Incredible book! This concept of not reading minds but hearing needs is so unique and this is perfectly executed. I love the narration in the audiobook and am excited to recommend!

This book is deeply though provoking.

A book I will continue to recommend. The difference between media coverage of young white females versus young Black females... something I have always been aware of but wow, this really put it into perspective.

Eery and deep.

Narration is superb and added to the creepiness of it all.

I just finished Needy little things by Channelle Desamours and here is my review.

Imagine having the power of premonition.. Now understand that it comes in a way where the thing a person needs but they don’t know it yet, fills your mind all day like an itch on your brain….

This is what happens to Sariyah… When one of her friends disappears while at a music festival, she cannot leave the police to try and find her because black girls don’t get the coverage white girls do. She doesn’t want to use her gift to make money but that's where she finds herself. Her home life is a mess but finding her friend, after another friend went missing years ago without a trace, weighs heavily on her but will it lead her into the same danger her friend is now in?

One of the best debut novels I have ever read. YEEHAWW I was sucked right into this magical realism book and it spat me out the other end satisfied. I listened to and read the book as well. The narration is BRILLIANT!!!

I was drawn right into the mystery of what happened to her friend and I had so many questions about her gift!!! Did she get it because her grandma died before she was born or was she always gonna have the gift? Magical realism books often answer these kinds of questions but I can’t help thinking them haha

I loved Sariyah! Her whole persona was epic! Her parents are together but living apart because her little brother is sick and needs to be by the hospital but her dad makes more money further away and her mama is depressed so badly she is often left to mother her little bro. It’s a big mess but she has a tight knit friend group and when one goes missing, it is devastating.

The book highlights the point that POC tend to not get the same resources used on them and they are not wrong. I’ve seen it first hand here in Canada with indigenous girls. The reason why she goes missing was brilliant to be honest but the twist at the end was worth it.. Bit of a weird ending to be honest but it sure was different. It was a unique read for sure.

I will definitely be on the lookout for the author's next book. Highly recommend the audiobook!

4.5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy and @macmillanaudio for my ALC

This was fantastic! Sariyah can detect what others around her need and want. Her character reminds me in way of Sookie Stackhouse of True Blood fame, but not really. Sookie heard thoughts while Sariyah detects needs for tangible items like a pen. It's an interesting manifestation of a telepathy adjacent 'superpower'. I like how it's managed in the novel.

The story also covers the differences in how missing children are handled by government authorities if they are Black. As in, no one cares about the missing kids, and only their community looks for them. This is intensely hard as the parent and now grandparent of Black children. The fear that your child will go missing and never be found is overwhelming. This does a good job explaining this phenomenon in a YA appropriate manner.

Events escalate as Sariyah looks for her friend Deja. Deja isn't the first friend of Sariyah's to be missing. The stakes are higher this time, as is Sariyah's determination. To assist the search and due to well life, lifing, Sariyah needs to use her superpowers for financial compensation. Which definitely creates its own set of problems.

Alaska Jackson does a phenomenal job with her narration of this story. Her voice truly brings Sariyah to life. I found myself pausing the story to respond to Ms. Jackson's narration. Exceptionally well done.

I honestly truly enjoyed this story. The world building was interesting, and the characters felt fully realized. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Thank you to Channelle Desamours, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

Mystery • Intuition • Neurodivergence • YA
Published • 4 February 2025

‧₊˚🎧⊹ Thank you @macmillan.audio and @wednesdaybooks free audiobook!

Sariyah is a “needs-hustler”. This means when she is near someone, she can sense the object they will need most next. It’s an odd superpower - a blessing and a curse.

Sariyah cannot be in crowded areas, even a school gymnasium, without sensory overload from various people’s needs overstimulating her brain. I appreciated how this sixth sense manifests similarly to neurodivergence.

The book’s central plot is a mystery about a missing black teen. Deja’s disappearance isn’t getting nearly as much press coverage as the white girl who went missing earlier, but Sariyah isn’t going to let her best friend become another statistic.

In the backdrop, Sariyah is really going through it, juggling school, a part-time job, and a budding romance. Her mother is suffering from mental health issues, while her dad lives hours away.

She’s also caretaking for her younger brother who has sickle-cell, a disease that does not get a lot of attention. One of my childhood best friends lived with sickle cell without most people ever knowing.

This book really gives a lot to think about in many dimensions, not the least of which is friendship. One thing that made me uncomfortable that I haven’t reconciled yet is the somewhat casual use of drugs.

·˚ ༘₊·꒰➳: ̗̀➛ Final thought: I would have loved to have had had books with this kind of representation when I was a young adult. Even now solidly in middle age, I still appreciated this book’s perspectives!

Excellent debut from Channelle Desamours.
‧₊˚🎧⊹ Narration of the audiobook by Alaska Jackson was well done capturing the teen lingo and slang.

TW: Drug Use, Kidnapping, Assault

My Thoughts, the Short Verion:
If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and grab a copy for yourself, your friends, and all of your teenaged nieces and nephews. As a matter of fact, gon'head and make it a family reading selection this year because it is definitely worth it!

Sariyah embodies all things Black Girl Magic. As she grapples with her own uncanny abilities while also managing the ever challenging world of high school friendships and family issues, we get a front row seat on one wild and twisty ride! I am working really hard here not to spoil the story, so I will just say this: get your copy today!

The Specifics:
Genre - YA Mystery
My Rating - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Date Finished - 2/4/25
Format - Audio [HIGHLY recommend!]

SN: I refuse to believe this is Desamours' debut because it is THAT good!! Is it too soon to ask for a sequel? I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy for my bookshelf 🥰

Thank you Channelle Desamours, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ARC!

2.5/5 Unfortunately, Needy Little Things just didn’t hold my attention. The narration was strong, but the writing itself didn’t always land for me. Combined with the narration, there were moments where—yes, this is a YA book—but it sometimes felt kiddish and childish in a way that didn’t seem intentional, making it distracting from the plot. It also took me a while to get into the story. I was hoping for a lot more focus on the protagonist’s abilities and how they played into the mystery of the missing girls.

I appreciated the mental health aspects the author explored, not just through the main character but also through her family and friends. However, the reason I picked up this book was because of the protagonist’s abilities and how they would impact the case. Unfortunately, it felt like the plot was forgotten about until the very end. By that point, I was already losing interest. I didn’t even finish the book—it was just too slow for me, and I found myself dozing off. Even when the story started to pick up, I still wasn’t invested in how things would play out, so I ultimately decided to DNF.

I really enjoyed reading this one. It's YA but could still be enjoyed by adults. I thought Sariyah's ability was very unique and creative, and I liked the way the author and narrator described the things going on in Sariyah's head.

I also liked how one of the major themes in the book is the public's response when something happens to a BIPOC person vs. a white person, especially when it comes to young girls. The concept of 'missing white woman syndrome' is a sad truth that we need to be more aware of. Some of the twists were really surprising to me, and that's always fun when reading a mystery.

I'm pretty sure this is my first book read by narrator Alaska Jackson, but I don't want it to be my last, because I really liked her narration and would love to listen to more audiobooks from her.

Overall, I was so impressed by this debut. It was such a fun read, and I would definitely recommend adding this to your TBR!

4.5 stars.
You mean to tell me this is a DEBUT novel? wow!

I went into this book blindly, and I am so glad I did because I was surprised in the best way possible for every twist and turn this book had in store. This book blended magical realism, speculative fiction and mystery/thriller elements together seamlessly, while still managing to provide racial social commentary without being too preachy.

For a YA novel, this book definitely got deep. The characters were written so well and so relatable. As a black woman myself, it was refreshing reading experiences, details and phrases that black girls would instantly understand and relate to.

In this story we follow Sariyah, a high school senior who has the magical ability to hear people's needs. She has a close knit group of friends, and together they attend a music festival, where her friend goes missing. This puts their friend group on high alert because her missing friend is a young black girl, and society has made it clear how they treat missing young white girls compared to missing minority girls. Never mind the fact that this isn't the first time it's happened; her best friend's twin sister has been missing for 6 years, yet to be found, and it feels like they are reliving that nightmare all over again.

I found Sariyah to be very relatable, as I also have ADHD myself, and could completely understand her mother's battle with depression. Even her little brother's diagnosis of sickle cell was culturally significant. I think the group of friends were great; I truly enjoyed the banter.
And although every friend seemed to make poor choices, their motives behind their choices made sense in the context of what each friend is enduring in their own personal lives.

Also, what a captivating ending! I need the sequel soon, please and thanks.

I recommend this to fans of Tiffany's Not Coming and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

I am leaving this review honestly and voluntarily.

This was such a bright cast of characters, each having their own personality and adding immensely to the story.
Sariyah is trying to find out what happened to her friend Deja, trying to prevent history from repeating itself. Having the gift of premonition, Sariyah sees clues that lead her to believe the narrative behind her friend's disappearance is not completely accurate.

The world-building in this book was amazing; I felt like I was physically in each scene.

Sariyah needs new friends, in my opinion, because...WHAT!?! There is a right and wrong way to get your point across...THIS ISN'T! They all would be blocked, lol!

On a serious note, this book was well written, moved at a good pace, and had an engaging cast of characters. The narrator, Alaska Jackson, did a great job of bringing each character's personality to life. I would absolutely recommend this book to others.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners, and Channelle Desamours for providing the audiobook version of this entertaining book.

The story is follows Sariyah who has a sixth sense that allows her to “see” the needs of others. Some are frivolous as a stick of gum while others prove to be life saving/altering as a nail file or pepper spray. A night out celebrating causes her to relive her worst nightmare — another friend disappears and is missing. Refusing to allow this time to end in the same fate, she vows to not allow her friend to become another forgotten Black girl. What she finds herself needing is for the attention given to missing white girls to be given in support of finding missing Black girls.

In listening to the audiobook, I found that some parts were drawn out where others felt rushed. There was a period where the focus shifted from Desha as the missing girl to Sariyah meeting the needs of people that proved harmful to someone else. The story does however come back around and deliver a surprising yet satisfying ending.

Needy Little Things is a fantastic suspense and mystery tale with a touch of paranormal. Sariyah has a gift: As she gets near people, she hears the things they need, from a bobby pin to an eraser to new socks just before someone steps in a puddle and soaks their feet. This gift starts to feel like a curse when she gives her boss a metal nail file that she uses to stab an attacker and ends up hospitalizing him. Then she hears that her friend, Deja, needs pepper spray and gives it to her just before Deja disappears at a music festival. Sariyah and her friends decide they can't trust the police -- after all, they didn't find the last girl who went missing, Tess--Sariyah's best friend Malcom's sister-- when she went missing five years ago. Full of mystery and suspense, we feel for Sariyah, Malcolm, and Jude as they try to put the pieces together to find their missing friend but instead of answers, they only find more questions. I loved the unique twist to the typical mystery of Sariyah having the gift of hearing people's needs -- it added a lot to the story and made it intriguing, especially because Sariyah never knows how these gifts she gives people will be used and she wrestles with that throughout the book. She also doesn't hear the needs of her closest friends and feels guilty she doesn't know how to help them when she's so overwhelmed with everyone else's needs all the time. A very compelling aspect to the book, and one that I think sets it apart, was the discussion about how racism factors into missing persons cases -- the characters compare and contrast how people share and mobilize for missing white girls but do not do the same for missing Black girls. This aspect brought a lot of emotion to the story, especially since Tess is still missing and visiting Sariyah in lucid dreams. I finished this audiobook quickly because I needed to find out what happened to all of the characters and solve the mystery. I do think there were some loose ends and the ending felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the book but it didn't make me love the story any less. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys mystery and suspense and would make a great addition to any secondary school library or public library. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I loved everything about this book

The fleshy and diverse cast of characters.
The well-paced, twisty and grippy plot.
The whole-chest social commentary.
The needs and gnats fabulism.
Even the cover is stunning.

The only thing I’m pissy about, is this author’s lack of back catalogue.

Can’t wait to get this book into my patrons’ hands…and for book two.

📖 + 🎧: Needy Little Things

✍🏾 Author: Channelle Desamours-debut author

📅Publication date: 2-4-25 | Read 2-3-25

📃:320 pgs. eBook

🏃🏾‍♀️‍➡️Run Time: 8:36

🗣️ Narrator: Alaska Jackson voices all the characters with standouts by Malcolm, Josiah, and Jasmine. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.

Genre:
*AA interests
*YA
*Mystery/Suspense

Tropes:
*magical realism
*friendship
*mental health
*family drama
*cover lover
*found family
*ghosts

👆🏾POV: 1st person single

⚠️TW: murder, kidnapping, racism, parental neglect, child w/ sickle cell disease, h has ADHD, depression, drug use

🌎 Setting: Atlanta, GA and Chefley, GA

Summary: Sariyah has ESP that she knows what little things people need like gum, a nail file, or water. She cannot use her "power" on her family or BFFs which becomes a problem when her BFFs Tessa and Deja go missing, her mother loses her job, and her little brother's sickle cell disease causes him complications.

👩🏾 Heroine: Sariyah Bryant, 17-year-old high school senior that has to financially and emotional support her family


🎭 Other Characters:

* Malcolm Hawkins-Sariyah's BFF, from a wealthy family
*Jude Abrams-just started East Lake High w/ Sariyah, her new crush
*Deja Nelson-Sariyah and Malcolm's friend, goes missing at a festival
*Josiah Bryant-Sariyah's nine-year-old brother
*Tessa Hawkins-Malcolm's twin sister & Sariyah's BFF, missing for 5 years
*Jasmine+ Derrick-Deja's mother + stepfather
*Felicia Hawkins-Malcolm+ Tessa's mother

Rating: 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice level n/a

My Thoughts: This was a great commentary on social injustice and inequality. How Tessa and Casey's cases were treated differently because of race. Malcolm and Deja were angry and did a social "experiment" to bring the problem front and center.

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press| Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and Channelle Desamours for this ARC and ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

🎧
Pub Date February 4th
YA thriller

This had me hooked from beginning to end!! This story followes Sariyah who has a gift of knowing people's needs. A gift and a curse so she says. Her friend Deja goes missing at a festival & they are trying to get the word out to find her.
Sariyah goes so hard for her friends and family she gets down & she doesn't play. We get her POV for the whole book and the audio was 10/10. The pacing is easy to follow I was trying to figure out all the clues just like them. This book had so many layers & I wish we had gotten more about her mom because I was so sad for her.
The way this ending we must be getting a PART 2 & l'm not playing.

Thank you to Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for the ARC

~Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!~

Warning: Some possibly very light spoilers, though I try not to mention any details or anything more than what you could get from the Goodreads summary.

This story made my heart hurt so much! There is so much real and painful discussion of how black people in America are treated by the police force. Having seen this happen time and time again in the community — it was a little hard to get through at times 💔.

This is a fantastic debut novel about a supernatural black teen whose best friend mysteriously goes missing. This is especially triggering for her and her community as her last best friend also disappeared years prior. The writing is polished and doesn’t feel like a typical debut novel that sometimes is great but rough around the edges. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job and kept me engaged the whole time.

This book covers so many relevant issues — such as, the psychological and physical weight of children who are always in a state of survival. It touches on those in low income/single parent households, and those with parents with mental health issues. All the cards are stacked against these children yet the story shows how resilient these kids need to be to survive day by day.

Read your trigger warnings. I did have anxiety sometimes as I was reading this because some of the triggers really hit.

Fantastic read and I’m so thankful to have gotten the opportunity to experience Channelle Desamours writing early in her published writing career! I will definitely be checking out her future books if she publishes again.

I was so excited to get an ALC for Needy Little Things, especially since I’m trying to be more intentional about reading debut authors this year! Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with this free advanced listening copy for review consideration!

📖 This YA mystery follows Sariyah, a high school senior who has a rare ability – she can sense what people need. Sometimes it’s small, like a phone charger or a hair tie, but sometimes it’s life-or-death. When her friend Deja goes missing, Sariyah is determined to find her, especially knowing how often Black girls’ disappearances are overlooked. As she digs deeper, juggling family struggles and her own survival, she starts to wonder if her ability is more of a curse than a gift.

💭 I loved the way this book blended mystery, social commentary, and a touch of magical realism. It tackles real issues—racial injustice, media bias, systemic neglect—but in a way that feels natural to the story. Sariyah is such a compelling protagonist, and the fact that it’s set in Atlanta made it even better for me (I live in ATL!) I loved catching little references to places like MARTA and Zoo Atlanta. That said, the middle section dragged a bit for me—there were a lot of breadcrumbs leading up to the big reveal, and some parts felt slower than I wanted. But the last stretch pulled me back in!

🎧 I listened to this on audio, and Alaska Jackson nailed it. She brought so much depth to Sariyah’s voice and made every character feel distinct. I loved the voices she did for different characters!

⭐ 3.75 stars, rounding up to 4! If you’re into YA mysteries with speculative elements and important themes, this is definitely worth picking up :)

I absolutely enjoyed this book! All of the characters, at least the younger main cast, were loveable, and I was invested in their stories. I'm main MC, Sariyah- I loved how her "power" worked and how to committed to it every day, I love how her friends believed her and how they tried to help her understand her (lack of) responsibilities to it. I love how it didn't work on those she's close to. I love the events and how everything tied together, and OH MY GOODNESS THAT ENDING! It leaves room for a second book, and, honestly, I can see so many stories coming from this idea. I would follow Sariyah to college and adulthood.

The audio made this book what it was. I really enjoyed it! The narration was amazing! A blend of magical realism and mystery was something I didn’t know I needed!

While I mostly enjoyed this book, there were parts of it that didn’t resonate with me, and the twist at the end actually had me angry. Somehow I completely missed that Sariyah has an ability to hear what people need, and I had to go back and re-listen after reading a few of the reviews. This completely changed the book for me. I assumed she was on the spectrum and needed headphones to help drown out noises because of being overstimulated. I thought, how cool that this character was being written that way!
The beginning of the book completely had me hooked, then the writing went a bit flat in the middle, and then it picked up again at the end. Overall, while enjoyable, I don’t think this is up to the same thriller/mystery standards of Holly Jackson or Karen McManus. Only 3 stars because I had to go back and re-read knowing what I had missed on the first time through.