Need by Carrie Jones

Need by Carrie Jones
Bloomsbury USA (December 23, 2008)
320 pages, Young Adult
$11.55 (Amazon, 11/17/09, Hardcover), $9.99 (Amazon, 11/17/09, Kindle), $9.99 (Amazon, 11/17/09, Paperback (released 12/08/09))

I bought this book on Amazon.com.

Summary

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.

My Grade

Plot: 5
Setting: 5
Writing: 5
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 5
Overall: 30/30! AWESOME!
Cover/Title Bonus: 5

First Line

Phobophobia
fear of phobia
Everybody has fears, right?

Plot

You can tell from the summary that this is about a creepy pixie guy who is trailing Zara from North Carolina to Maine. She sees him just about everywhere. She is super depressed because of her stepdad’s sudden “his heart attacked him” incident. She’s moved in with her super cool Gram in a very cold town in Maine. She quickly makes friends with some outcasts, catches the eye of a few guys, and in a matter of a few weeks manages to corral her depressed mood, a few friends, and her family nice and tightly. ;)

Setting

A small, very cool town in Maine. A lot takes place at the school, her Gram’s house and the woods. Also in Nick’s MINI Cooper.
The descriptions of the setting were very good. I was tempted to throw a coat on inside out a few times!

Writing

I loved his book because I loved the plot, the characters, and the romance. The writing obviously was perfect because I didn’t find myself picking it apart. I love that each chapter is named after a phobia.
It’s written in Zara’s first person POV. I liked this because she’s very attentive.

Originality

Pixies?! It’s kind of a play on faeries. It seems they are pretty much just like faeries but just with a different term. There’s not too much folklore behind them but the characters do investigate at the library and on the net to find out more.
The story is more about the romance, the family dispute, and Zara overcoming her lose of her stepdad.

Characters

Zara is the main character. She is a member of a group that writes letters to  free unjustly held prisoners. She’s very much about helping others. She’s not a fan of the cold. She’s very fond of her Gram. She speaks up to protect her friends. She’s a fast runner. I enjoyed her character a lot. She was a bit quite but spoke up when necessary.
Issie is Zara’s new found friend in her new school. She’s super hyper, loyal, and also a good friend of Devyn. She a Devyn obviously have a thing for each other but Devyn is wheelchair bound so I think that has something to do with it.
Nick Colt is one of Zara’s love interests. He’s big, strong, brown eyes, brown hair, a nice guy who drives a MINI Cooper, which is just funny. :) He helps Zara out a lot. They become very close. He has a secret that gets revealed and it’s awesome. :)
Betty is Zara’s Gram. She’s a retired old lady in her 60’s or so. She is a volunteer EMT. She lives in a cape cod in the woods. She’s pretty funny and not a very good cook. She’s a major supporter of Zara. I love that she’s so cool. She’s Zara’s “step” grandmother and I love that she takes Zara in when she needs someone to snap her out of her isolated depression.
There a few more minor characters. Every character was depicted very well.

Passion

The sparks fly between Zara and Nick. But it’s not something that happens right away. But once it does, watch out! :)

Overall

I loved this book. I loved that I didn’t really know what was going on with the plot. I loved that it wasn’t ALL about the pixie guy. I loved how it ended with everything pretty much wrapped up but with room to expand. I was left wanting more: more Zara, more Nick, more Zara and Nick. :) I’m looking forward to learning more about Nick, Devyn and Betty, as well as Issie. The pixie issue isn’t over so I’m looking forward to seeing how they do get resolved.

Cover/Title Bonus

The cover is pretty minimal. The trees explain that a lot happens in the woods in the winter, the gold dust represents the pixies and Need is explained in the book, which I love. I love it when a title makes sense. This title makes sense. It’s one of those ‘oh, right, the title’ kind of things.

Trailer

Series

Need by Carrie Jones

Captivate by Carrie Jones

Captivate will be released January 5, 2010.

Favorite Lines

page 29:

My hands find their way to my hips. “Are you going to tell me why she hates me?”
His attention turns to me. His eyes flash. “Probably doesn’t like the way you smell.”

The he in that is Nick Colt.
page 60:

“I am amaxophobic!” I announce to the steering wheel. I half hug it to make the point.
The steering wheel does not hug back.

Amaxophobic is the fear of riding in a car.
These are two of my favorite moments. It shows how vulnerable Zara really is but just how funny the author makes it. :)

If I didn’t love this so much I’d give it away but I’m keeping it! I’ve already pre-ordered Captivate! :)

Disclosure:
Amazon.com Associate. If you click on my links and purchase something I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price.