This is one of the best debuts I've read. I'm honestly shocked it's a debut, it's that good. I read the audio ARC of this book, and the narrator (Alaska Jackson) did a fantastic job!!

I loved Sariyah as a main character. She has a magical ability to hear what people need, like chewing gum, a pencil, etc. She gets migraines if she doesn't fulfill people's needs, so she carries around what she calls her "Santa Bag" full of random objects. Sariyah gives her friend, Deja, pepper spray. That night, Deja goes missing. Just like Sariyah's best friend, Tessa, went missing five years ago. Sariyah refuses to let Deja become another forgotten Black girl.

Sariyah really grapples with HOW people use the things they need. In the beginning of the book, she gives her boss nail clippers, which her boss then uses to do something more nefarious than trim her nails. She feels like she is to blame for what other people do with the objects she provides them, even though she doesn't know what they will end up using them for. But what if they are used for harm? Is she morally, even if not legally, at fault?

I love so much about this book. The characters are all complex. They had flaws that had me rooting for them. But even more than that, I love the discussion of Missing White Woman Syndrome: how Black girls (and other girls of color) are not given the same media attention as white girls when they go missing. Sariyah and her friends try to counteract this and keep the conversation about Deja alive, even if it feels futile.

I did NOT anticipate the twist(s). No spoilers here, though, so you'll just have to read the book to find them out ;)

ALSO that ending???!! How dare. I am not okay. You can't do me like that! There BETTER be a sequel coming or I will not know peace.