2021 Lambda Literary Award – LGBTQ MysteryIn her small town, seventeen year-old Delia “Dee” Skinner is known as the girl who wasn’t taken. Ten years ago, she witnessed the abduction of her best friend, Sibby. And though she told the police everything she remembered, it wasn’t enough. Sibby was never seen again. At night, Dee deals with her guilt by becoming someone else: the Seeker, the voice … behind the popular true crime podcast Radio Silent, which features missing persons cases and works with online sleuths to solve them. Nobody knows Dee’s the Seeker, and she plans to keep it that way. When another little girl goes missing, and the case is linked to Sibby’s disappearance, Dee has a chance to get answers, with the help of her virtual detectives and the intriguing new girl at school. But how much is she willing to reveal about herself in order to uncover the truth? Dee’s about to find out what’s really at stake in unraveling the mystery of the little girls who vanished.
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I’m obsessed with podcasts so I knew I needed to read I Hope You’re Listening as soon as I read its synopsis. Additionally, I couldn’t resist the fact that it’s a mystery thriller which made it perfect to read in October. I’m so glad I read it!
I read 50% in one sitting and I only stopped because I needed to work and while I was at work, I kept thinking about this story. As soon as I got home, I finished it because I literally couldn’t wait. I guess you can tell I was really hooked! I totally was. From page one, this book kept me on my toes. Guessing, guessing, guessing. There’s something about Tom Ryan’s writing that captivated me completely and I just couldn’t stop reading. I NEEDED to know what, who and why, especially regarding the main mystery. Yes, there’s more than one mystery!
Dee is an amazing character, she kept so much to herself, she carried so much on her shoulders and even when she was being self-absorbed, like any teenager especially a teen that went through what she did when she was a child, I absolutely loved her. Burke, her childhood friend, was also a great character, their friendship was solid even with its ups and downs and I loved their moments together. I wish we could’ve seen more of Burke as the story developed. I also loved Dee’s Dad, he was so funny and sweet. I really enjoyed the fact he was a stay-at-home Dad. Sarah, who moves into the house across the street, was a great addition to the story. She played a major role in Dee’s character development and I really liked how their relationship grew. She was exactly what Dee needed.
There were a few things that I felt weren’t explained well or at all. Sarah figures something out and I didn’t get how she grasped it. It bothered me that Dee didn’t even ask Sarah how she figured it out which made me feel like there was a piece of the puzzle missing. Also, one of the mysteries, the one wrapped up at the very end of the book, is solved but I couldn’t figure out how too. I don’t think we got the details of how the person who solved it got to the bottom of it or maybe I missed something? Anyway, I really loved how the main mystery is wrapped up, though, as well as the mystery that Dee, as The Seeker, was helping to solve on her podcast. This was the first book written by Tom Ryan I’ve read and it definitely won’t be the last.
Overall, I Hope You’re Listening is a gripping, emotional, fast paced, entertaining, solid YA mystery thriller. I recommend it to readers who enjoy this genre or that are looking for an enjoyable mystery October read.
Rep: LGBTQIAP+
TW: Drug use; Child Abduction/Kidnapping.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
More reviews and recs on my blog: https://thedanielhurst.wordpress.com
Another great mystery from Tom Ryan! I loved Keep This to Yourself, so I was excited to read I Hope You’re Listening. Thank you Netgalley and Albert Whitman & Co. for the eARC!
I really liked many of the characters in this story. Dee is interesting and feels like a fully realized, complex human being. I bought into the way she handles all the events of the plot, her past traumas, and her secret podcaster life. I loved her relationship with her parents and her best friend. And those characters feel fleshed out and realistic, too. On the flip side, the love interest read like a *chill* pixie dream girl, and I didn’t quite buy into the relationship.
As for the story, it starts slowly. We’re introduced to 3 mysteries, and the requisite exposition takes some time. However, Tom Ryan is so great with atmosphere and description that I was never bored. Once everything is underway, it proceeds like a procedural throughout the middle, then blows up at the end. Almost everything seemed to happen in the final third of the book. Some readers may not like this, but I felt like I could put my trust in the author and enjoy it.
I really enjoyed the themes that are woven into the story. A major one is female empowerment, where we see women working in solidarity, telling their own stories, and a hint of advocacy for women of color. I also liked the exploration of how our experiences make up our identities and how easy it is to get caught up in a cycle of asking “What if?” about the past.
Overall, I’d recommend this intriguing and atmospheric mystery, and I’m always here for queer rep!
I received a copy of this book via the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I saw this book on NetGalley, I couldn’t hit the request button fast enough. Seriously. Not only is the cover stunning and eye-catching, but the blurb drew me in and made me want to immediately sink my readerly teeth into this story. And I’m not even a YA fan, generally speaking. However, I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan is a superbly handled story about a seventeen-year-old who feels seventeen. Not in that annoying way where authors of YA sometimes try to age their own voice down simply by being bratty or whiny or impossibly immature. No, Ryan has a clear handle on the YA genre and manipulates his prose to feel both genuine for a character of that age and well-written so readers at any point in their lives can enjoy his words.
I went into this read assuming I’d enjoy it, which was such a pleasure. That isn’t always the case, but I just had a feeling about this book and about the MC Dee. And boy, was I ever right. I was thoroughly engrossed in the story and related surprisingly well to Dee, considering I’m twice her age. (Again, that’s all on Ryan and his mad YA voice skillz.) And the plot, conflicts, and side characters were all so intriguing and real that I had one of those rare reading experiences where I took a break to get some water and had to reorient myself to the real world.
I was pulled along by the mystery and thrill of the story from the very opening page. I felt every tense, apprehensive moment right alongside Dee. It was such a delightful rollercoaster ride and one I will highly recommend. The only “down” side for me, on a personal level, was that—despite relating to her—I was frequently frustrated with Dee as a character. While part of this has to do with her age (again, that realism in action!), a lot of it was just her, as a human. She was selfish, abrasive, and often unkind to her friends. I understand she has been through a lot, and she’s still young with a lot of years left to grow into a better person, but as our protagonist, it made it a bit difficult for me at times to stay in the story when I wanted to throttle the person I was supposed to be rooting for.
Other than that—and it truly is a personal issue, and one I think the other qualities of the story manage to prevent from being any kind of deal-breaker—I would definitely recommend this book. Readers who enjoy a good thriller-mystery will love this, and I believe stalwart YA readers will be thoroughly impressed with Ryan’s skill.