. It was a real struggle for me to finish it. It was a book that I was easily distracted from when reading. Even when it finally picked up pace my attention span just didn't click with the book.

Cherish Farrah was an unsettling, wholly engrossing study of friendship, family, class, and race successfully focused on story, psychology, and building tension over any agenda or overt political statements. The character of Farrah Turner, penned brilliantly in first person by Bethany C. Morrow, reminded me of an adolescent Patrick Bateman, yet by no means an imitation. Farrah is unlike any character I have encountered before, and the impact of this novel was potent.

Cherish Farrah by Bethany C Morrow

Brief Summary: This is a tale of two best friends; Farrah who is black and Cherish who is adopted by white parents. When financial troubles befall Farah’s family, she stays with Farah and her family manipulating her way in. Strange things start happening at the Whitman household and it’s anyone’s guess who is really in control.

Highlights: This struck me as an odd story of co-dependent best friends; one who is obsessed with control. By far the most fascinating part was when they discussed systemic racism and how a black girl was impacted by being raised by white parents.

Explanation of Rating: 2/5 this one just wasn’t for me

Thank you to Net Galley and Dutton Books for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Farrah and Cherish are best friends. They're also the only two Black girls in their country club community. The girls bonded quite deeply around the 4th-grade. Now at 17, they're closer than ever. Due to her parent's recent financial woes, Farrah's family is in a bit of an upheaval. Thus, she spends the majority of her time at Cherish's house. They have everything they could possibly want there and Cherish's adoptive White parents treat Farrah like a second daughter.

Farrah deserves this luxurious life just as much as Cherish and if her parents can't provide it for her, she's not afraid to get it elsewhere. Regardless of all that static though, Farrah really loves Cherish. Doesn't she?

Told in a stream of consciousness narrative style from Farrah's perspective, the Reader gets to be a fly on the wall observing this unique and possibly codependent friendship. Disturbing and tense, I really enjoyed my time reading Cherish Farrah. I'm not quite sure why the rating is so low for this one, but I am happy to be an outlier.

I won't claim to have understood all the nuance included within these pages, but I don't think I need too in order to appreciate the care and commitment Morrow poured into this story. I have previously read A Song Below Water and A Chorus Rises by Morrow and enjoyed both of those as well.

I feel like the writing style is quite similar over the three novels, but obviously with this one being Social Horror, the tone is quite different. This one is definitely more in my lane than the previous two. I would certainly classify this as a slow burn, but to me, it pays off. I was uneasy the whole way through, which frankly is a vibe I tend to enjoy. I wasn't sure who to trust. I kept flipping between the girls.

You can tell something is off, but who is causing that feeling? Is it Farrah, or is it Cherish? It was impossible for me to tell. It actually got a little stressful if I'm being honest. That just shows how invested I was. I felt it.

I also enjoyed the way Morrow explored race and privilege in this one. The dynamics of the characters families and relationships provided plenty of room for her to roam in that regard. I don't think I have ever read anything quite like it. I would recommend this to people who enjoy Social Horror, or uneasy feeling narratives in general. Stick it out and I think you'll enjoy it. I certainly did!

Thank you to the publisher, Dutton Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it so much. I'm such a fan of Bethany C. Morrow and will continue to pick up anything she writes!

Whoa, this was a wild ride.

The book is listed as a thriller, but when I started reading it, I was confused -- it seemed like a straightforward coming-of-age friendship story. Boy, was I wrong.

The reader notices pretty quickly that something is...not right about Cherish and Farrah's relationship. What follows is a thoughtful breakdown of wealth, race, relationships, family and female friendship in adolescence, full of twists and turns to the very end.

✨ Review ✨ Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow.

Warning: this is one hell of a slow burn. This is the sort of book you need to COMMIT to. But the pay off is so worth it!

This book is about teenage best friends Cherish and Farrah, who are temporarily living together with Cherish's family while Farrah's family is going through a hard time. Sharing too much about this book takes away from its haunted atmosphere, so I encourage you to go into this as blindly as possible.

I loved the ways that it tackled really complicated issues of race, privilege, family and parenting, friendship, wealth, and so much more. This is different than the other books by Morrow I read - definitely more of a horror vibe to it, but I enjoyed it all the same.

CW: manipulation, gaslighting, etc etc.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: thriller, mystery, horror,
Location: somewhere in the country club suburbs
Pub Date: Out Now

Read this if you like:
⭕️ teen girl coming-of-age stories with a horror twist
⭕️ critical discussions of race, power, and privilege
⭕️ swimming pools, fast cars, and bffs

Thanks to Dutton and #netgalley for an e-copy of this book!

What the heck did I just read?

Honestly, I did not enjoy this book for about 85% of it. It ended with quite the bang that was all at once horrific, thrilling, suspenseful, and thought provoking - enough so that I will round up from 2.5 to 3 stars.

Normally, I love hating a main character. It can be so fun to read about characters behaving badly. However, I'm not sure I've ever disliked a narrator more than I disliked Farrah. She was honestly just awful. Manipulative, condescending, controlling (good god I never need to hear the word "control" again - NINETY-FIVE times in this 336 page book - yes I checked!), deceitful, and just utterly disingenuous. I hated the way she treated Cherish, Cherish's family, and her own parents. She was truly just abhorrent.

I wanted more on the racial aspects of a black girl being adopted by a white family. Cherish's parents were incredibly wealthy and we repeatedly heard about how Cherish was "white girl spoiled," but I think the book could have done more with this throughout the novel (and not saved it all for the end).

I did this book on audio and thought the narrator for Farrah did really well. Her voice was soothing and she played the part really well.

By the end, this book was certainly thought provoking, I wish it had just gotten there faster. Most of the book was Farrah telling us about how smart and in control she was and I wanted more action and plot.

Ultimately, this isn't one I'll be recommending but I am glad I picked it up and I'll be interested to see what else this author publishes in the future.

Thank you for the advanced copy.

I started this one & it just didn't grab me... I read the first few chapters and wasn't particularly invested, but if you like "social horror" you might try this one.

I ended up DNF-ing Cherish Farrah at around 20%. I love Bethany C. Morrow. She is an incredible author, and I’ve loved her other books.

When the publisher reached out and offered me an advance copy for review, I jumped at the chance, not realizing it was a thriller/horror, its tone very different from her previous novels.

The story centers around Cherish and Farrah, two Black teenage girls who are the only Black girls in their country club community. Their families are quite different—Farrah is the daughter of two Black parents; Cherish has been raised by her white adoptive parents. Their friendship is emotionally fraught, full of secrets and resentments. As a manipulative Farrah begins to spend more and more time at Cherish’s house, things start to get creepy.

I’m giving this four stars despite my DNF based on the quality of the writing and my general enjoyment of Morrow’s works. This is the case of me not enjoying horror stories. It’s not the book’s fault; it’s mine. For the right reader this could easily be a five star read.

unfortunately had to DNF this one. so disappointed bc this has been on my TBR for SO long and I was really looking forward to it. social horror is my favorite sub-genre.
I understand social/elevated horror can be quite slow to start, and usually is leading up to a major event near the end. but NOTHING happens in this book. I need more ominous, weird vibes along the way that at least ALLUDE to something nefarious going on but there was none of that here.

AM I EVEN CAPABLE OF WRITING A REVIEW OF THIS MIND FUCK OF A NOVEL?

Honestly, I shouldn't be writing this review right now, as I literally just set the phone down to open Goodreads and my brain is screaming.

I just.

They just.

Bethany C Morrow just.

Okay, let me. Just.

This is social horror. An entire new strain of genre I didn't know existed and absolutely want more of. The comparisons to Get Out are rampant, and appropriate. Knowing the comparisons, you feel like you kind of know where this is going, but the roller coaster constantly on the verge of derailing it takes to get there is an absolute shot of adrenaline straight to your brain.

I requested this from Netgalley, then ENTIRELY forgot what the book was about. So I went in basically empty handed, and didn't understand what I was getting into until the INTENSE manipulation began. Then I came to Goodreads find out what the hell I'd gotten myself into.

I cannot summarize, I cannot blurb. I can only give big flourish-y Vanna hands and say, "Just go. Just...go read it."

Though, to be fair, the twist is absolutely given away far too early, but honestly, it's okay. It still works. A LOT.

Cherish Farrah.. wow what was that.. Seventeen year old Farrah Turner is a very troubled young lady. She is rich & black & lives in a country club community.. she has a best friend who is also black, but was adopted by a white wealthy couple. Farrah believes that Cherish is WGS.. (white girlfriend spoiled) and you can’t decide if Farrah is jealous or has contempt for her friends lifestyle. But she slowly gets closer and closer to Cherish’s family. She plays mental games with her parents and Cherish’s parents & with Cherish. She seems to be playing a game that no one else is playing. This is where the story lost me. At first I thought I knew what was going on but after awhile I just didn’t get it. She has a lot of issues and probably needs some help from a therapist but that is neither here nor there. Overall this was a 3 star read for me. As always I am grateful Bethany C Marrow and Netgalley for my copy. This isn’t really my type of book but it might be for someone else.

This is a horror novel, plain and simple. I was sickened by some of the scenes in this novel, and the control one person held over the other.
Cherish and Farrah are two black teens from wealthy families. However, Cherish was adopted by white parents, and they have gone out of their way to care for her "blackness" in a white world. She is spoiled and loved. When Farrah and Cherish become friends in the 4th grade, they share a moment of pain and control that Cherish's parents admire. Later, Farrah begins to realize that not all is what it seems but she isn't sure whether Cherish knows what is happening. Farrah puts Cherish to the ultimate test, to see if Cherish truly loves Farrah.
I am white, so I don't presume to know what black teen girls face, but this friendship seemed unhealthy from the start. The control and hurt was something difficult to stomach, and the final scene was terrifiying.
This book is tense and grabs you from the beginning - but it does have some scenes that are cringe-worthy.
Thanks to Net Galley and Dutton Books / Penguin Random House for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Cherish and Farrah, best friends since fourth grade, are the only two Black girls in their country club housing development. Cherish Whitman, adopted at birth, lives in a lavish mansion with her doting white parents, while Farrah Turner lives a few blocks over, in a more modest home, with her Black mom and dad. When the Turner family is confronted with the foreclosure of their home, Farrah moves in with Cherish while her parents figure out what to do next. Farrah's life has always been about careful control -- control over her emotions, over her actions...and over other people, especially Cherish, who is the only person Farrah loves (even when she hates her). But as she grows closer to the Whitman family, it becomes increasingly difficult for Farrah to maintain her beloved sense of control.

Cherish Farrah is a slow burn, requiring the reader's patience as Bethany C. Morrow deliberately, meticulously sets the pace and tone of the story. Farrah's first-person narration is chilling and calculating, and it's claustrophobic, exhausting, and frustrating being inside her head. We are only permitted to see things from Farrah's perspective, and there are things she refuses to see -- and things she refuses to let us see. Everything Farrah says and does is intentional, and it's intriguing and disturbing to be privy to the inner workings of her mind as she weighs the consequences of various actions. I don't think I've ever encountered a character like Farrah in contemporary fiction before. She's so cold, so calculating, and she thinks she's so smart when, in reality, she is incredibly naive. This makes her a hard character to like, but also one that it's impossible not to sympathize with. Morrow's portrayal of her is nothing short of brilliant.

This is the kind of social horror novel that sneaks up on you. I thought I was just reading a character study about co-dependent best friends, when a scene right around the 50% mark had me sitting up and paying attention, mouth agape in shock. After spending the first half the book setting everything up, Morrow spent the second half blowing me away with her scathing analysis of race and class in America, exploring the insidiousness of racism in a shocking, impactful way. Weaving in themes of family dysfunction and the complexities of teen girl friendships, Cherish Farrah uses one troubled girl's disturbing perspective to share some incredibly important observations and tell some hard truths about racism and classism. This is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time.