What Kind of Paradise

A Novel

By: Janelle Brown

Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Helen Laser

A teenage girl breaks free from her father’s world of isolation to discover that her whole life is a lie in this “absorbing and well-crafted” (The Washington Post) novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Things and Watch Me Disappear.

“A mesmerizing blend of coming-of-age and psychological suspense, set against the birth of the internet age.”—People

The first thing you have to understand is that my father was my entire world.

Growing up in an isolated cabin in Montana in the mid-1990s, Jane knows only the world that she and her father live in: the woodstove that heats their home, the vegetable garden where they try to eke out a subsistence, the books of nineteenth-century philosophy that her father gives her to read in lieu of going to school. Her father is elusive about their pasts, giving Jane little beyond the facts that they once lived in the Bay Area and that her mother died in a car accident, the crash propelling him to move Jane off the grid to raise her in a Waldenesque utopia.

As Jane becomes a teenager she starts pushing against the boundaries of her restricted world. She begs to accompany her father on his occasional trips away from the cabin. But when Jane realizes that her devotion to her father has made her an accomplice to a horrific crime, she flees Montana to the only place she knows to look for answers about her mysterious past, and her mother’s death: San Francisco. It is a city in the midst of a seismic change, where her quest to understand herself will force her to reckon with both the possibilities and the perils of the fledgling internet, and where she will come to question everything she values.

In this sweeping, suspenseful novel from bestselling author Janelle Brown, we see a young woman on a quest to understand how we come to know ourselves. It is a bold and unforgettable story about parents and children; nature and technology; innocence and knowledge; the losses of our past and our dreams for the future.

©2025 Janelle Brown (P)2025 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A book I can hand to anyone, then discuss. . . . [What Kind of Paradise] might prompt a pop-up book club.”—The New York Times

“[Brown’s] most gripping, thought-provoking and haunting novel yet . . . I would argue that What Kind of Paradise should be required reading, a work of fiction that functions nearly as nonfiction, akin to Kim Brooks’s Small Animals or Tara Westover’s Educated. I expect to see this galvanizing, powerful novel at the top of many ‘Best Of’ lists this year.”—Book Reporter

“[What Kind of Paradise] deftly captures both the giddy enthusiasm of that period when the internet’s possibilities felt boundless, as well as the unforeseen dangers and downsides that were ushered in with the digital revolution.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Couldn’t put it down

Love Janelle Brown and this new release didn’t disappoint. I was hooked from the beginning and finished in a weekend . It did start off feeling similar to The Great Alone but the plot takes a sharp turn in another direction a few hours in and gets so good! Great performance too. The ending felt a little rushed over with all the build up but loved the book overall.

I enjoyed the time period of this book. It was very intriguing.

I liked all of the book. But this story was similar to the Unibomber of the 1990s.

Janelle Brown is BRILLIANT!

I read her books without knowing what they are even about! This one is just brilliant! It’s different but sucks you in and leaves you unable to stop listening until you know how it ends! Enjoy every second!

What a great story!

Never a boring page or chapter. Loved the book and narration was great. Highly recommend.

Wow

I’ve loved every Janelle Brown novel and this one is no different. If I had read this storyline alone I might have thought it was a subject that wouldn’t resonate with me but it was so easy to get sucked into. It definitely has the “coming of age” aspect that I fell in love with in novels like “The Great Alone” and “Where the Crawdads Sing.” Love it, read it!

If The Unabomber Had A Child...

Very well written with wonderful character development. Unchecked mental illness again proving the old adage "hurt people, hurt people". This would be a great book club discussion book.
Perfect narration added to this listen. Highly recommend.

Out of this world!!!

I’m a big fan of the author and this, by far, is my favorite read of all!! It drew me in from the earliest chapters. Great story telling, clearly drawn characters and great detail about the emergence of the internet during the 1990s. Loved the historical context references as a Gen Xer. One of my favorite audiobooks ever! Definitely recommend!!

Thought provoking

Janelle Brown doesn’t disappoint. This book has a unique premise and goes in some unexpected directions. Highly recommend!

Great Listen!

Fascinating story from an excellent writer. Detailed characters with complex perspectives moved the narrative forward and I didn’t want to stop listening. The only detail that irked me was the repeated claim that the father and daughter “lived off the grid”, yet they had plumbing, electricity, a phone and eventually the internet. To my thinking that’s not off the grid.

Wow

What a great book! When I wasn’t listening I was thinking about the characters! So engaging a must read!