*I received a digital copy from Wednesday Book and an audio copy from MacMillian Audio via Netgalley. All reviews are my own.
As someone with a fascination for the subject of premonitions, seeing into the future, and dreamwalking, I was immediately drawn to a new book blurb about a girl who has a gift of seeing what people need and using said gift to find her missing friend. I couldn't wait to dive into this highly anticipated book, Needy Little Things by debut author Channelle Desamours, and share my thoughts with you.
"Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need—tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger—an ability only her family and her best friend, Malcolm, know the truth about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah is left wondering if her ability is more curse than gift. This isn’t the first time one of her friends has landed on the missing persons list, and she’s determined not to let her become yet another forgotten Black girl.
Not trusting the police and media to do enough on their own, Sariyah and her friends work together to figure out what led to Deja’s disappearance. But when Sariyah’s mother loses her job and her little brother faces complications with his sickle cell disease, managing her time, money, and emotions seems impossible. Desperate, Sariyah decides to hustle her need-sensing ability for cash—a choice that may not only lead her to Deja, but put her in the same danger Deja found herself in."
I experienced this book via audio, with Alaska Jackson as the narrator. The book took 8 hours and 6 minutes, so it was a quick listen. I've heard Ms. Jackson's performance before in Jas Hammonds's Thirsty novel, and I was excited to return to her storytelling mode. While I did like her matter-of-fact storytelling, I didn't like her voicing one of the characters, Malcolm. I needed a less flamboyant or even a male voice actor for his character to embody his parts, but overall, Alaska Jackson made the story vivid.
The story focuses on Sariyah and topics that include missing kids, mental health, drug abuse, and racial equality. Sariyah has an interesting gift of knowing what people need and tends to fill the quests as best as possible. Throughout the story, it starts to take a toll on her when the things she's providing for people turn out to be the thing that harms others. One of those items became the cannon event towards her missing friend who disappeared at a music festival. From there, the story delves into topics about how police and media handle information about BIPOC missing kids, how much mental capacity it takes to keep positive thoughts during a crisis, and how to deal with the pressures of taking care of loved ones with diseases and disorders.
I appreciate how the author introduced each topic without forcing the issue. Desamours blended everything she wanted to make light of and made it sound natural. I was a little apprehensive when I noticed that the story started to focus more on Sariyah trying to fulfill the needs of others rather than using her gift to find her missing friend. However, when we reached the story's climax, all my hesitancy vanished. The twist was unexpected, and the heart-touched ending left me wishing for a sequel.
Overall, I rated this book 3-stars. While the story did become slow at times, the climax and ending were all worth it. The book's ending was so satisfying that I didn't feel the need to search for any alternate universes. If you're interested in topics such as premonitions and the science behind media vs missing children, I recommend checking out The Cost of Knowing by Brittany Morris (this book heavily reminds me of this story), The Last Dreamwalker by Rita Woods, and the docuseries Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children provided by HBO.
Needy Little Things debuts February 4, 2025
I'm stuck on the part where Tessa pulls out a newspaper clip and talks about a marker? What am I missing here lol?