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    Need
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    Need
    Ebook324 pages5 hours

    Need

    By Carrie Jones

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In this first book in a YA fantasy series from New York Times bestselling author Carrie Jones, Zara discovers that magic is stirring in her sleepy Maine town . . . and herself.

    Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since she's had a pretty rough life. Her father left when she was a baby, and her stepfather just died. Her mother's pretty much checked out--in fact, Mom's sent her to live with her grandmother in cold and sleepy Maine to "keep Zara safe." Whatever that means. Zara doesn't think she's in danger; she thinks her mother just can't deal.

    Zara's wrong. The man she sees everywhere--the tall creepy guy who points at her from the side of the road--yet, he's not a figment of her imagination. He's a pixie. And not the cute, sweet kind with little wings. Maine's got a whole assortment of unbelievable creatures, like pixies and were-people. And they seem to need something--something from Zara . . .

    Don't miss the all of the books in the Need series:
    Need
    Captivate
    Entice
    Endure
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateApr 1, 2009
    ISBN9781599904474
    Author

    Carrie Jones

    Carrie Jones (Maine) holds an MFA from Vermont College’s prestigious Writing for Children and Young Adults program.  She is the New York Times bestselling author of NEED and CAPTIVATE. Along with several column, editorial, sports writing and photography awards from the Maine Press Association, Carrie was recently awarded the Maine Literary Award for TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (EX) BOYFRIEND. She lives with her family and pets in Maine.

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    Reviews for Need

    3.5/5

    822 ratings112 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Need by Carrie Jones is about a girl named Zara going to live in a small town with her Grandmother. She feels abandoned by her mother, and struggles with not wanting to talk to her, and missing her at the same time. On her first day of school, she meets a friendly boy, Ian, who is overly-eager to help the new girl find her way around. Zara also comes into contact with Nick, who seems to be the resident bad-boy. He surprises her by warning her to be careful of Ian. It gets confusing when Ian says the same of Nick. Things begin to grow complicated when Zara finds gold dust in strange places, and a boy disappears. Following some research, Zara suspects that some old superstitions might be actually real.WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERSThis book was alright. The fact that the author used pixies and not vampires was a bit more original. But then of course there were werewolves. And the legend surrounding the Pixie King was interesting. But I had so many problems with this book. From the very first page I had a case of Deja vu, I felt like I was reading Twilight again. A girl, leaving her mother and the big city, moves to a small town with an awkward relative. Her first day she meets the two boys who will rival for her affections, as well as the nasty blonde girl who hates her for her existence. It went on and on like this, subtle similarities to Twilight that I couldn't help notice. I felt that it could have been longer. If she had expanded it, and changed it around, so it wasn't so similar to a certain other book, I would have enjoyed it more. I felt the characters needed a bit more depth, and a bit more work on their relationships. They didn't have very much time with each other to work things out, in a less awkward way. My absolute biggest irritation was with the way some of the characters ended up. A few people were revealed near the end of the book, and I really didn't expect it. Not because it wasn't a stereotypical thing, but because I found that those characters didn't fit in with the way the author was portraying them. It was sort of like that ploy, "You thought this character was good, but I tricked you, they aren't! Surprise!". But it didn't work, since I was wincing in disbelief as I read it
    • 4/5
      Meet Zara...a high school student who is having a hard time coping with the death of her father. Now her Mom suddenly wants to pack her off to Maine and Zara just doesn't get it. As the new kid in the school she makes friends but she also makes enemies...more of one than the other. Zara is also eat up with phobias and finds that it's difficult to trust herself or anyone else. Some of the "people" that begin to show interest in Zara aren't friends or enemies...they aren't even people. Meet the Pixie's. Not the cute little gold dust scattering creatures but something else entirely. The Pixie king wants Zara but for what? That is the big question. If you want an enjoyable quick read...this one is for you. It's the first by this author that I've read but I will be looking for more.
    • 4/5
      A young adult novel with Twilight commonalities, Need is a fast and fun read. The author, Carrie Jones, creates extremely likable characters and a great romance between our heroine and her hero. My only concern was the action packed ending, where I found myself confused over how the plan was implemented. I just chalked it up to my lack of knowledge in regards to railroad materials. Overall, a paranormal young adult novel that I recommend reading.
    • 2/5
      The author had an interesting idea of using phobias to tie chapters together, but it was unnecessary. Yes, it was a quirk of the main character, but seemed irrelevant to the story itself. Also, no idea why it's called "Need". And what high school student is that ready to accept that she's being stalked by a pixie--wouldn't it be more likely if you see a random man all over the place staring at you to consider a weird pedophile first, rather than a supernatural reason? But then, most of the main characters in these books are kind of idiots, so I suppose it's not that surprising.
    • 4/5
      Wow, it's been awhile since I read this one... I read it mostly for the voice, which is first person present, as I'm rewriting a novel into first person present from third person past, and I wanted to study how the author used this tense. I think she did a very good job, even though I wasn't as thrilled as I'd hoped with the story. It's a decent book, but that's about it. I didn't find anything particularly remarkable about it, or about the characters themselves. The plot was fairly standard, though fairies and shapeshifters have their own terminology. This is one of those books that, if you see it on sale somewhere, is worth picking up (if you're a fan of YA contemporary-style fantasy). Not the strongest plot or characters, but a worthwhile diversion nonetheless. And I should say, I did go on to read the second book in the series, so make of that what you will.
    • 3/5
      Started off liking this because it seemed clever and well written, plus the use of phobias intrigued me. (And there's even a Charleston connection, though the city is never really "felt" in the story. Maybe the author looked for a place that would be the opposite of Maine in the winter and picked Charleston, without ever being here.) However, it seems to have turned into vampires in pixie clothing, and the pixie lore is a little sketchy. Plus the whole thing about Zara's real father and her conception creeps me out. I don't think I'll go on in the series, and am uncertain if I'll offer this to my granddaughter or not.
    • 4/5
      I know you just have to substitute a small town in Maine for Forks, and Izzie and Devyn for Alice and Jasper and you would basically have Twilight, but I liked Twilight, so I like this book. It was really funny, I liked that Zara was spunky. Just a fun read.
    • 4/5
      Ever read one of those, 100 Things You Should Do Before You Die books? Well Need By Carrie Jones is on there!!! It's a Must Read!!! You'll regret not reading this paranormal/fantasy romance book. The author brings it all in 336 pages: Good Plot, Suspense, Emotion, fast paste and an amazing story. I found myself in love with all the characters, particularly Nick & Zara. They're such a good pair together, I mean they're so cute. I love how they're being so stubborn to admit the truth, it's adorable. I mean Grandma Betty is more open about there relationship then they are. I also enjoyed the character development in Zara (the protagonist). I enjoyed knowing that everyone kind of made her out to be a damsel in the distress at first but in the end she is able to stand on her own two feet. Also it's interesting the theory that she doesn't need to think big to save the world, it can be a small way. Am I making any sense???The best thing about Need other then the great story and cool characters, is the dialogue. It's priceless, and probably the best dialogue I've read in a long time. It's so funny and down to earth. What they said made me laugh and made me like this book even more. For example: "'Okay, just don't hurt Yoko.' 'Yoko?' 'My car.' 'You named your car Yoko? As in Ono?' 'You have a better name?' 'How about Subaru?'" (Page.65). That's only one example, another one is: "Think about it. For almost seventeen years my mom hasn't come back here. Why?' 'It's cold,' Devyn says. 'It's creepy," Issie adds." (Page.263).With dialogue like that, how can you not love a book like this? The story brings tons of suspense too, especially in a scene where pixies come after Zara. I really felt what she felt, I was so in tuned with her it was unbelievable. Some of the plot twists are easy to guess, but others you won't see coming. The ending leaves you wanting more, but isn't a cliffhanger. And the only real thing that bothered me about this book is at first it felt very unrealistic of how Zara handle the knowledge of pixies. But once getting into the story more, you start to understand why she acts like that and becomes pretty real.Another intriguing fact is that each chapter had a phobia name on it!! It was so cool, did you know you can have a phobia of school? or a phobia of girls? or phobia of pixies *O.K Zara made that one up!!!*.I enjoyed this story so much and am so excited to read Captivate (the sequel). This is a must read, Carrie Jones did a excellent job and I praise her for that.
    • 4/5
      Zara is dead inside, her step-father (more like her father actually) died. And she pretty much died with him, her mom is really concerned about her and that's how Zara ended up in Maine, where it's freezing cold, in October. She's mad at her mom for sending her away, she hates the cold, and starting in a new school is never an easy task. Having the first girl you meet hating you desperately doesn't help either. Unfortunately, rebellious teenagers isn't the worst that Zara has to face. Something a lot more dangerous wonders in the woods at night. It took me a while to pick this book because for some reason the cover didn't really speak to me, but with the recent release of Captive ( the second book in the series ), and many good reviews I've read I decided to pick it up and I was not disappointed! The main character has this habit of listing phobias, which I found really interesting and I actually learn quite a few words lol. Each chapter is named after a phobia, what an original idea! Characters are very nicely described, they all have their own personalities and pasts. While I was really surprised to discover their "secret identity", I figured out pretty easily who were they good guys and the bad guys, so unfortunately there wasn't much of a suspense there. I loved the story's pace and the whole concept really. It was an original and interesting story, a fair share of action and love, just the way I like it.I would definitely recommend it, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Captive!
    • 5/5
      I liked this book a lot. It was about a girl who's grandmother is a weretyger and her boyfriend is a werewolf. She found out that her real father is a pixie king. Pixies can get destroyed is by weres and iron. If you get kissed by a pixie and you are not a pixie you could die or you can get turned to a pixie. At the end they go back to see if the pixies had excaped or not and they didn't. And that is good.
    • 3/5
      It's nice when you read a book and discover an aspect of fantasy that you had not read before. I've read about vampires, wizards, werewolves and all those other fantasy creatures that inundate the young adult paranormal genre, but I had never read about pixies. Carrie Jones creates an entertaining world, one shaded by hues of grey. Good and evil; love and hate; truth and reality are all blurred and it makes for a quick and satisfying read.What I liked most about Carrie's world is the fact that is seems so real, like if there were any part of fantasy that were true, this world would be it. It's like maybe, just maybe, pixies do exist in a realm of forest and trees, and maybe werewolves and other were-creatures exist alongside them, in constant battle, facing off for the future of humans. One can hope, right??I wish that Carrie Jones would have spent more time developing the romance. I won't say who Zara falls for because you need to read for yourself, but I was craving more intimacy. I wanted to hear how his hands moved along her sides, brushed her thighs, and how his breath was heavy on her neck! I wanted to hear how Zara's world stopped when he kissed her, and I wanted more of his reaction to--you know what I'm talking about! The sexy manly growl from deep within that makes you wish you could trade places with the girl. But there was none of that. Don't get me wrong, there are some kissy scenes, but I wanted more passion. I wanted them to be the types of scenes that I dog-eared so I could go back and read them over and over again. Hopefully we get more detail in the next book!So overall, it was an interesting and different read. The prose was a little rough at time, and I'm hoping for more eloquence in the future novels, and definitely some more romance. I am definitely going to check out the next book to see what happens!
    • 4/5
      NEED, by Carrie Jones, is an alluring story that follows a phobia-obsessed girl to Bedford, Maine, after her step-father's death. Zara's mother thought she needed a change of scenery, but what Zara found was an adventure and mystery of supernatural proportions.I enjoyed this story very much. A new image of pixies and Were's were introduced and I found myself engrossed in listening to this book right from the start. I think this book was a great beginning to the series because we got the whole backstory of Zara and the strange happenings in Bedford. I felt there was no stone unturned at the end of the book, and I was ready to continue the story when it was over.Since this story was such a mystery at the beginning, I was surprised when each secret was revealed. The pixies and Were's that Jones created were unique in their own right. The physical attributes of the pixies was interesting, I liked the fact that when un-glamoured they were blue with wicked sharp teeth. It added an element of savagery that otherwise was not shown when glamoured. I also liked that the Were's were not just Werewolves, they were able to take the shape of other animals as well, which I admit is pretty awesome.In terms of characters, I had mixed emotions. I really liked Zara but the Amnesty International thing got a bit preachy at times. I understand that she was passionate about it, but I felt at times it went a bit overboard for me. Also, with Issie and her babbling, I tended to roll my eyes a lot. But even though she was a bit annoying at times, I felt she was an absolute sweetheart and a steady friend for Zara during this crazy time in her life. Zara and Nick were obviously meant for each other. Nick was the protective type and Zara was always putting herself in trouble and needing Nick, they were great compliments for each other.There was one thing that turned me off from the audiobook that probably would have never been an issue if I read the book instead of listened, which was the accents of the Bedford residents. Besides Devyn, the rest of the characters voices were high-pitched and similar to a Boston accent. Personally, I dislike that accent so for the first half of the book I was cringing whenever Betty or Issie spoke. Nothing against Julia Whelan because she only performed as she was supposed to, but I am unenthusiastic about that accent so I felt that took away from the story immensely.Other than that, I enjoyed this story and was very anxious to start the next book, Captivate.
    • 4/5
      I like opening books and having only a vague idea of what I'll encounter, so I did my best to try and avoid anything too specific about this book. I knew that it was considered paranormal, so I had an idea of what I might find, but I was hoping for something that would surprise me. And Need did just that.Reading this, I was instantly charmed by Zara's voice. She's sarcastic and a little bit angsty, plus she talks to her surroundings (cars, trees, whatever); especially enjoyable are the moments when she's reflecting on her pacifist, non-violent position and wondering if she is, in fact, totally opposed to all forms of violence.When Zara first arrives at her new school and we are introduced to Nick, almost instantly followed by Ian's introduction, I was a little wary of the quick and obvious appearance of the love triangle. But, as with so much of the plot, the romance wasn't completely predictable. While it's true that Nick and Ian are presented as rivals from the beginning, the way it played out wasn't quite what I was expecting. After seeing her maybe-probably stalker staring at her through the cafeteria window at lunch that first day, as well as the knowledge of local boy who is missing, Zara's new friends Devyn and Issie reveal their outrageous theory about what's happening, plunging Zara into a crazy world she'd never considered as anything more than fantasy. Armed with this theory, and learning mind-boggling information as she goes, Zara is determined to make things right again. She doesn't sit back and passively wait for someone else to come up with a plan to save her. It is Zara who comes up with plan after plan to make the town safe for everyone, and if things don't go as expected, she's sharp enough to think her way through the unexpected.I don't think Need will win over any paranormal haters (although it's one that I would recommend to someone who is skeptical but willing), but Carrie Jones's voice is a fresh addition to the genre. She does an exceptional job in writing a story that is enthralling and filled with realistic characters. The addition of different phobias was amusing (I'll publicly admit to cheimatophobia and atychiphobia) and a unique way to begin the chapters. I'm definitely looking forward to reading Captivate.
    • 3/5
      Zara White is witness to her stepfather's death, heart-attack right in front of her. Since that day, she hasn't quite been herself. Practically dead inside, Zara's mother exiles her from sunny, warm Charleston to snowy, cold Maine to live with her grandmother.After her grandmother picks her up from the airport, Zara sees a mysterious man standing on the side of the road as they drive home. It's not just some coincidence. Thing is, Zara's seen this man before. In Charleston, at the airport, and now here.Things don't seem right in the small town of Bedford, Maine, and Zara (with the help of her new friends) is about to find out why. She'll finally learn who this man is that seems to be stalking her, why there is this mysterious gold dust lying around and she'll discover strange beings exist outside the realm of Stephen King.I think the covers in this series are beautiful. I love the simplicity and the gold accents. Unfortunately, the cover was about all this book had going for it. I hate to say it, but I was absolutely bored with this book until about the last third of it. The writing was so dull and simplistic, it was just a drag to get through. I felt like I was reading something written for a kindergarten reading level.I felt that the characters were completely underdeveloped. Ms. Jones gave us a mere outline of each character, there was no real depth to any of them. Due to this, I couldn't get a real vision of feel for any of the characters.The "romance" was shallow and superficial. Nick was constantly described as being musky, well muscled, incredible looking, gorgeous smile, etc. Everything is based on looks and lust, no deeper level to their relationship.Aside from the cover, the only other thing that kept me reading this book was the last hundred pages (where the action picked up, but not too much) and the phobias. Each chapter is titled after a phobia and an explanation of it's meaning is given (ie: Teratophobia - fear of monsters or deformed people). The main character also chanted some other phobias randomly throughout the story, but they really didn't have much to do with it at all.I'm hoping that the second book in the series, Captivate, will be a better read.
    • 4/5
      Cute book with an interesting topic. A little hard to follow sometimes but over all a fun read. I'm not sure how old my daughter would have to be for me to allow her to read this. It is a casual read for me and I do look forward to the next book in the series.
    • 5/5
      Zara just lost her Dad well step Dad actually. She has kinda checked out since. She can't seem to get her life back together again. Her mom being so worried about her sends her to live with her Grandma in Maine. This mysterious and frightening guy keeps appearing in Zara's life. She thinks it is a figment of her imagination. But soon finds out he's not.As soon as she arrives in Maine the guy is there too. And so is a the beginning of a horrible crime that happened before many many years ago. Boys from the town keep going missing.She makes some new friends and together they start trying to solve the appearance of this creepy guy. When they figure out who and what he is Zara thinks maybe her new friends are crazy. They tell her they believe he is a Pixie. Not a tinker belle happy go lucky Pixie but a deadly not to joke around about Pixie. And they think he is the reason these boys are going missing.Together they try to figure out why he is there and what he wants. They know he wants a Queen and they think he wants Zara. Then Zara discovers many many secrets of her parents past and she decides she has to end this. More boys are missing and she can't let this happen. Together with her friends and Grandma they decide to take him down once and for all!
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book! Zara is a great heroine who is easily to relate to, with her pain and neuroses. Fans of Twilight would probably really enjoy this (even with the lack of vampires) because the feel of the characters is similar--you want Zara and Nick to be together and succeed. Need works very well on it's own, though I hear a sequel is in the works. Even though the story seems complete, I'll be glad to read more of these characters!
    • 3/5
      I normally do not read a lot of young adult fiction, but in the past year I have come across a ton of young adult books which I want to read. So this year I have decided to include more books from this genre, and that started when I was at the airport in London waiting for my flight back home. As usual I went to the bookstore to pick up a book or two, as is my custom, and Need was one of the books I got. I couldn't wait to read it, so I started it as soon as I got home.Zara's world comes to a halt when her father suddenly dies. To help her move on, her mother decides to send her to live with her grandmother in Maine, and although Zara loves her grandmother she is not too thrilled about leaving her home in Charleston. Once in Maine things do not seem too bad however, her first day at school went relatively well and it did not take her long to find new friends in Issie, Devyn and the very handsome Nick. Except one thing is still bothering her. Back when she was at home she thought that a guy was stalking her, and it looks like moving to Maine did not get rid of him. On her mission to find out who's following her, Zara makes a surprising discovery, one that is completely new to her, but what is more surprising is that it is not so new to the people around her.I have read this book a couple of weeks ago and I still have mixed feelings about it. I liked the plot in general, but I think the story could have been developed in a better way instead of being cut so short. It feels like I barely had time to get to know the characters and their surroundings and before I knew it the story was over. Most of the time it is quite predictable and you can see what is going to happen early on. Once that happens it makes it a little frustrating that you have to wait a good amount of pages for it to be revealed. The characters are mostly likable, even though I may have wanted to yell at Zara a few times, I liked the way that she views everything around her. I also liked the bubbly Issie, but I can see where she may come across as annoying to some. In fact I missed Issie and Devyn when they got out of the picture for a while, but just when I started to wonder what happened to them they were introduced back in. My favorite character was without a doubt Zara's grandmother Betty, I thought her humor made the book more enjoyable. Having a grandma like her would be amazing. The other thing I wasn't a big fan of was the short sentences which occurred so often, such as "I pull away. He lets go. I walk over to the door." I don't get the point of having such sentences, or how they're supposed to enhance your experience when reading, I personally find these very tedious. One thing that this book definitely did though, is make me want to read more young adult / urban fantasy books. Oh to be lost in a completely different world, one with faeries, werewolves, and young love! Isn't it so awesome!
    • 3/5
      Too much like Twilight. Many similarities between the two books.. I will have to read the rest of the series to see if they are all the same.
    • 2/5
      I hate when a book immediately grabs my interest with an intriguing plot and likable characters and then fails to deliver. This is exactly the problem I had with Need. First, I listened to this on audio, and while the narrator successfully mimicked the Maine accents, when it came to the MC, Zara, the voice used for her was sometimes a southern accent and sometimes no accent at all. This is a small thing, true, but very noticeable when listening. Other than that, I think that the narration was fine. I enjoyed many of the characters on the surface, Zara, her grandmother, friends, and boyfriend. They were all extremely likable, but they never got much deeper than that surface likability, other than Zara. Zara enjoys reciting phobias to calm herself, this was a mildly interesting aspect to her personality and the various phobias she named were sometimes pretty amusing. The pixie king was a very weak villain, I didn't believe it. And while I can understand that he was meant to be more of a "not all bad" type of villain, it didn't come across in any real believable way. The romance between Zara and Nick was just kind of "meh" for me. I didn't care. The best part of the novel for me was Zara's grandmother, a feisty woman with plenty of wit. I would have liked to have read a lot more about her. The problems I had with Need was that the plot was never really developed, it was very thin and the way plot was resolved was absolutely absurd. Even within a fantasy, I need to feel a measure of believability, and this was also missing for me. I finished the book and was left feeling quite underwhelmed and a bit disappointed
    • 4/5
      A good read. Started out a bit on the slow side, then speeded up to become filled with romance and adventure/action. Pixies versus werewolves is a new way to approach the paranormal genre.
    • 4/5
      After her stepfather died, Zara White is sent to live with her grandmother in Maine. She's resentful of her mother for sending her away and feels completely out of place. The town is small and the weather is freezing. She makes new friends at her school, like quirky, bubbly Issie and mysterious Nick. Things start to get weird when Zara notices a dark man following her at her home town and in Maine. Plus, boys from her school start to mysteriously go missing. Zara has no idea that a creature she never thought would be a threat is after her: a pixie. These dark creatures aren't warm and fuzzy like Tinkerbell. They are creatures who feed on humans and have little to no regard for human life. Can Zara and her friends stop these creatures before they capture her?Carrie Jones' Need was a great read. I was so absorbed in the story, I only took a couple of days to read it even though I really needed to get a lot of reading for school done. The characters were multi-dimensional and it took no time at all for me to really feel for them. Zara was a strong female character with distinctive interests. She is involved with Amnesty International and spends her spare time writing letters to help people who are wrongly persecuted or imprisoned. To cope with her father's death, she lists phobias to herself. These phobias were the headings for each chapter. They served as points of interest and sometimes foreshadowing what is to happen. I loved learning about the more obscure phobias. Zara's circle of friends were all very detailed and likeable. The romance between her and Nick was organic and interesting. I felt that sometimes Nick laid on the machismo a little too much at times, but other than that, he was attractive and generally a good person.The writing in the novel was beautiful. I totally hate cold weather and Carrie Jones made me see the beauty in it with her wonderful descriptions. I know a lot of people compare this text to Twilight, but I don't really see a lot of similarities in them. I just see them as two different books about very different things. I liked that the subject matter of Need was something that hadn't really been addressed before (unlike the bazillions of vampire novels out there. Even though I enjoy them too). The only aspect I didn't really like was by the end of the novel, I felt that Zara compromised her strong, core beliefs to achieve an end. I'm interested in seeing how this is addressed in the next book, Captivate.Need was a compelling read that flowed very well. I would recommend this to paranormal romance lovers.
    • 3/5
      I'd recommend about 20 other YA paranormal romance series before this one. But it was still an okay read. The plot is worth 4 stars in my opinion, but the writing is maybe at 2 and a half.I'm not a stickler for awesome writing. I even really enjoyed Twilight despite the writing issues. But Need's writing is so poor, that it becomes confusing. Firstly, it's written in first person present tense. Which isn't such a big deal, but the sentences are very short at times and too long at times to make sense. About every fifth page there was a sentence that took me three or four times to actually understand what the author was trying to say. This was mostly due to awkward wording. It happened often enough that it took me out of the story quite a bit. I should mention that I am a law student at the top of my class, so I should be able to understand sentences in a YA novel.Other times, the author jumps from one scene to the next with no warning. It isn't until you are half way into the second scene that you realize the location or activity has changed. All of this would still not ruin my opinion of the book if the plot and characters were amazing. But the plot is mediocre and most of the characters are just okay. I did, however, love Zara. She was quirky and had an interesting personality. But this one character does not make up for everything else that plagues this novel.All in all, I'd say if you have already read a lot of paranormal YA romance and are looking for more, this one is better than nothing, but it won't be your favorite.
    • 4/5
      Saturday, May 22, 2010Need - Review NEED*****Carrie JonesYoung Adult fantasyA friend gave me this book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not quite as dark as Lili St.Crows YA offerings, but I found it was one of those novels that start off on a steady pace - you think you might be reading something just a bit tame and then WHAAAAMMMMMOOOO! There is some sh-- going down!There is a young teen (high school age) who is grieving for her stepfather. He's died recently and they were extremely close, just as if he were her real father. She's so down and sad that her mother sends her to stay with her (step)paternal grandmother. Zara is a little pissed about being sent away, but as the days pass she comes to a bit of acceptance - having a grandmother with a sense of humor (this is NOT your typcial grandmother here) and meeting some friendly kids, as well as a very attractive guy, at school helps to take the sting out of being "sent away".Only things aren't quite as they seem. There are some sinister goings on up in Maine...a boy has just disappeared, and Zara keeps seeing a guy that she's also seen in her hometown.....In the first half of the book, there are little pieces of Zara's highschool life to learn about. Woven throughout this is a few odd moments that add to the mystery of what's going on. So I'm reading along, feeling kind of calm, things are slowly building up and then in the last half of the book all hell breaks loose. Damn this was good.There were some downright suspenseful moments. There's a couple of makeout scenes, but nothing too graphic or porn-like- it kind of reminds me of that first time you think "oh, wow - I think there's something about this guy...."Grandma is a trip - she's pretty practical and down to earth. Teases Zara quite a bit. I would love a grandma like her. Zara's new friends are fun also, although the girl (Issie) character might drive me crazy (very happy and bouncy). There's a guy in a wheel chair, (with dark skin, but we never find out what his ancestry might be), there's Nick the boyfriend material and there is one mysterious guy that does not want Zara to have anything to do with Nick. Then there's the obligatory mean girl (Megan) that is full of hate on first sight for Zara.The first part of the book was a slow build up - I didn't love or hate it, but the last half of the book - oh boy - I didn't want to put the book down. Captivate - the sequel is available now.Book Challenges2010 YA Reading ChallengeSpeculative Reading Challenge
    • 1/5
      I didn't even get 30 pages into it. My brain literally hurt from trying to force myself to read it, I kept thinking "this is only the beginning, maybe it'll get better!" But no. I'm sorry, but no. The writing style is weird...for lack of a better word. It aggravated me and I often felt like I was missing something, or it was written in a way that I couldn't picture it properly in my head without being like "wait what." And the cliche's oh the cliche's. I literally just finished reading a book that started off exactly like this one. A girl moving to a small town in the north, it's cold, she's upset about losing a parent, the first girl she meets is a total bitch so she insults her shoes (yes even the insulting the shoes thing is officially a cliche, I've read it so many times), and then the first guy she see's is suddenly the love of her life but also "bad news." Dear fucking lord, excuse my language but NO. Just no. I will not be finishing this book. I do not recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Loved this book until the ending, which I wasn't crazy about.
    • 3/5
      So I recently bought Need for my good friend in reading, Jenna, for her b-day. Stumped as Stephenie Meyer meets Stephen King type literature it sounded pretty damn perfect for this particular gift. After reading it she leant it to me so we could share and discuss, a favorite past time.I read it, and on saturday night we exchanged impressions of it. Like usual we felt pretty much the same way, the story had an interesting plot line but it could have been darker. I mean come on, when you throw Stephen King in for comparison you expect some pretty creepy page turning. That being said, it was a page turner, and the ending suggests that book two, Captivate, might hold a little more promise.Without giving away any spoilers, let me try and give you an idea of what this book is about. Zara is heartbroken by the sudden heartattack death of her stepfather, and in her misery is sent to her Grandmothers to hopefully recuperate. Unfortunately it turns out the backwoods of Maine is the least safe place she could be sent. The pointing man, he has a need, and until Zara comes to him he'll fulfill it by absconding with local teenage boys who never return. Sounds a bit pedophile like right? That's what I thought.My main issues with the book is she took an interesting and potential creepy plot line and fluffed it up with a too easy love interest and simplistic discoveries and solutions; lets just say one moment of googling something shouldn't instantly explain what your creepy pointing man is. Nothing ends up seeming risky enough or as dangerous as it ought to. And lets face it, the best love interests are the ones fraught with difficulties and impossibility, make it too easy and it's just your average relationship.The little preview of Captivate at the end suggests Carrie Jones might have been saving the real story for book two, however. Thus I'm happy to continue reading to find out if she can live up to her hype and pull this story into the land of more formidable writers. As it stands now this book is just one of the many attempts to re-create the Twilight experience. Love interest + Small town + Teenagers + Some type of other beings does not equal automatic literary genius; lets face it I'm not looking for formula in my reading, and I'm guessing neither are you.
    • 1/5
      to say the truth this was totally twilight and they did not try to hide it also i hated the guy and girl which i never do (i never hate the protagonists) here i did i actually fell asleep
    • 2/5
      I'd actually give this book 2.5 stars, because I didn't actively "dislike" it. It was a good try, but left me feeling rather lukewarm at the end. This was "Twilight light" -- using the familiar formula of new, awkward girl in strange town with gorgeous boys who have secrets. But it never got to that good, angsty texture of Twilight, and the story wasn't overtly compelling. I don't NEED to read this series.
    • 2/5
      Stephanie Meyer light--substituting blood thirsty pixies for vampires.