The Kids are Gonna Ask, by Gretchen Anthony

The Kids are Gonna Ask 

Sahnan Haber


Summary:

In The Kids are Gonna Ask, by Gretchen Anthony, siblings Thomas and Savanna become a sensation and get caught in a national debate because of their podcast that went viral. The two never knew their dad, because he left before they were born and then when they were 13, their mother died, so they went to live with their grandmother, Maggie. Maggie has a very fun, eccentric personality, and she tries to lighten the kids' moods and make their life better. One thing she does to help with this is inviting strangers that she meets and finds interesting to come have dinner with them. Over the years, Thomas and Savanna meet many interesting characters, but the book only starts when they are 17 and have started a podcast: “Maggie’s Dinner Salon” in which they interview the various people that Maggie finds to hear all of their crazy stories. The action only really starts after a random episode that happens to go viral. After this episode, the family is reached out to by a producer who wants to make a podcast about the siblings finding their dad. After they eventually agree, the podcast is titled “The Kids are Gonna Ask” and the show is immediately a hit. As the success of the podcast puts the siblings within reach of finding their father, they find themselves in the middle of a national debate, and the chaos even grows further as they find their father.


What I liked:

The Kids are Gonna Ask, has a very interesting premise: two kids who start a podcast that ignites in popularity, but gets them to a place they didn’t expect. And overall, I think that Gretchen Anthony executed this premise pretty well, the story stays interesting and the plot moves quickly. However, there were some things that held this book back for me.


What I didn’t like:

Despite having an interesting and complex story, the characters are all pretty cheesy and not many of the dialogues feel natural; it seems like everyone is trying to be a lot funnier than they are. However I did like their grandma Maggie. Later in the book, when they start trying to find their father, the book starts feeling like some sort of family drama game show thing, and something about it felt off putting. If the events in this book were real, I wouldn’t have wanted to be in the kids' position near the end of the book.


Review:

This book was pretty good, it had an interesting story, and a unique concept, but I couldn’t get past some of its bigger flaws, such as its characters and dialogues. I would rate The Kids are Gonna Ask a 3.5/5 stars.

-Sahnan




Comments

  1. Sasha GoncaloMarch 20, 2023 at 9:38 AM

    Hi Sahnan,
    This seems like an interesting plot about two kids who suddenly strike unexpected fame. I was left wondering what the national debate they where a part of was about, and how two kids who started a podcast and looked for their dad in a TV show could become the center of a nation wide debate. I suppose I may have to read this book.
    -Sasha

    ReplyDelete
  2. LenaApril 3, 2023 at 9:04 AM

    Sahnan, it's interesting how a small podcast that they started for fun could turn into solving a lifelong mystery, which I guess shows that you never know what will happen next. Although this seems like a great plot, it would also ruin the book for me if the characters didn't seem like they were speaking naturally. Great job!

    ReplyDelete

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