“Some people are meant to stay put, and some people are meant to go. But running is different than going. When you're running, you spend the whole time looking over your shoulder. To go forward, you gotta look forward.”
Twin siblings Savannah and Thomas, already have a podcast featuring dinner conversations they have with the unusual people their grandmother brings to dinner. During a unique dinner with one of his grandmother's strays, Thomas announces he wants to find his bio dad. Due to the surprising success of this dinner podcast episode, a production company offers to aid Savannah and Thomas in the search for their bio-dad by backing a podcast series following the journey of their search.
I requested this book from the publisher when I read the publisher's summary. The suggestion of the incorporated podcast elements reminded me of a book I read a couple years ago by Courtney Summers called Sadie. I was kind of hoping for a less intense version of Sadie but this was a completely different read all together.
I really enjoyed the overall story of The Kids Are Gonna Ask. It was original in so many ways narrative-wise, but there was a disconnect for me between the emotional journey the characters were on and the lack of emotional depth I felt. Anytime a book has a new spin on a heavily trodden story arc, I expect that the "spin" adds to the way the story connects to the reader. In this case, I felt that the podcast elements as a whole, created a lack of accessibility to the character's thoughts and feelings.
The Kids Are Gonna Ask was a fun reading experience and maybe I am being to harsh on it because I am used to reading books a little more evocative in nature. I needed more self aware characters to bring this story to a heart space rather than the forced whimsical-fun, I felt "talked into" by some cutesy story details.
⭐️⭐️.5 stars rounded up to 3 on Goodreads!
Thank you to Harlequin publishing and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy of The Kids Are Gonna Ask in exchange for an honest book review!
The Kids Are Gonna Ask is out now!
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