Pam

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when reading Pick a Color. Yes, I read the synopsis, but I still wasn't sure what to expect. Especially when you realize the book covers a single day. More accurately, it's an 8-hour work shift. That's a lot to squeeze into a book this short.

So what did I find when I started reading Pick a Color? A book that examines the life of someone who others may consider invisible. Ning, like the rest of the Susans, is of South Asian descent. While the book never specifies which country they are from, the author is from Laos. Actually, there's not much discussion as to where the book is set, other than a big city.

The Susans are a group of women who work with and for Ning at her nail salon called Susan. Why did she do that? Because she thought it was cheaper and easier to have all the employees share a name. Besides, who other than them really cares?

While we spend the whole day with Ning, we never really get to know her. We learn what she did before working in a nail salon. But we know she's unhappy and untrusting of people. But why? What made her so distrustful of people and her own emotions?

Overall, Pick a Color is an interesting character study. What do we really know about those around us? Are we ever really open and honest, even with those we consider friends?

While this is a bit darker and moodier than I normally read in mysteries, it was a fantastic read! The characters are all flawed, some more so than others. My biggest issue was the sexualization of women. Most of the time, the size of their bust or bottom (or even both) was used to describe them. This was done not only in conversations between the police officers but also in the narrator's thoughts. I'm still looking forward to reading more in the series.

Slow start, but it gets better as the story goes on.

A fantastic 3rd book in a fantastic series. Will there be more with Amari Peters? Only time will tell. I hope there will be. Bur if not, the ending is satisfying.

I decided to read Something More after reading You Started It in 2025. I am so grateful that I finally read Khalilieh’s debut novel. A bonus for me is that it is set in the Toronto area, which I love.

Khalilieh has a way of writing realistic characters, based on her own life experiences. Jessie’s parents are Palestinian, making Jessie a first-generation Palestinian-Canadian. With that, Jessie is trying to balance her parents’ wishes and desires for her and her siblings with what is happening in school.

I found Something More relatable, even though my high school years are far behind me. In many ways, I saw myself in Jessie, though I never had the desire to be in a school play. Jessie’s relationships with those around her were ones I heard about from my two girls as they navigated the life that is high school. There’s making friends, losing friends, crushes, dating, breaking up, and the heartache of it all is described perfectly in this book.

Something More is classified as a young-adult romance. But to me, it is much more than that. To me, this is a contemporary slice of life that is so relatable.

My biggest issue with the book was the ages of the main characters. Jessie turned 15 before we ever met her, and she’s excited to start high school in grade 9. Levi just turned 16, and he’s in grade 10. Maybe it’s just me, and the fact that my birthday was later in the year, but those ages feel off for the Canadian education system. My youngest daughter turned 15 in the middle of grade 9, as her birthday is in January. Also, at one point in the novel, Levi is driving alone at age 16. If you don’t live in Ontario, Canada, you may not see that as a flaw. But in Ontario, you don’t get to drive alone until you’ve been driving for at least a year, and you can’t start driving until you turn 16. As I said, this is an issue I have because I know the details aren’t quite right. And in other places, these ages and actions may be correct.

Overall, Something More has plenty of fun and drama! There’s character growth, messy families, and lots of fun. If you enjoy Lynn Painter’s YA books, I honestly feel you would enjoy Something More.