Need by Carrie Jones
published December 23rd 2008 by Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
details Hardcover, 306 pages
From Goodreads “Now fans of Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Marr have a new author to devour.
Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.
Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.
With suspense, romance, and paranormal themes, this exciting breakout novel has all the elements to keep teens rapidly turning the pages”
I chose this book because I am fascinated pixies and the photo on the cover pulled me in. Here’s the funny part…I got about three chapters into the book and something about the writing just rubbed me the wrong way. I thought to myself “this writing reminds me of the Fairy Path series I read a while ago.” Looked at the author, they are one and the same.
I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and give it another go. I really related to her character Nick. Only problem was I just couldn’t get past the Amnesty International plugs that seemed to be blatant advertising, the phobia repeating and the strange and obviously dumb decisions of the main character Zara. She keeps doing the exact opposite of what is smart, trying to be the martyr that she is. The writing and dialogue is very simple. I just couldn’t stay engaged as much as hard as I tried. If it weren’t for the one mention of sex and nudity, I think it would be a better middle reader rather than YA fiction. I enjoyed some of the character’s personalities (and the gold glitter), but I can only give it two out of five stars. Something about Carrie Jones’ style and I just don’t click, though I wish it did because I am interested in her subject matter of fairies and pixies. Not sure I will read Captivate, but I have heard other reviewers say they really love her stuff. So for another reader it may be a good match.
Carrie’s website:http://www.carriejonesbooks.com/my-awesomest-books/need/Here is the book trailer for Need…
