Review: Paradise Pawn by Meg Richardson

Paradise Pawn by Meg Richardson

Blurb from Goodreads:

A dazzling debut novel about best friends, adolescent longing, and the Florida pawn shop that promises to make their dreams come true—if it doesn’t break them apart first.

Teenage best friends Jackie and Kayla can sell anything. Alongside their fathers, they work at a pawn shop in Cherry Beach, Florida, handling everything from luxury jewelry to chainsaws and more. When the girls learn that Kayla’s family can’t afford a private school opportunity that Jackie’s can, Jackie becomes distraught about losing her best friend. With their sharp minds but youthful lack of foresight, they scheme a way to embezzle money from the pawn shop. As the hot Florida summer unfolds, the girls steal thousands of dollars from the shop. But when their heist is discovered, Jackie is faced with a situation that no amount of negotiating or charisma can fix.

With incredible heart and wit, and based on Richardson’s own experience working behind the counter of a pawn shop, Paradise Pawn navigates current-day themes of trust, familial love, female friendship, and class differences, and asks us how far we would go to protect the ones we love most.

 

This was definitely darker than I expected but also felt so true and accurate to being 14 years old.  This is a great debut-- well written and unique.  I can honestly say I've never read anything quite like this but such a great coming of age novel!  Give this a try!

Paradise Pawn comes out next week on July 14, 2026 and you can purchase HERE.  

"Do you have any questions?" he asks again in a small voice. 

"No," I say. "Do you have any questions?" 

"Jackie, if I had a dollar for every question I have, I would, God, I would buy you a yacht. I'd buy you a horse. I'd buy you this whole world." Then he laughs, but it sounds more like crying. 

"Do you want a hug?" I say. He opens his arms and I sink into his Paradise Pawn shirt. I can hear his heartbeat. He smooths my hair hard, like he's trying to scoop something out of my brain. I feel a drop of water sliding down my hair and the back of my neck. I look up at his face. He is crying. I pretend not to notice and I put my head back on his chest.