Everyone Wants To Know by Kelly Loy Gilbert is an under the radar young adult contemporary book about a reality star famous  Korean family -- kind of like the Kardashians -- who are just really going through it. Told through the lens of Honor Lo, the Lo family is splitting up. When Honor's sister Skye graduates, her parents announce at dinner that they are divorcing. The family which has been in the public eye is now keeping mum about what happened. However, Honor's friends end up selling her out to the tabloids. Oh and she moves for her senior year and has to figure out all new friendships. As it turns out, she's found a boy to hookup with and is initially all about keeping it light and fun. Yet, maybe there might be something more there.

I feel like Everyone Wants To Know has gotten mixed reviews, which is fine. I personally really enjoyed this book. Granted, I like watching trashy reality TV. There was a really big twist that honestly shocked me and kind of made me sad with regards to the why of it. I liked that the family was big and interesting with complex characters. At times it was really hard to root for the Lo family. That was something I liked -- that no one was really perfect. I like complicated. Overall, this was perfectly up my alley and I for sure want to read more by Kelly Gilbert Loy.

Kelly Loy Gilbert has officially cemented herself as one of my favorite authors of all time with this book. This is my third book from her, and I am continually impressed by how brilliant of a writer she is. Each of her novels is so nuanced and complex that a brief summary cannot possibly capture the essence of what she writes. Though all of Gilbert’s books stand on their own, this one has her signature complicated characters and dynamics, cutting prose, and insightful portrayal (and questioning) of humanity.

Like the rest of Gilbert’s novels, this is best read without knowing much—because even knowing the general premise won’t prepare you for what actually unfolds. It is hard to discuss the genius of certain parts without spoiling, but I’ll try my best. Everyone Wants to Know stars an incredibly messed up, toxic celebrity family. The children have lived under the spotlight for years as a result of being featured in their parents’ reality show in their youth, and they all handle the fame in different ways, whether it’s disapproving it and the parents, or becoming influencers themselves.

The book tackles the effects of living under the public eye: the difficult balance of forming your own identity when constantly surveilled and at the mercy of others’ perceptions of you, the inescapable fear of appearing in an unfavorable light to the public, the strain it puts on anything from simple interactions to close relationships. Honor in particular finds herself obsessed with reading what random internet users say about her and her family, unable to trust people outside of her family, and attaching her sense of self to being a Lo rather than her own person.

Though the family is quite terrible, they, like anyone else, undeniably deserve privacy and basic human treatment. Living so publicly has a spider web of consequences, and the Los’ relationship has inevitably become fragile and destructive. Many of them are overly concerned about their image, to the point of neglecting each other, their own feelings, or any sense of rationality. Their family values and actual love and care for each other are tangled up with the happy, loving family facade they need to maintain. However much they try to extricate themselves from each other, they will always be a family—because they love each other, because they’re expected to.

And while the messed up Lo family dynamic stole the show for me, I was also quite invested in Honor’s romantic relationship with Caden. It starts off as two broken people seeking physical pleasure and transforms into something much sweeter as they work on being more open. Their relationship, along with Honor’s newfound friendship with a group of girls, help her to exist at least a little bit beyond her family. It was gratifying to watch her take steps in the right direction to relearn certain behaviors and attempt to fix her mindset and mistakes.

I’m impressed by how a lot of my small gripes with the book are likely just the result of intentional choices Gilbert made. I didn’t love how dialogue-heavy this book was (especially knowing how beautifully Gilbert can write internal musings). But you could argue that the lack of internal narration is meant to show Honor’s lack of personhood and fixation on others around her, or how her thoughts don’t matter as much as what happens outside of her/to her. Honor does not go through as much growth as I would have liked to see, especially since she starts out selfish. But the family is not meant to be able to grow so much, because they are tragically trapped in a toxic cycle. I wish the ending could have included more details about what happened, but the point is that we (the audience, the public, the outsiders) could never know.

If you’re looking for a book to thoroughly enjoy, as in characters to love and root for without hesitation, be warned. While there are funny quips here and there and you can surely be entertained by the drama of it all, most of the characters are unlikeable, and many of the things they do will shock you from their pure insensitivity and illogic. They are self-aware of certain aspects of their privilege or hypocritical actions and completely ignorant to others. But it is enjoyable in the sense that you can’t help but feel awe at the wildness of the story and the way Gilbert expertly weaves it. The reading experience itself is unforgettable: the book is compulsively readable because everything spirals and you just have to know how much messier it will become.

If you pick this up (and I hope you do), prepare to be shocked—not only by what happens, but also the thoughtfulness behind everything. This is one of those books that you feel compelled to dissect further and further, and it sticks with you like a slightly too sweet aftertaste you can’t swallow away.

Thank you to the publisher and Colored Pages Book Tours for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW by Kelly Loy Gilbert is a YA contemporary romance that focuses on the perspective of Honor Lo, who was once part of the family reality television show LO AND BEHOLD. After the show's airing, the family still lives in the spotlight as influencers until her father moves from California to New York and away from the family. Things start to crumble as once a perfect family leads to messy drama, secrets, and betrayals, affecting her relationships with her parents, siblings, and friends.

Gilbert's insightful writing style highlights Honor's deep thoughts and vulnerabilities of keeping the family together that is still trying to put up an image in front of the world. A touch of romance is presented when she finds companionship in Caden as ways to cope with the ordeals and tragedies and truly wants to open her heart to others. The gossip forum comments and social media platform posts reveal the toxicity of others who pry into the lives of celebrities and influencers, not knowing what is going on behind the scenes.

Someone explain to me how Kelly Loy Gilbert manages to hurt me every single time with her stories and how she manages to simultaneously make me feel seen through her characters despite having different backgrounds? This novel is truly the definition of Internet toxicity and we get to see firsthand how horribly nosy and entitled people can feel when protected by a digital screen. From the fans who claim to support the family, to the haters who are just looking for any sign of weakness to exploit, it really says a lot about our current culture and its dependence on being entertained by others.

I wish I had the time to go a whole deep dive and analyze how being in the spotlight has affected each Lo sibling and how they’ve internalized it, but we’d honestly be here for forever. In short, this family is both supportive and incredibly toxic towards each other and the author captures that dynamic perfectly. While the argument could be made that everyone is just trying their best, it’s fascinating to see the how each family member contributes to feeding the flames of the internet’s narratives. Seeing each of her siblings through Honor’s POV also reveals her desperate need to keep her family together. I loved being part of her journey as she discovers what being a Lo meant to her and how to develop her own moral compass when it comes to dealing with the Internet.

With the aftermath of her friends’ betrayal, Honor spends a lot of novel in a very isolating mindset and her connection with Caden becomes a sort of beacon. They both are coming from a place of distrust towards the world and slowly realize through each other the gentle reprieve that comes from finding someone to be vulnerable with. I’m honestly a bit conflicted because while I love that we got to really focus on family, I also wanted more page time for Caden and all the others at Saint Simeon. With Caden, Honor finds a space to process her life and all the trauma her family has heaped onto her and Kelly Loy Gilbert’s writing just draws you into her inner turmoil. It’s painful but so cathartic because once again, the author has written a character who so scarily mirrors part of me that I did multiple double takes while reading.

With her fourth novel, Kelly Loy Gilbert establishes herself as a masterful storyteller in creating incredibly real narratives that show the process of real growth. With a fully intended pun, I left this book feeling honored to be part of Honor’s journey and it gave me hope in one day confronting some of my own unprocessed emotions. Everyone Wants to Know is a novel that follows the influence of family versus media and the journey of carving a space for yourself in the narrative of a digital world.

The book is a YA Contemporary fiction that focuses on the life and perspectives of Honor Lo, who was once a part of the family reality television show named LO AND BEHOLD. But after the show's airing, the family still lives the life of an influencer until her father moves from California to New York. Things start to go haywire from there and once a perfect family has now become a family with drama, secrets, betrayal and this affects her relationship with her parents, siblings and friends.

The author has shown us the sad but true reality of social media and the insights of the life of celebrities and influencers. Honor's life complexities and vulnerabilities to keep her family together is written beautifully. A cute romantic phase is also present here when she finds Caden with whom she can share her secrets and open up her heart.

Overall this is a very beautiful read.

I thought this was an interesting YA novel, that I would would recommend to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Everyone Wants to Know is about family. It’s about sacrifice, the ways we stick together even if we shouldn’t, and all the ways our identity as a family member can begin to take over our individual identity. The lines we are asked to cross and the sacrifices which are ripped from us. From the premise alone, the title drives home the judgements, comments, and opinions the world has of us. Of our relationships, our family, and our truths.

For the average person, we already struggle enough with the opinions from our friends, family, and communities. But for the Loh family as celebrities they encounter even more speculation, scrutiny, and perceptions Their relationships are haunted by the pressure of their image, their ‘brand’, their chasing of this authentic self with no reference point. Trust is also in short supply as it turns out that our relationships cannot be trusted – just another person looking for a scoop – or our lives and pains are merely reduced to our stardom.

Kelly Loy Gilbert is one of my favorite YA authors. Her characters are messy and flawed yet endearing and sympathetic. In this book, the Lo family is not very likable and fairly toxic yet I find myself rooting for Honor to bring them back together. Although I can't hep wondering if this is even the right thing to do! I'm always here for a good reality TV drama and this doesn't disappoint. There are a lot of shocking moments and twists I didn't see coming. I love the half-Chinese rep and there are some quiet moments that really resonate with me.

3.5 stars

In the beginning, I was enjoying Everyone Wants to Know until it took the “influencer does anything for views” trope a step too far and I couldn’t get passed it. Kelly Loy Gilbert is an incredible writer who doesn't shield away from tough conversations, this just made me feel a little icky.

If you’re looking for likable characters, you’ll want to find another book. Now, I recognize that some people are fine with that and I’m happy for them. For me, though, I need at least some likable characters. I mean, I do really enjoy the messy drama of reality TV, but it was just so hard to be in Honor’s head. She’s such a people pleaser and that causes her to feel kind of spineless.

The plot is pretty much nonexistent. From the synopsis, I thought Honor was going to have some overall scheme to get her family back together, but she doesn’t. It just takes so long for anything to happen and that just means the reader is stuck in Honor’s head while she talks about how much she hates her new school. And the whole thing with Caden? No thanks. If my daughter answered the question about if a boy is kind to her with “in his way”, that would raise some major red flags for me.

Overall, I wanted to like this book. Like I said, I love that messy reality TV drama, but this didn’t really give me that. It gave a lot of teenage angst though.

Note: I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Typically I like books about intense family drama, but I will admit I struggled with this one. Maybe because the toxicity of some of the characters was so high? And the betrayals just kept mounting while people insisted their behavior was okay? I’m not sure.

I really liked Honor as a character, and thought in the context of this story about a family who framed every decision with “but what will this do to our image” kinds of inquiries, her name is pretty bold and appropriate. I loved that choice.

Her relationship with her twin brother Atticus is also a bright spot in the book for me. I like the way they balance each other, tease each other, and speak truth to one another.

It took a while for her relationship with Caden to really grow on me, but when it did, I found that I really liked him. I couldn’t tell for a bit whether he was truly emotionally closed off or whether he was keeping his distance because she asked for that kind of relationship. As the story progressed, though, and I got to know him a little better, I really liked him. He’s messy but smart. Aloof, but not cold.

Some of the secrets that came out about the family I did not see coming. I did see some things coming, though. Some of the things were dealt with in a way that felt complete and emotionally satisfying, but other things are kind of left without being fully resolved. That’s pretty true to real life, so I don’t mean that as a complaint. I sometimes struggle with stories that end with emotionally messy stuff still in an emotionally messy state.

I definitely feel like the author brought me directly into the center of all the Lo family drama, and I’m impressed by her ability to do that so consistently and believably, and yet, I’m also kind of exhausted. Ha! I enjoyed the book, though, especially Honor and her relationships with Atticus and Caden.

Fans of BOYS I KNOW by Anna Gracia will find a similar exploration of tension within family relationships and tenuous forays into romantic relationships.

This might be my favorite YA book of the year. It follows the story of a daughter on a family reality show and how she and her family deal with the media attention. I need a sequel to this! Or a television adaptation!

Alright I’m just going to come right out & say it: I didn’t like this book. It wasn’t bad, but it felt very slow. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. I will try reading it again later & see if my opinion of it changes.

Well that was an unexpectedly emotional wreck of a read.

Where do I even begin?

I mean, you look at a synopsis like the one for Everyone Wants to Know (B-list reality TV influencers, family secrets, and a "guarded yet vulnerable" love interest,) and you think you have a pretty good idea of what you're signing up for: a little bit of drama, a little bit of romance, a whole lot of YA contemporary romance clichés. Well, buckle your seatbelts, kids, because you're in for a wild ride if you decide pick up Kelly Loy Gilbert's latest book.

Everyone Wants to Know and I didn't get off to the best start. The book opens with a ton of character introductions and clunky writing, two of my least favorite things. (Don't shove a bunch of characters at me and expect me to keep them all straight before you've even convinced me I should care about them.) I was five pages in and bracing myself for a trashy, banal story to add to my collection of forgettable YA reads.

But I'm the type of reader who count the number of books she's DNF'd on one hand, and this is the reason why.

Kelly Loy Gilbert completely blew my expectations out of the water (and blew my mind, a little bit too.) I have a fairly good instinct when it comes to stories and can usually sniff out of a plot twist a mile away, but Gilbert surprised me at every turn. There was never a point when I knew what was coming next or where the story was going. Everyone Wants to Know is exhilarating, messy thrill of a read that easily sets itself apart in a genre filled with so much sameness.

We can't talk about Everyone Wants to Know without talking about the Lo family who is, in many ways, at the heart of the book. I can think of very few families, fictional or otherwise, that's quite as dysfunctional as they are. As a family that's built an empire on wholesome, aspirational content, they're a wonderfully complicated mess of a family that'll keep you coming back for more.

There's something so compelling about the Lo's. They're endearing one minute, exasperating the next. You simultaneously want to root for them and watch them face the consequences of their own actions at the same time. You'll find yourself seeing them at their worst while still searching for the best in them. Gilbert manages to create a family that is so toxic but loveable at the same time. I've never read such a nuanced story featuring complex characters who are unlikable and endearing all at once. They're an entire family of unreliable narrators, and it's like watching a parade of trainwrecks as they make one horrible decision after another, and yet, it's not a painful experience. (Is this why people like reality TV?)

Family is at the heart of the story, and we spend a lot of time watching toll living in the public eye takes on the Lo's and their relationships. It's a complex, thoughtful exploration of the cost of fame that Gilbert handles with care and nuance. I can't remember the last time I read such a complicated, messy YA contemporary, but between Everyone Wants to Know and An Echo in the City, I have high hopes for the future of genre. Honor herself is an infuriatingly difficult protagonist to follow--you're never quite sure if you feel bad for her or if you're annoyed with her--but watching her navigate the minefield of fame is fascinating. As the youngest, she's figuring out how to deal with the aftermath of years of codependent, toxic behavior that her family's subjected her to. I personally love complex family relationships and really enjoyed the Lo siblings' dynamics. The protective older sisters, the charismatic older brother, the loyal boy twin, despite their messy flaws, I really love them all.

My biggest compliant about Everyone Wants to Know is that Gilbert tries to tackle a lot in her little 384-page book. My issue isn't everything she tries to stuff into the plot; it's that I want more. More of Honor and her siblings, more about the Lo parents, more Caden, and more stuff about friendship. I'm Ariel swimming around her treasure trove. I. Want. More.

The romantic sideplot is one of the biggest surprises in the book. Not only is it a relatively small part of the story, it isn't the least bit clichéd or predictable. I do wish Honor's relationship with Caden were developed more, but you're allergic to tropey YA romances, have no fear. This isn't you're typical, "I can fix him" story; if anything it's a "we're both the worst" one. There's just so much potential for Gilbert to play with and explore that we miss out on, and it's kind of shame. She teases us with a side-sideplot about Honor pushing past her fears and embracing friendship, and I can't help but feel kind of cheated by it all. Basically, I wish this book was 200 pages longer.

Speaking of things that need more development, the end is pretty rushed (you girl was getting really nervous about how things were going to wrap up with 20 pages left in the book.) The epilogue is disappointing in the sense that it feels like it's supposed to give readers closure but leaves me with more questions than answers. My only hope is that the abrupt open ending is a build up for book #2.

I struggled with how to rate this, and how to review it. There are parts I really appreciated—the deep and hard look it takes at social media fame, the strong character journey, and clear, compelling voice.

Ultimately, there was no picturesque way this book could end, given the incredibly toxic circumstances. Up to the very last chapter, I was okay with the messiness this story necessitated. But the epilogue was so rushed, offered so little to understand the lasting change this all had for the main character and her current life, it fell a bit flat. There is possibly a sense her mother is changing, but not enough for me not to feel like the main character and her twin brother are in a healthy environment.

In addition, the characters (aside from a couple exceptions) were just overwhelmingly infuriating to read about. The book was about Honor, and her arc was powerful, but so much else was emotionally draining to get through.

there were elements of this book i absolutely vibed with and i wish i could isolate them from the parts i did not. the positives- i love to see sibling dynamics in books! and i loved how each relationship felt completely unique, as sibling relationships do. i loved the parts that called out how honor and her siblings had been used by their parents. if the focus had remained on those elements, i would have thoroughly enjoyed this book. unfortunately, i felt that certain plot points were thrown about, namely the love interest subplot and skye’s storyline. the last quarter of the book felt like a completely different book. if the story had been about the dynamic between honor and skye, especially how it is affected by skye’s storyline, i would have absolutely been on board. the way that that was written about was fascinating.

altogether, i felt there was too much going on at too superficial of a level, and i would have enjoyed a book with less topics addressed but at a deeper level.

Honor Lo is a 17-year old youngest child in a family that is famous for their reality tv show. Although the family no longer tapes the show, they continue to be influencers. When their Dad announces at family dinner that he is separating from her Mom and moving from California to New York City, all five children are stunned. In response, her Mom sells their home and purchases a new home a few hours away where the Mom's grandmother grew up in a children's home. Honor and her twin Atticus are sent to a private high school where they do not know anyone. She meets Caden, a classmate to whom she is drawn.

This is where the story goes on a roller coaster ride for the family members, each of whom has a distinct character. It was very easy to get sucked into this novel and I have no doubt Young Adult readers will very easily. Like a roller coaster, the peaks and valleys come fast and furious.

I’ve been recommended Kelly Loy Gilbert’s books for such a long time, and I’ve really been meaning to finally picking them up. However, as soon as I read the summary for her next release, it was immediately one of my most anticipated books of this year and it did not disappoint! Full of imperfect characters and complicated love, Everyone Wants to Know follows a family falling apart in the public eye and the daughter doing everything she can to keep them together.

The Los are a famous family after having their own reality show that ended a few years ago. Now, almost all of them are influencers in a way, except for Honor and her twin brother Atticus, the two youngest of the family and the only ones who don’t keep a public profile. When their parents sit the whole family down to discuss their separation, the family is understandably devastated. To make matters worse, Honor’s two best friends leak private information to the media, and in the aftermath of everything, her mother moves her and Atticus to the city where she grew up. There, Honor meets Caden, an emotionally closed-off boy who she can’t help but be drawn to. Throughout it all, Honor tries her hardest to keep her family together until all the secrets come out and possibly destroy them all.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read such a nuanced book in YA, with such unlikable characters that you also can relate to, or at least understand why they do what they do. This book is also definitely a commentary on growing up in the public eye and the consequences of never really having privacy in your life. I’ll get more into that soon, but I wanted to highlight how much I loved the complexity and emotional weight of this book.

Toxic and codependent, the Los are a spectacularly messed-up family. Sure, they clearly love each other in their own way, but it’s so unfortunate to see how almost all of them are always concerned about how something will affect their public image first and foremost. Atticus is probably the one who cares the least about this, but even then, it’s concerning how they have to even consider this whenever something happens, especially growing up like this, like Atticus and Honor do.

Honor was a fascinating protagonist to follow. Similar to Atticus, she doesn’t have any public social media presence and hangs closest to her family. When her father leaves and her best friends betray her, she isolates herself from the outside world even more, hashing together a plan to bring her family back together. At her new school, she develops a relationship with Caden, if only physically at first, because she recognizes in him the need to distract yourself from the world, for a time where you don’t have to feel like yourself. I did like how they gradually open up to each other, even when both find it very uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s good to push against your boundaries!

Unlike Atticus, Honor can’t ignore the attention their family get; she’s obsessed with reading the blogs and forums where people say truly horrible about them (which is another irony this book points out, by the way, because these people claim that they hate the Los and think they don’t deserve anyone’s attention yet spend all their time talking about them). This is quite literally her toxic trait, how she can’t let go of the need to keep her family together. I think she’s just so glued to her family that she needed to remember that there’s a world outside of her insular family, which she slowly does with Caden. She also begrudgingly becomes friends with Victoria, Blythe, and Delancey, three girls who dislike Honor as much as she does them at first but ultimately all of them get past their initial preconceptions.

Everyone Wants to Know really delves into the psyche of the Lo family and what it means to be raised in the public spotlight with cameras constantly on you and continuing to be secondhandedly exposed to it. This has certainly affected all of them and their own relationships with each other, but especially Honor. I was obsessed over all the different dynamics within this family, especially Honor with each of her siblings. We don’t get to see that many moments of all the siblings bonding together because of all the contention throughout the book, but I loved what we got to see.

I adored the writing in this book! Kelly Loy Gilbert’s prose cut me to the bone, and I loved every word. You can feel all the emotional turmoil and spiraling Honor goes through in real time, which gets incredibly heavy yet also cathartic. I also loved all of the conversations, even the short ones with Atticus or Caden or Victoria. All these little moments just remind you that people are good, that there’s hope in the world even when you’ve been continually let down, and that we need other people.

Everyone Wants to Know immediately made its way to my top ten reads of the year. I loved the amount of nuance in this book, as well as the characters and relationships and just everything about this book. I’ve been thinking about it for days since I finished it, and I already can’t wait to reread it. I truly and wholeheartedly cannot recommend Everyone Wants to Know enough; I’m begging you all to pick it up as soon as you can!