Review - Need by Carrie Jones

Need by Carrie Jones

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Page Count: 306
Overall Rating: 2.5 Stars

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.

So, here's the thing you guys: I'm not really sure why I'd wanted to read this one in the first place. Maybe it was the cover. Okay, I do like Fae and Pixies and the like, but I'm not a huge fan of werewolves (To anyone who has read my writing: I don't even know. Don't question it.) in books. I just feel like there's such a stereotype to werewolves in YA and I just end up not liking the characters.

But, of course, it's not just werewolves, it's pixies. It's weretigers and were-eagles and even a werebear. It feels almost like there's too much going on in one book with all of the people turning into various animals.

Beyond that, the story feels a little...done already? I mean, I've never even heard of were-eagles before, but something about it feels so very, very, very familiar and I don't like it. I had mentioned it to a few friends and they agreed that it felt done already.

I had kind of high hopes for this one, but I found most of the foreshadowing way too blatant and the fact that the readers were supposed to be surprised more than once when people ended up being supernatural creatures just like Zara was, but it was just so freaking obvious who was a werewolf or were-eagle or pixie, you know? I have no clue.

Zara was a mix of good and bad, a mix of selfless and stupidly "brave". She was kind of an iffy character for me, and I couldn't really decide if I liked her or not. As for other things that weren't bad, I did like the phobias that start the chapter, although sometimes they managed to ruin the surprise of some "shocking" things that were to happen.

It does seem like everyone has genuinely like this book but me, so maybe it's just me, but I don't know. It wasn't at all what I wanted it to be, really, and I had hoped for something that felt completely new with the pixies, since I don't read a lot of it, and I was let down.

Nonetheless, I'm not the only one who's read this book, and a whole lot of others have loved it. If you want another opinion, please check out this review by my friend Riley. Check it out from your library before buying is my suggestion.

Songs I listened to while reading: