Series: Need #1Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal
Pub Date: December 2008, Bloomsbury USA
Format: Hardcover, 306 pages
Source/FTC Disclosure: I purchased my copy of this book. I was in no way compensated for this review and my opinions are my own.
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane... but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.
She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right--not human--in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.
MY THOUGHTS
As much as I HATE to say this... Twilight, anyone? At least, the beginning of the story literally screams it, so I'd say it's a fair comparison... Not that I really minded, to be honest. I rather enjoy the "new girl moves to a small town, meets a gorgeous boy, and finds things are not all as they seem" theme. For some reason, I had it in my head that this was going to be a vampire book, but clearly I am destined to read about faeries these days, or to be more accurate in this instance: pixies.
In general, I thought this book was pretty well done, not to mention a fast, easy read--something I need more of these days. I enjoyed the characters quite a bit. Zara's grandmother was hysterical and Issie, whom she quickly befriended, was just adorable. And yes, Nick was another great boyfriend-type, the kind every girl dreams of. And his little secret doesn't hurt, either. :-) The story was a bit predictable, and I was able to figure out which characters were not quite what they appeared to be pretty easily. Of course, initially I was thinking about vampires, but I was set straight pretty quickly. As for how the story is resolved, I have to say I really enjoyed that--quite a bit of creativity on Zara's part that had me grinning.
All-in-all, Need was an enjoyable read that kept me turning pages--I finished this book in one day! It may not have been overly original, but it was well-written and told a good story.
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Honestly, I've heard the Twilight reference before about this book. Kinda makes me not wanna read it, but at the same time, I do really wanna read it. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI have this on my TBR list and it sounds pretty good =D Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI loved the cover of this book and while I did enjoy it. I thought it could have been longer with more tension building. The snow fight scene seemed out of place to me too.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it.
Glad to hear you liked this one! I just finished reading it this morning. As soon as I got it though I kinda groaned thinking it was a Twilight clone - but I really loved it, probably because of Zara. It was so easy for me to like her. I'm so pumped to hear Carrie Jones is writing a sequel!
ReplyDeleteI did love Twilight so I guess the similarity is not necessarily a bad thing. Good review!
ReplyDeleteI think we'll see a lot of Twilight clones in the near future. This one sound good.
ReplyDeleteHere's my review of Need: http://nightstand.amynta.org/2009/05/need-by-carrie-jones/
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it was a bit predictable in the beginning, but once it found its feet it got a lot better. :)
Hmm I'm still not sure about this one. I like original stuff a LOT. Hmm I might give it a try though since you liked it so much. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know sometimes predictable and easy is just right when you just want to escape for a while. I still want to read this one-one of these days anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have this book on my list at the library. I am patiently waiting my turn! Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete