Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

Let me start off first by saying that this book is in no way a bad book. As I am 26 years old, it seems that YA is now either a hit or a miss for me. I personally had a hard time connecting with the characters and the plotline, but just because I had trouble connecting with it just makes me think that this book is really meant for teenagers. I am sure that if I had read this book when I was a teen I would've enjoyed it more. And just because this book wasn't my cup of tea, it doesn't mean someone else won't love it. Furthermore, I am still interested in checking out more books by the author as I did think she was a good writer and I was impressed that this was her debut novel.

“People love to be like There’s no such thing as normal, and for the most part, I agree. I do. But let’s be real, knowing what people need before they need it? That’s some next-level stuff.”

Sariyah has what many deem an incredible gift, but what to her feels like an incredible burden: she can hear the needs of the people around her, save for a select few of her closest friends and family, like her mother and her best friend, Malcolm. Sariyah’s thoughts become crowded with the demands of others, and only satisfying their needs can help her clear her head. So, when Sariyah hears that her friend Deja needs pepper spray at a music festival they are attending, she hesitantly supplies it, concerned over the implications of this request. This concern is amplified when Deja disappears that same night. Sariyah can’t help but feel partially responsible, like she ignored an important sign. Sariyah’s guilt is compounded by the fact that Malcolm’s twin sister disappeared in a similar manner years ago, and Malcolm has never quite recovered. Navigating her wearisome “gift,” family struggles, a relationship with a new boy whose needs she also cannot hear, and intense differences of opinion with Malcolm, Sariyah becomes determined to find out what happened to Deja before it’s too late.

There was no point in my reading of this book that I could have predicted how it would end, an indication of Desamours’ ability to construct a suspenseful and engaging narrative. Desamour managed to beautifully bring together a captivating mystery, accurate representations of teenage angst, and complex social and political commentary in Needy Little Things, a feat I found quite impressive. This wasn’t just a story about a missing girl; it was a nuanced discussion of the way in which Black and Brown people are treated and spoken about differently in situations both tragic—like Deja’s disappearance—and common—like a trip to the doctor’s office, or a day at school. While there were a few moments in which I felt like certain characters and their respective arcs could have been better developed within the larger story, as many motives and relationships were left unclear at the end, I still genuinely enjoyed every page. This captivating magical realism story is at separate times thought-provoking, dark, mysterious, and hopeful. Desamours does an incredible job bringing all of these elements into a cohesive narrative that will keep readers engaged.

This debut YA mystery was really interesting! I should note I don't typically read books in this genre but I was thoroughly entertained. I think the book touched on some very important social/economic issues. Specifically, the book talked about young girls disappearing and really honed in on how not everyone is given the same treatment. Money and race are key players, and I think more people need to talk about this. People love to argue that just because they are white doesn't mean they are privileged while failing to realize that they could have had a hard life BUT it wasn't hard because of their skin color which makes them privileged.

I struggled to get into the beginning a bit, and would have liked to see more consistent pace throughout the book. I think some characters and situations needed hashed out a bit more. Overall, this was an incredible debut. It covered some pretty important topics including sickle cell, and depression. I would definitely recommend it!

This debut novel combines mystery, magical realism, and social issues that should be addressed.

Sariyah has a special gift: she can "hear" people's needs. Because of this, she carries around a Santa Sack to hand out the items as she determines what they need. Now, how she knows what exactly to buy each time is a mystery. Granted, many items are generic enough, but some are more specific. Or maybe she just doesn't fill the needs of those with items she doesn't have. While this gift may seem like a blessing, it is also a curse. Imagine hearing thousands of needs in your head.

Five years ago, her best friend goes missing and is never found. Her family or Sariyah never forgets Tessa, and Tessa comes to Sariyah in her dreams. The conversations are ones they had in the past, but perhaps there are clues to help find her or at least what happened to her. Fast forward to today, and Sariyah's friend, Deja, goes missing at a music festival. This sends Sariyah and her friends down a path trying to find her before the police give up hope. As the book points out, race determines how hard the police will look or for how long. Luckily, they won't let the police stop until the truth is revealed.

This book was a surprise, and I enjoyed it immensely. I was invested in the characters, and just when I thought there wouldn't be a new twist, we were hit with several. Everything you thought you knew will be turned upside down. I even liked her younger brother, Jojo. He was a hoot despite his illness, and I loved his passion for animals. They have a good bond and stick up for each other.

I thought that the characters also acted true to their age. They are teenagers, after all; they don't necessarily do the right thing or think things through. And the ending? I hope that means there is another book because there are things that were not resolved, and it leaves us hanging.

The book also addresses mental health, sickle cell, and drug use/abuse. All crucial issues, and I felt like they were handled well.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a story where the protagonist carries as much weight on their shoulders as Sariyah does in this book. A Black teenager living in the South, she possesses a unique gift—hearing unspoken needs and fulfilling them. This element of magical realism intrigued me, especially as it intertwined with the real-world pressures she faces. Between taking on everyone’s requests, navigating shifting friendships, stepping into responsibilities no teenager should have to bear at home, and keeping up with schoolwork that determines her future, her burdens felt overwhelming. And with each chapter, I felt that weight right alongside her.

Sariyah and her community felt authentic and relatable, and the plot kept me hooked as I eagerly tried to piece together what would happen next. I also appreciated the novel’s focus on timely social issues, such as the lack of media attention and investigations when Black and brown people go missing, the impact of sickle cell disease on young children, and disparities in healthcare access. These themes added depth and urgency to the story.

At first, the ending left me scratching my head, wondering why it concluded the way it did. But after reflecting on the chapters leading up to the big reveal, I realized it made sense—teenage angst won out. Adolescence is such a complex, emotionally charged stage of life, and the book captures how passionately young people respond to social issues.

Check your trigger warnings.
How many BLACK GIRLS go missing?[or any person of color] How many of them go unsolved and don't get enough attention as if it where MISSING WHITE GIRL? I will not answer this question for you but you need to find this answer on your own or perhaps read this novel.
In this novel we follow Sariyah and her friends, her family. Sariyah and her friends go to a festival/ concert for one of her friends 18th birthday. Her friend Deja goes missing from the concert while there're wait in the long line for the bathroom. The mystery goes from there.
Not only dose Sariyah have a special gift where she can hear people's need that may or may not affect the lives of the people she helps with her gift but her own personal life. Her gift may or may not help her missing friend.
I liked this story I liked the writing style. How everything unfolds. That life isn't always black and white. How grief changes people had them do things that they wouldn't normally do. How that can manifest into outcomes least expected. I liked how we are in Syriyah's life all things she will do for family. I like is not just about the mystery but lives of others and makes things seem real. I hope this novel gets hype when it comes out because it deserves it.
The message needs be be said many times.

"Needy Little Things" by Channelle Desamours was an intriguing read! I would definitely read more books from her. The main character, Sariyah, inherited an ability from her grandmother to hear what people need. She walks around with her "santa bag" filled with various objects, to keep the needs from becoming too overwhelming. But then one of her friends disappears and she is left searching for clues about what happened.

Genre: YA; Magical Realism; Thriller/Mystery Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆

First, thank you @netgalley and @elledesamours for is this free e-ARC and giving me a chance to read and review this wonderful book. Overall, this was an amazing debut novel. I loved the concept and uniqueness of Sariyah’s abilities and the awareness about sickle cell anemia and mental health issues, particularly depression. This was perfectly atmospheric, I didn’t want to stop reading, especially when it got closer to how and why Deja disappeared. The only issues I had, was the pacing did slow down towards the middle and some of the twists were predictable. However, the ending and its fast-paced action and twists made up for that. Although I did like Sariyah’s character overall, there were times where she did annoy me - especially how she sometimes treated Jude. I do wish we could have explored their dynamic a little more, as opposed to her and Malcolm, who I had so many mixed feelings about.
 
Still, this was a wonderful debut novel with an interesting and different concept, a unique main character, and an engrossing plot. Hats off to the author– this was amazing read. I can’t wait to check out her future works. Highly recommend adding this one to the TBR!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

FINALLY AN ENDING THAT DIDN’T LEAVE ME HANGING! I know y’all think people are lying about book reviews on here but I really enjoyed reading this one! I love a good young adult that gives mystery, suspense and all the feels 😭 Thank you to @netgalley @wednesdaybooks @stmartinspress for this ARC.

Sariyah, the FMC, is a high school senior who has a gift of being able to hear people’s “needs” at the moment but doesn’t know or understand how it truly works, just that she needs to fulfill them or she will have a migraine. We follow her as she struggles through high school bc she is distracted, her mom is depressed, her brother has sickle cell… then, they go to a music festival and all hell breaks loose because one of her bff’s disappears causing her to wonder if her gift is a curse. I actually couldn’t figure out the plot twist beforehand because it seems so many people could have been involved.

The only things I found myself wondering about is her family history, especially her grandmother who passed down this trait to her and WHY Sariyah didn’t kick her raggedy friends to the curb by the end 😂

I enjoyed how this YA mystery dove into social issues surrounding missing people and how the police, society, and the media prioritize who matters. It's a sad reality which leads the main character Sariyah and her friends to take matters into their own hands when their friend Deja goes missing. Sariyah has a special ability to hear people's needs telepathically, except those closest to her, and I liked how the gifts she gives others played a role in how the events unfolded in the book. I also appreciated the real-life circumstances she faced and how real the characters felt. I read this one mostly on audio and the narrator, Alaska Jackson was great to listen to.

This was such a fantastic book with so much to unpack in such a small page count. This book is super easily digestible while also packing an absolute punch. I cried quite a few times throughout the book, especially when Sariyah was dreaming and talking about Tessa. That last line of the book DESTROYED ME. Part of me wants second book because I loved following Sariyah and seeing her strength. I wanted some more closure to the Tessa storyline, but also, a stronger part of me, realizes how perfect the ending of the book is.

My only hold up is the actually mystery part. I personally feel like this book was more YA Contemporary Speculative instead of YA Mystery Speculative. The mystery aspect was definitely the least developed and didn't entirely work. I also didn't love learning the behind the scenes of what was going on with Deja. That was a bit frustrating and not my favorite "twist."

But overall, it was amazing and I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an e-ARC. These are my honest opinions.

*I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review*
*3 Stars*

Overall, I wasn’t a fan of the way this book turned out. It started well, got super slow where very little happened towards the plot, then *everything* happened all at once and in ways that didn’t make a lot of sense.

Things I Liked:

- Sariyah: I thought she was a great MC! I loved seeing the use of her abilities and how it affects her life and mental health, and how accommodating her friends and family were about it. I wish we saw more of it and maybe some more explanation as to how it worked/her grandmothers backstory, but I understand that the novel didn’t end up being about that at all. Though she wasn’t suspicious enough throughout the book — if people in my life are acting suspicious while someone is missing, I’m pouncing on them!

- Family Dynamics: I really appreciated the honesty with which Sariyah and her family were depicted. Her mother and brother both face mental/physical health issues and the way they were handled in this were really well done and actually affected Sariyah and the plot.

Things I Didn’t Like:

- The Plot Twist: Didn’t like it. At all. And I can’t believe we forgive everyone involved at the end, even enough to be cool with them. Sariyah says it herself to one of the characters involved when she finds out: “you’re sick.” It was a very, very sick thing to do, especially while they’re ruining people’s lives and health and emotional wellbeing to do it. Yet we’re still cool at the end? Nope.

I also did not like the rushed conclusion. When the mystery/stakes were rising at the end, I was definitely way more engaged and eager to continue reading. But when everything was revealed I kept saying: “that’s it?” And yeah, that was it. The motive of “whodunnit” made no sense and was super over-complicated for no reason. There wasn’t enough foreshadowing to make me go “ahh now I understand!”

I feel that way about most of the book. There were too many things and plot lines and relationships and character dynamics going on that it was hard to tell where the story was going. Characters got dropped halfheartedly halfway through the story, or there’d be relationship or backstory development with another character and then we never discuss it again.

That being said, I didn’t hate this book, and enjoyed Sariyah and her gifts. I wish they were wrapped in a better plot/ending!

Desamours does a wonderful job of creating richly detailed and diverse characters. The pace was a bit off at times, but it balanced out overall. Sariyah is a relatable protagonist. The author does a wonderful job of portraying the struggles associated with adolescence, particularly with finding one's place in the world. Supporting characters are well utilized and distinct. There are a number of important social issues addressed, and the author handles them in a sensitive manner. There is enough suspense, as well as twists and turns, to keep the reader actively engaged in the mystery of Deja's disappearance. Dialogue felt natural and unique to each character. Desamours perfectly blends mystery with fantasy. Readers may discover that just when they think they know who the bad guy is, they find out they were wrong. I look forward to reading future books from this author.

I loved this SO MUCH! It has everything I look for in a book - an intriguing initial premise, an entertaining and satisfying storyline the whole way through (in this case, solving the mystery of our MC's missing best friend), and extremely poignant social commentary that is featured in the plot of the book but also can be discussed and applied to real life. The supernatural abilities of the MC were just enough to be interesting and feel original, but not too much to feel like I'm reading fantasy instead of YA contemporary. Speaking of the fact that it is YA, I loved that the author included a subplot related to the MC's mother and brother and the added responsibilities that she takes on. Not only does it make the plot more believable, because you get the answer to the "where are the parents?" question that can often come up in YA books, but also it adds a layer of commentary related to parentification that you just don't get in adult books. Overall this book is 10/10, I'd highly recommend it to fans of Tiffany D. Jackson and Brittney Morris, and also I'd recommend it to everyone.

3.5 ⭐

The beginning of the book was a bit slower and difficult for me to fully get into, but then around halfway through I was hooked trying to figure out what was going on. I loved the discussion of social issues and bringing up extremely important topics. This book discusses how black girls/minorities don't get the same media coverage or attention when missing as white girls. Other subjects mentioned in the book: dealing with sickle cell disease, depression, and ADHD.


Although this book was good and highlighted a lot of very important issues, this book is still a 3.5 for me. There was a lot of buildup and I feel like the conclusion was almost too rushed and quick for me?

I was absolutely engrossed in this story and didn’t want to put it down. I love the magical realism and special power/gift that wasn’t secret to Sariyah’s close friends and family. This was such a fun read that had me guessing til the end. The audiobook was so entertaining and the characters were teenagers I would’ve loved to have been friends with at that age. I feel like the end was so perfect; but at the same time, I would love to see where it would go if there were to be a sequel (please Channelle Desamours😉😉).

Thank you @macmillan.audio for this fabulous early listening copy. I was also lucky enough to get a digital copy too from @wednesdaybooks (thank you to them as well!)! I devoured this one in less than two days.

Add this to your TBR if you like:
✨magical realism
✨mysteries
✨young adult
✨red herrings
✨great characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

NEEDY LITTLE THINGS will be available on 2/4/25!

This book is so good, and I would be happy for any person who gets their hands on this.

There are so many stories told in this book that depicts the life of not only a black girl, but of a teen who has to act as the adult in her life. She has the power to hear peoples needs, which puts her in the position to always put others before herself. Then, she is also dealing with personal struggles, while her best friend goes missing. There is so much to take away from this story, and on top of that an interesting mystery.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to, or reads diverse books.

Sariyah can hear the needs of other people. Ironic because what she needs most is the world to give the same support and attention to missing Black girls that they give to missing white girls. She has already experienced the loss of a friend—one that years later, still hasn’t been found. Unfortunately, a fun night out has Sariyah reliving her worst nightmare. Another friend is missing! This time, she refuses to let her stay missing just to become another forgotten Black girl.

It does take awhile for things to REALLY get interesting, but once it did, I was ALL in. I eventually used the clues to solve one of the twists, but the ultimate suspect was a shock to me. That person hid their crazy well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s press for my digital copy. Although this is a YA book, I really enjoyed it. Sariyah is a 17 year old with the ability to know what you will need before you do. When one of her best friends goes missing during a musical festival, Sariyah and her friends Malcolm and Jude try to find her. There are a lot of important issues addressed in this book such as how white women get more media coverage when they go missing compared to women of colour. Depression and drug addiction are also addressed. I look forward to reading more books by Channeller Desamours.

Love love loved this. I was hooked from almost the first chapter. What a fascinating, and surprisingly emotional and heavy magical gift for someone to have; especially a teenager. Sariyah is savvy, caring, and so strong to deal with this "gift" while trying to navigate school, her home life and helping take care of her younger brother, just normal teen stuff. And that's on top of the trauma of her best friend having done missing in her past.

Now MORE drama is heaped on her, and I absolutely admire her determination to "do the right thing" and use everything she can to help find another friend that goes missing, while also dealing with guilt about the unexpected and long term consequences of her magical ability.

This book was raw, emotional, gutting, but also funny and sweet at times. The feelings of loss, inequity in the treatment of Black teens, especially Black girls going missing, dealing with issues like depression in such an open way, I really love how this was written for teens - I think this is going to mean a lot. The writing itself was so easy to read and relate to. I love the YA romance and how it's slowly developing with a real connection.

I was SHOOK by the twists, it did NOT go anywhere I was expecting.

The cliffhanger had me SCREAMING OUT LOUD. I am going to need another book ASAP please please please!

I both read and listened to this one and I enjoyed both versions!