Book Review: Needy Little Things

Title: Needy Little Things

Author: Channelle Desamours

Date: 2025. See below.

Publisher: Wednesday (St. Martin's)

ISBN: 9781250334824

Quote: "My mind is an endless loop ofthe immediate or future needs of the people around me. Tangible, everyday items...usually."

(If this book's not been published yet, how can I have read it? I read what's called a galley--a mock-up of a book, distributed to writers, proofreaders, and reviewers. The idea is that corrections can be made to the galley before the book is published for sale, but the book is close enough to its final state for reviewers to start telling people how good it is. I received a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. As a story about twelfth grade students learning about a grim part of recent history and sharing a dangerous adventure, it's good.)

Sariyah is a psychic, of sorts. She's constantly distracted by the felt needs of people who aren't close to her; she's not too good at recognizing the needs of her family or really close friends. The barrage of "needs" gives her migraines when she spends time around people. Her parents insist on her going to school, despite her obvious desperate need for homeschooling. She's due to graduate this summer but there's some doubt about her being able to graduate.

One of Sariyah's best friends is one of Atlanta's missing children and teenagers. (That's a long-running news story that's largely dropped out of the national newspapers because it's not news any more.) When another friend goes missing, too, Sariyah realizes how little she knows about her close friends. 

Props to Channelle Desamours for giving Deja and her stepfather a problem that's more common in real life, less common in fiction, than the cliche of stepfather-molesting-daughter, Props, too, for inventing a fresh psychic talent; Sariyah and her gift/curse don't bother about people's deep emotonal needs, but focus on "needs" like chewing gum, hair gel, and potting soil, Mixing thesee elements gives readers an original story, with the prospect of a sequel or a series, that raises awareness of Atlanta's problem. And extra props for the girl who notices an attraction to a boy and pushes it aside, thinking "I don't need to deal with a silly crush right now.' There are teenagers like that, though for years publishers refused to print books about them.

The plot takes a twist I find hard to believe. A character who's seemed sane suddenly freaks out and goes into psychotic mode. Would that have happened in real life? One should never say never; maybe a similar incident made the local police blotter, but what's not to like about this book is that you might not find the character's mental breakdown, and fortuitous accident, believable. 

Otherwise the story is believable and the characters are sympathetic. The content of the story is a little more intense than "a fun read," but family love and friendshp earn the sort of ending they deserve. 

Publishers send galleys to reviewers when they think there's a high probability that we'll agree that stores, schools, and libraries may want to order a book in advance. Well, I do. This book is scheduled to be available in stores in February 2025. If you have a store and want to do a Black History Month display in February, order now; I think you'll be glad you did.