Needy Little Things by Channelle DesamoursBook Review by Mariah V (Chapter and Charms)✨ The Gift of Always Giving ✨

✨ The Gift of Always Giving ✨

Book Details

“In this debut speculative YA mystery, a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend’s disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger, perfect for fans of Ace of Spades.

Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need, tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, or a phone charger. Only her family and best friend Malcolm know the truth about this strange gift. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja, who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah begins to wonder if her ability is more curse than blessing.

This isn’t the first time someone she loves has gone missing, and she’s determined to make sure Deja doesn’t become another forgotten Black girl. Distrusting the police and media to care enough, Sariyah and her friends take the investigation into their own hands. But when her mother loses her job, her little brother’s sickle cell disease worsens, and the bills pile up, Sariyah makes a dangerous choice, using her ability as a hustle for cash. That choice may be the key to finding Deja… or the thing that puts her in the same danger.”

My Thoughts

How highly do I recommend Needy Little Things? Let’s just say I’m giving it five stars across the board and a big high five to anyone who already has it on their TBR list!

From the start, I was completely drawn in. First off,can we talk about how much I love the main character’s name? Sariyah (which rhymes with Mariah 😏) instantly felt like a character I could root for. She’s fierce, complex, and so deeply human.

Sariyah’s “special power” is that she can hear what people need. It sounds like a gift, but in practice it’s a heavy burden. At just seventeen, already navigating ADHD and high school, she can’t ignore those needs without being overwhelmed by debilitating migraines. This power, passed down from her grandmother, helps others,but it often comes at the expense of her own wellbeing.

And honestly, my heart ached for Sariyah. While she’s busy saving everyone else, she’s the one who needs the most care. She’s juggling a mother struggling with depression, a younger brother battling sickle cell disease, and grief from a friend who vanished years earlier. Now she’s hit with another disappearance, Deja, her close friend who goes missing during an Afro festival. It almost feels like her gift sets off a domino effect: sometimes helping, sometimes hurting, and always demanding.

One of my favorite characters was Sariyah’s little brother. His sweetness, awareness, and excitement about things like zoo camp brought so much light to the story. He grounded Sariyah and gave her a reason to keep pushing forward. Those moments between them were some of the most heartfelt in the book.

But the mystery element? Whew. Everyone was a suspect to me. Every friend seemed shady, every side character suspicious, and I couldn’t put my finger on who was behind Deja’s disappearance. The story kept me second-guessing, which made the reveals all the more powerful.

I also really appreciated how this novel highlighted the painful reality of missing Black children and the lack of media coverage compared to white children who go missing. The contrast between Deja’s disappearance and Casey’s (a white girl whose case went viral) was heartbreaking but all too real. That layer of social commentary added so much weight to the story.

By the end, I understood both Malcolm and Deja’s choices, but the way everything unraveled left me stunned. The final fight to bring Deja back had me flipping pages nonstop,it was raw, unexpected, and unforgettable.

Final Thoughts

Needy Little Things is more than just a mystery, it’s a story about mental health, racism, grief, survival, and the importance of taking care of yourself even while caring for others. It’s a reminder that our own needs matter just as much as the needs of those we love.

This YA debut completely blew me away. With multidimensional characters, an important message, and a gripping mystery that never lets up, it’s a book I’ll be keeping on the top of my shelf. The ending left me satisfied yet craving more,I would love a sequel after that cliffhanger!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Well-deserved five stars.