Needy Little Things by Chanelle Desamours is a powerful Black girl, YA mystery and there’s something about this genre that’s really been pulling me in for the last year. Mystery is not usually my thing, but if you add in teens trying to uncover a crime, then sign me up! Add a semblance of magic and I’m hooked!

Sariyah has a premonition-like power to sense people’s needs and in order to quiet the voice in her head, she tries to fulfill as many as she reasonably can. When her friend Deja disappears after Sariyah gives her the pepper spray she sensed was needed, Sariyah fears the worst.

I loved the multifaceted characters in this book; Malcolm is eccentric and rejects the financial support of his well-off parents. Jude is a new kid who bonds instantly with Sariyah and Malcolm, but clearly has a past. Deja plays it close to the chest. Even the side character parents and siblings in this book all have their own nuances; they are fully fleshed out people.

I also really loved the questions this book brings up in regards to how missing Black girls are treated vs. white girls. Without being too spoilery, it is apparent that modern social media has brought people closer together in spreading awareness and searching for missing people of color than mass media and authorities previously had. I wonder if there will be a sequel based on the subplot of Malcolm’s missing sister, Tessa, who disappeared five years before the events of the book. I really hope there will be! Needy Little Things was absolutely five stars, I highly recommend this book!