Need , by Carrie Jones

Hardcover, 306 pages

Published December 23rd 2008 by Bloomsbury USA

ISBN

1599903385 (ISBN13: 9781599903385)

edition language

English

original title

Need

url

http://www.needpixies.com/

series

Need #1

characters

Nick Colt, Betty, Devyn, Zara White, Issie

literary awards

TAYSHAS High School Reading List (2010)

 

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.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear

 

 

 My Review

It was one of those books that I picked up because I thought the cover art was really pretty, and I am a sucker for a pretty cover. However it has since then been sitting on my shelf for about two years now, just waiting to be read. I was hesitant on reading it merely because I didn't have the rest in the series to read afterwards, but also because I had seen a lot of mixed reviews on it. But seen as I am trying to catch up on my reading, I thought, eh why the hell not. Might as well give it a try. In some ways though I wish I hadn't because it just seemed, well it seemed a little blah and boring to me. Like everything seemed to happen in such a rush, it didn't feel real. She freaked out for what, less than five minutes. had that been me I would have freaked out for weeks on end and would have refused to have acknowledged the idea again. To me the book was just to focus on the actual characters rather than the plot and I do think and feel that this was a shame because there was clearly a lot of potential for it to be something so much more than what it was. You didn't really get a feel for any of the characters or for the scenes that we were painted. I was reading the novel but my imagination was not coming alive, I was not imagining it at all, I just kinda read it because I wanted to be able to say I had, which means I will probably read the rest of the series as well.

The main character, Im not really sure what to make of her. She seemed so normal and yet at the same time abnormal because there didnt seem to be any actual human emotions to her. Yes, there was some, but when I read about emotions in a book I like to be able to feel them and experience them, to know that they exist and that they are very much real. I just really could not get to full grasp with the novel and yet at the same time I was thinking, pick it up, pick it up, come on get a little more thought engaging and thought provoking. I am sure that this is something that I perhaps would have enjoyed at a very much younger age, because of its simplicity and its lack of full depth and detail. However, for an older reader its just a casual easy going read, something that you can breeze throughout without having to really think about it. Like I found myself skimming pages wondering when the end was and that in a way was a shame.

I am going to give the book a three out of five, because although I did not fully grasp it or like it, there were still some elements there that I think have a lot of potential to them, something that if it were to be rewritten, could speak and spell out so much more that would allow the reader to live in a whole new world of adventure. I do feel that perhaps younger readers will be more inclined to read this novel and I will continue to read on with the hopes that the series picks up somewhere, but at the same time I will not be holding my breath.

 

My rating