DISCLAIMER: I received an advanced reader copy (eBook) of The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony from Harlequin through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Kids Are Gonna Ask is part of Harlequin Trade Publishing’s 2020 Summer Reads blog tour for Women’s Fiction and Romance.

Book Summary

A whip-smart, entertaining novel about twin siblings who become a national phenomenon after launching a podcast to find the biological father they never knew.

The death of Thomas and Savannah McClair’s mother turns their world upside down. Raised to be fiercely curious by their grandmother Maggie, the twins become determined to learn the identity of their biological father. And when their mission goes viral, an eccentric producer offers them a dream platform: a fully sponsored podcast called The Kids Are Gonna Ask. To discover the truth, Thomas and Savannah begin interviewing people from their mother’s past and are shocked when the podcast ignites in popularity. As the attention mounts, they get caught in a national debate they never asked for—but nothing compares to the mayhem that ensues when they find him.

Cleverly constructed, emotionally perceptive, and sharply funny, The Kids Are Gonna Ask is a rollicking coming-of-age story and a moving exploration of all the ways we can go from lost to found.

*Summary is courtesy of Harlequin

The Kids Are Gonna Ask

Doesn’t it feel like every day someone is coming out with a new podcast? There are podcasts about news, self-care, comedy, pop culture, and everything in between. But, what if there was a podcast about twins trying to find their biological father? Would you listen?

The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony puts a very millennial twist on how a set of twins search for their biological father. Teenage twin siblings, Thomas and Savannah McClair have been raised by their Grandmother, Maggie ever since their mother tragically passed away. Their mother, Bess, was a single mother who was very secretive about the identity of their biological father. The twins decide to start a podcast called, The Kids Are Gonna Ask to help find him.

Multiple Perspectives

The book is told from four perspectives: Thomas, Savannah, Maggie, and their presumed Bio Dad who will remain nameless. Even though each chapter alternated between characters, I thought the book did a seamless job telling each character’s story and merging the stories together. Also, I liked that Maggie and their presumed Bio Dad had their own chapters because it’s so common in books with teenage protagonists to gloss over the stories of the adults or parental figures in their life.

We Are Family

At the core, The Kids Are Gonna Ask is about family, finding ourselves, and where we come from. As well as, dealing with grief and loss. Both twins deal with the loss of their mother as well as finding their own identities. Especially, Thomas who couldn’t be any more different than Savannah, and feels like he doesn’t belong in their family.

“Back when they were blank screens, just waiting to be switched on and start running their code. Where had his code originated? That was what he had always wondered. He knew only half of himself, at best. Half of his data set, of his inputs, his variables. His bugs. The rest of it—of what made him—came from a whole group of people he couldn’t even picture. Ghosts in the machine.”

It was refreshing to read a story that was about family dynamics instead of romantic relationships. It’s important to write stories about family relationships because we all can relate in some way. The Kids Are Gonna Ask is a great example that family’s come in all shapes and sizes and that there’s no cookie-cutter for a family.

Not All Press Is Good Press

An interesting part of the plot was the reaction that The Kids Are Gonna Ask podcast got from the media and the general public. The twins already have the challenge of locating their Bio Dad, so there’s definitely some curveballs thrown their way when not all reactions to the podcast are positive.

I thought that this challenge made the plot more interesting, and it’s something that could actually happen. Social media and televised media is such a big part of daily life. Therefore, it makes sense that the media would be closely following along the journey of McClaire’s. Also, it’s inevitable that there were haters and trolls who weren’t very happy about the twins searching for their Bio Dad so publicly.

Rating & Review

“They never talked about their father. Maggie didn’t seem open to it—as if she expected Thomas and Savannah to tiptoe around the subject of him, as if their father was Beetlejuice, or a ghost in the attic who would wake up by saying its name. As if they’d be fine, as long as they never let themselves need him.”

The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony is a heartfelt read about family dynamics, discovering where we come from, and loss. There’s are too many books out there that focus heavily on romantic relationships rather than family ones. So, I’m glad The Kids Are Gonna Ask didn’t give in to that trope. I enjoyed the overall themes of this book as well as the hook of the story. Twins trying to track down their biological through a podcast is so millennial, but I love it.

Surprisingly, I give The Kids Are Gonna Ask 3 out of 5 stars. Unfortunately, this book ended up being very anticlimactic, which I was surprised to find. The Kids Are Gonna Ask has some great literary elements and is very relatable on many levels. However, I just couldn’t connect to the characters. They were just okay for me.

Also, the pace of the story was kind of slow. In the beginning, the search for the McClair twins’ biological father kept the pace up, but when their presumed Bio Dad was introduced, the pace slowed down. In the end, I thought I’d like this book more than I did, and that it would be structured differently.

Regardless of my opinion, The Kids Are Gonna Ask is a heartfelt story about family that I think people of all ages will enjoy.

★★★

Thank You

Thank you, Harlequin for inviting me to join Harlequin Trade Publishing’s 2020 Summer Reads blog tour for Women’s Fiction and Romance, and Netgalley for the digital advanced copy! Check out The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony, which is now available in stores and online!

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♥ Candis