READING: Need (Need,#1) by Carrie Jones

Need by Carrie Jones

Publication Date: December 1st 2009

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Paperback, 306 pages

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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.

I really didn't have no expectations when i started reading this book and to be honest,i didn't know much about the storyline.I just picked it because i liked the cover and i was expecting for yet another YA book with a storyline close to the "Twilight Saga school".Teenager,moving to a new town,with a bunch of problems to solve,where she meets the cute guy and all paranormal hell brokes loose soon after her arrival.Watching it from a distance,it really looks like another Twilight clone,but reading it made me think twice.Of course,the basic plot resembles Twilight,but thankfully, as the story goes on,things get better and Carrie Jones manages to deliver a quite unigue book in the paranormal YA literature.

I've read of pixies before,that's true,but this was my first book,where pixies where the protagonists,and they were quite mean as well.The main heroine also,Zara,was quite well developed as a character throughout the book,from being the death stricken teenager who collects phobias,just to overcome her own fears,to a young woman,who does everything in her power to help those she loves.Nick,was also sexy as hell and the rest of the surrounding characters,although not developed much,where good in surrounding the whole plot.

What i didn't like,though,was firstly,the fact that so many things happened in such a short amound of time.It's quite unbelievable if you come to think it more closely,how a person can grow over such a small amount of time,and how the heroes feelings change from one page to another.I always have the same problem with many books,and i just find it irritating.Ok,i agree,the writer can't rumble on and on for chapters without anything happening just to show us that time is passing,but to actually believe,that all those things happened in about a week,well,it's impossible,at least for me.Another thing,that,again,i come across most YA books as well as this one and find it disturbing,is the fact that every paranormal being has the need to go to school...Whether it's a vampire,a werewolf,an angel,a fairy or a pixie,all those creatures seem to have the unstoppable need to go to school just to create the perfect setting for the writer and,in most cases,without further explanation.

Apart from those points though,Need was a fairly good written book,although awkward in some points,whose biggest advantage for me was its atmosphere.Jones managed to deliver a chilling story,in the perfect setting.I mean Maine,has already got it's reputation from Stephen Kings' books,and Jones managed to preserve that atmosphere up to a certain point.

All in all,this book,is,your typical paranormal YA book,but you read it quite pleasantly and i will most definitely continue with reading the sequel.