Need

My best friend was reading this series and kept recommending how addicting and wonderful the first book was. At first I wasn't sure when I was reading the first few pages, they were short, introspective chapters similar to Girl, Interrupted (which I'm not crazy about.) I found myself giving a damn pretty quickly, though, and this book ended up getting me so glued it would have taken physical intervention to get me off of it.

So yes, while the very beginning was a little tough to chew, I soon became enamored by the main character, her realism and her unique outlook. She has this thing with phobias. She studies them, memorizes them, recites them in her head when she's nervous, bored, encountering new people, things, places. She's sent to show more Alaska to stay with her grandmother (not the little red riding hood kind, either, but a strong personality type) after her father dropped dead in front of her from a heart attack. Apparently her emotions are so numb she's barely living and everyone's worried about her.

At school she starts making friends with unusual but awesome people, and finds that there is a strange guy following her around. This was focused on with the book's back blurb, and around the halfway point of the novel this really takes off as being what fascinated me so much. Even with this, though, it takes a serious backstory in the first half as Zara notices him (sometimes) but mainly focuses on getting close to the other characters.

I won't spoil who the man turned out being but it's epic, and I won't spoil what he is or what he wants as that would be mean. Let's just say it's intriguing, and even if he's "bad", I really dug his character and loved the interactions. So the villain rocked as being dimensional, and the good guys also worked as being convincing, particularly the hunky Nick and the dingy but cool friend Ziggy. ( Think that's her name anyway, I'm terrible with names)

There was "some" clicheness - especially the high school popular kids being traditional jerks. Also, I did guess who the bad guy was before it was revealed a few chapters prior. Jones made it obvious on the boyfriend with plenty of cutely dropped hints, too.

Overall, while Zara may start out hollow and numb, she does not full the book down and comes across believable and sympathetic. Her compassion and inner strength shines all the way. Her friendly, but strong and passionate nature make her a dazzle amongst many other YA fiction-birthed characters. And even if the middle was mildly interesting but not cliffhanger-rich, the middle peaked to an epic intrigue that never let up until the page closed.

It made me curious too to check out some book and reading related phobias:

BIBLIOPHOBIA - Fear of books, mainly fear of only one kind (such as textbooks or fairy tales). Can also narrow down to fear of reading out loud, or not reading well and fearing having to read and someone finding out.
MYTHOPHOBIA - The fear of legends. Can tie in if the legend is written down.
ABIBLIOPHOBIA - The fear of running out of reading material.
LOGOPHOBIA - The fear of words. show less

First book of 2011! And it was a well written teen novel!

First off, its not often I find a book aimed at teen girls that have adult figures in them. Yes, the story was mostly about Zara and her friends fighting something evil, but Zara's Grandma, mother, and even school secretary were in on the fight.

The world was interesting, but a bit cliched. Instead of elves or vampires, we get scary evil pixies. And on the side of good, the were animals (included are Zara's Grandma and Boyfriend).

The story itself is well written, feels like a teen world. We get a heroine who has a brain (and teenage lusts), we have homework, interests, and family. Yeah, I figured out the plot as soon as pixies were mentioned. But, its a simple story, with a show more simple romance. Its the sort of book I would have gone nuts for when I was sixteen.

But, the story and world are inconsistent. For example, all it takes a Pixie kiss to change a person into a pixie. Why not kiss Zara when she's unconscious. Or the school - for a small town, it has a lot of after school programs. Or, why could Zara's Grandma only scare up one other shift changer, in a town supposedly full of shift changers?

The other thing is the obvious comparison to Twilight - It has a similar plot to Twilight, but twisted in a way that seems more down to earth. For example, the beat up truck given to Bella is turned into a new Subaru (for the roads). The distant father is turned into a caring and strong Grandmother. The old vampire boyfriend who is only interested in Bella for her lack of thoughts is turned into a young werewolf, who really cares about Zara. The list goes on and on. I think this make a good counterpoint to a teenager who has read too much Twilight. It also makes good discussion about healthy relationships, handling depression, and making intelligent choices. show less

Primo libro di una nuova serie urban fantasy di stampo young (ovvero per giovani lettori vicini all'età adulta), Need. L'amore che vorrei è il classico romanzo che riesce a spaccare i lettori in due settori ben precisi e potenzialmente opposti.

Zara, dopo la perdita del padre, si trova a doversi strasferire dalla nonna per riprendersi dalla profonda depressione in cui sembra essere sprofondata. Sua madre, terrorizzata, decide di spedirla lontana dal suo mondo... forse cambiare aria potrebbe servile. Ancora oggi ci chiediamo in "cosa" e "come" un drastico trasloco (con conseguente allontanamento dagli affetti principali) potrebbe aiutare la psiche di una persona che ha subito un forte trauma; ma visto che sembra l'espediente più amato show more dalle scrittrici di young adult, evidentemente dobbiamo arrenderci di fronte alla saggezza dei narratori. Senza contare che queste povere traumatizzate da chissà quale atroce e dolorosa perdita, invece di essere spedite al caldo e nelle tranquille isole tropicali a far guarire le ferite, vengono sbattute in luoghi inospitali al limite della sopravvivenza dove, altrettanto ovviamente, finiscono per passare dalla padella alla brace con tanto di attentati alla loro povera e scossa vita.

Una volta appurato che l'inizio del romanzo ricalca fedelmente il prototipo di ogni young adult in circolazione, con tutti gli elementi del caso (come già detto il trasferimento, poi i due ragazzi carini ma strani, l'arrivo alla nuova scuola, l'immediata attenzione di tutti e dei più carini - ovviamente - e gli inspiegabili fenomeni con tanto di ricerche in internet per spiegare "l'inspiegabile"), arriviamo alla triste conclusione che questo romanzo, che tanto aspettavamo in Italia, probabilmente sarà un buco nell'acqua.

La sorpresa, però, è gradevolmente vicina: arriviamo a metà libro ed ecco che il romanzo ingrana!

Finalmente abbandoniamo il fastidioso sentore di "già letto" e ci addentriamo nella storia... che ci sorprende! Finalmente!

Creature fantastiche di cui non si parla spesso, alcune di cui - invece - si parla spesso, e una carica di tensione che vortica e stravolge la vita della paurosa ma tenace Zara.

Zarà è un personaggio carino, con la sua mania di elencare fobie ogni qual volta si trova in imbarazzo. Esistono veramente moltissime fobie e lei ne possiede parecchie, o forse non ne possiede nessuna ma continua ad autoconvincersi pur di limitarsi e spingersi ad essere più normale possibile. Eppure è brillante, atletica e spigliata... e speciale. Almeno fino a quando non si fa prendere dal panico. Ma noi le vogliamo subito bene lo stesso.

Diversamente, Nick non colpisce molto il lettore. C'è troppo di "non svelato" riguardo a questo personaggio maschile, anche quando spiattella tutta la sua vita a Zara. L'autrice ci tiene sulle spine e ci svela solo la parte più "ovvia", quella che in ogni caso ci aspettavamo, ma c'è di più, deve esserci, visto che c'è un gran potenziale in lui.

Un romanzo che ti inganna e ti trascina nella falsa sicurezza (sicuramente frustante) del "tanto so già come andrà a finire" e poi ti sorprende.

Un romanzo che può piacere come non piacere, e moltissimo dipende dalla quantità di young adult letti ad essere sinceri. Sarà proprio questo duplice aspetto a renderne difficile il giudizio .

E' il primo di una serie quindi, come ogni primo romanzo merita il beneficio del dubbio e quindi aspettiamo di sapere, con il prossimo, come si evolveranno le cose per Zara, sua nonna, Nick, l'eccentrica e dolcissima Issie ed il simpatico Devyn. show less

This was great! Exciting, creepy and a bit romantic, I whipped through Need.

Zara's dad has just died, and she feels as if she's died as well. Concerned for Zara, her mother has sent her to live with Zara's grandmother in a small town in Maine. However, Zara's piece of mind won't be getting better anytime soon - she's been seeing an eerie man, whom her new friends think might be a pixie king, desperate for a new queen.

Zara is quite skeptical of the "pixie king" idea, as well as the idea that "weres" are the natural enemies of pixies, as she doesn't believe either are real. What she discovers is much more complex and...unreal...than she could ever have dreamed!

Zara's a tough, smart girl, her new friends are "keepers", and her possible show more love interest is DREAMY. This has a Twilight feel to it, though it's MUCH better written, much less co-dependent, Zara's no weak female needing repeated rescues, and there's no creepy stalker "I watch you while you sleep" moments, thank GOD... show less

Summary: Zara White hasn't been the same since her dad (technically her stepdad) died of a heart attack a few months ago. She's been isolated and severely depressed, and her mother sends her to live with her grandmother in a tiny town in Maine to hopefully snap her out of it. Zara hates Maine - it's cold and bleak, her grandmother won't let her be alone at night, and being the new kid in school is never easy. But Zara's new school seems stranger than most. It seems like everyone's hiding something, like everyone knows a secret that Zara doesn't - even her new friends Issie and Devyn, and Nick, the intense - and intensely attractive - boy that Zara's falling for. But what really worries her is the strange man... the one who's been show more following her all the way from Charleston, the one who appears out of nowhere to point at her silently, the one who calls her name if she gets too close to the woods, the one she's starting to think might not even be human...

Review: Does the literary world really need another Twilight-clone teen paranormal romance? No, probably not. But, on the other hand, does the average reader occasionally just need to kick back with something silly and fun that doesn't make her think too hard (if at all)? Yes, I'd say that she does. And, on that scale, Need serves its purpose admirably well.

Need is not particularly original, even within its sub-genre. Almost all of the elements here are ones I've encountered before - the new girl in school set-up, shapeshifters, a King of the Fey Court luring mortal girls away from safety in order to change them into fey. The main difference is that in Need, the fey are called pixies and are distinguished from fairies, although what the difference is is never made clear. (Also, the pixies literally shedding gold dust wherever they walk was new... Maybe that's why pixies are so dangerous: it's not the soul-stealing, it's because it's impossible to ever get all of the glitter out of your carpet afterward.)

Neither is Need particularly subtle. Most of the plot twists are telegraphed from the very early chapters, and I'd figured out almost all of what was going on before the real action had even started. As an example, when I started reading this book, I didn't realize that it was about shapeshifters as well as pixies, but within about three paragraphs of meeting one of the characters, I was thinking "Well, that one's obviously a werewolf." A lot of the characterizations are done with similarly broad strokes.

BUT. Despite it being fairly cookie-cutter-ish, and despite it being incredibly predictable, I still got a kick out of reading it. Zara is not particularly complex, but she is a sympathetic narrator, and her reaction to the death of her father felt vivid and true, both drawing on and evoking some real emotion. Furthermore, she also has a brain, and a spine, and is not content to sit around and wait for the boy to come rescue her. (She also may have a blood pressure condition, though, because my word she seemed to get lightheaded and pass out a lot.) The action is good, the romance is all palm-sweaty and first-kiss-tingly, and there are a number of parts that were legitimately creepy. So, while Need is not a barn-burner of a book, it's certainly an enjoyable way to pass a few hours. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Folks who can't get enough YA paranormal romance (Twilight, Wicked Lovely, etc.) will enjoy this one for sure, and those who occasionally enjoy some fluffy, light, quick reading may want to add this to their lists as well. show less

Let me start out this review by saying the following: FINALLY, there is a YA supernatural/fantasy novel with a strong heroine as the lead! Sure, the Gemma Doyle trilogy had a strong heroine (but I thought that was just a fluke) and A Certain Slant of Light also had one of those (but I don't really measure any YA supernatural novel against that book because it just shouldn't be in the same caliber as other YA Fantasy fluff novels; it's just THAT good), but I really thought that I was going to have severe issues with Need. I thought the minute that hot, mysterious Nick showed interest in Zara, she was going to be all "But I want to be a monster too...", but she wasn't.

Seriously, Zara was just all types of awesome. And she didn't lose show more that touch of awesomeness when she was with Nick. If anything she became more awesome for not losing that awesomeness. Yeah, she did some irrational things, but the great thing about it was that she KNEW they were irrational. She wasn't completely clueless or ignorant. Now, the boyfriend/object of affection. Not once was he stalker-ish. He did have alpha male tendencies and a bit of a hero complex (but a big chunk of men do), but this didn't bother me because Zara just threw whatever he gave right back at him. Nope, Nick was just a regular (or as regular as anyone can be in his situation) guy that realized he didn't have to commit a crime (and get all types of creepy) to get a girl to like him. His penchant for not knocking on doors could irk some, but if that's as bad as he gets, then, I'll take him.

Speaking of characters, the supporting ones, were just amazing. Grandma Betty...it seriously doesn't get more kick-ass than her. Devyn was cute and Issie was just adorable. I think they were my favorites. They were just so awww and squee worthy. Let's not forget the Big Bads in Need...the pixies. They were just all sorts of creepy. No. I mean it. I really had to stop once for a couple of minutes and read a cute, fluffy, fanfic, so that I wouldn't get too freaked out (although I am in my creepy, old house alone, so). The pixies were just not cute at all. I think I'm mildly scarred. I will never look at pixies, elves, and fairies (which includes avoiding EVERY SINGLE Disney movie) the same way again. They have the power to suck souls and feed. [Shivers:]

So, Need was just a great, awesome, amazing, read. It was a page-turner (another one I read in one sitting. Not counting, of course, my brief fanfic read) and I really could not put it down for anything short of food. It was creepy, entertaining, and most of all, it had a kick-ass heroine who refused to just lie down and wait for her "love" to rescue her. Zara just shows that us "damsels" may not need saving from others when we're in "distress". (Not saying that if I were in distress, I wouldn't take the help. Just give me a couple of minutes to see if I can get out of it myself. Just to save face...) show less

My summary:
Zara has never been the same since her stepdad died on the kitchen floor, in front of her. She is emotionless and collects and chants phobias. Oh, and she believes she is being stalked.
But Zara thinks it is a little dramatic to send her away from her mother and to freezing Maine to stay with her Gramma, Betty, to stay 'sane'.
But no matter what her mother thinks, the crazy things Zara claim to be real, crazy things like the beings that follow her, whispering her name in the darkness and leaving trails of gold dust everywhere... are not her imagination.
In the snow covered woods of Maine, unimaginably dangerous creatures lurk, killing innocent people, to find what they are seeking...

... Zara.

This book is fantastic. I honestly show more have never read a book about pixies and before I read this I would have said the idea was silly. But Carrie Jones has captured the sense of foreboding and hesitance of Zara moving to a new school and town. She also shows Zara's anger at her mother for sending her away to stay 'sane'. I love how Zara is a strong character who does not find the opportunity to mope about her life.
You don't need to be a fae or pixie lover to read this book.
Carrie Jones's exquisite detailing and observation leaves readers wanting more. show less