Needy Little Things

Desamours, Channelle. Needy Little Things. 2025. 320p. ISBN 9781250334817. 

High school senior Sariyah Lee Bryant possesses a unique and unsettling gift: she can hear the unmet needs of those around her. As a result, she always carries a bag filled with strange items, for one never knows when someone will need a tissue, a key, an old wrench, or a ring. However, this ability proves to be more of a curse than a blessing when her friend Deja mysteriously vanishes shortly after Sariyah fulfills her need. Convinced that Deja's disappearance is more than just a coincidence, Sariyah, distrustful of the police and media, embarks on her own investigation.

This is not the first time Sariyah lost a friend. A few years ago, her best friend Tessa went missing, vanishing without a trace. She was never found, and Sariyah remains haunted by the loss of her friend, hoping against all hope that her memory will reveal a significant detail she has missed. With Deja missing, history seems to repeat itself. Her friend Malcolm, Tessa's brother, is all out on finding Deja, and attempts to move mountains to do so. Part of the problem is that both Tessa and Deja are Black girls, not the pretty and popular blonde girls who garner all of the attention when they go missing. Most people don't seem to care that Black girls are disappearing.

Complicating Sariyah's life are mounting challenges affecting her daily existence: her mother loses her job, her younger brother faces health complications due to sickle cell disease, and she herself struggles to manage her emotions and maintain a semblance of normalcy. Desperate to find Deja and help her family, Sariyah resorts to using her gift for profit, offering to fulfill others' needs for money. This risky decision, however, may not only jeopardize her own safety but also put her on a collision course with the same danger that led to Deja's disappearance.

Needy Little Things realistically portrays the social divide when girls disappear, as not all of them receive equal treatment in the media and by the police investigating their disappearances. Sariyah's character is realistic and relatable, making this a great read for fans of investigation with a light touch of paranormal.