Needy Little Things is a debut YA speculative mystery by Channelle Desamours (4.5/5 stars)

Needy Little Things a debut YA speculative mystery by Channelle Desamours.

Sariyah inherited a form of premonition from her grandmother; she can hear what people need, be it a bobby pin, paper straw, or a pencil. If she doesn’t listen and/or fulfil the need, she’s prone to migraines. One day, after she fulfils a need for one of her best friends, her friend disappears. Since Black girls don’t get as much air time as white girls, Sariyah and her other friends band together to make their missing person search go viral.

This is a solid debut novel! I borrowed the audiobook from my local library while I followed along in my physical review copy. The narrator did a great job in making me really feel like I was following a bunch of high schoolers, along with voicing all of the other older and/or diverse characters around town. Every character was distinct, and it was really easy for me to follow along with the story.

I really enjoyed the magical realism here. There’s some mixed media elements, mostly in the form of text messages or emails.

As a neurodivergent person, I think the author did a phenomenal job with the representation of depression found in this novel. There’s also great representation of different family structures. For example, Sariyah’s parents are still married but live apart, so her younger brother can be closer to better hospitals due to his sickle cell disease.

I’m really hopeful, especially because of the ending, that there will be future books featuring Sariyah moving forward!

CW: violence, kidnapping, confinement, depression, death, grief, medical content, chronic illness, racism, drug use

I received a complimentary review copy from NetGalley and Wednesday Books. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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