Review: Need by Carrie Jones

Title: Need {Part 1}
Author: Carrie Jones
Publish Date: December 2009 by Bloomsbury
Pages: 306, paperback
Reason for reading: For fun =)
Challenge: iFae

Zara hasn't been herself since the sudden death of her [step] father. In an attempt to get her out of her funk, her mother sends her to live with her grandmother in Maine. This small town in the middle of nowhere, USA is frigid, isolated and far from the warmth of Charleston. Unfortunately, escaping the sadness of her father's death and the creepy feeling that someone is stalking her isn't quite so easily done. As it turns out, she wasn't the only one to notice the creepy guy following her leaving a trail of gold dust behind...and some of her new friends have some theories. Who would have thought that pixies existed - and what's worse is that they're the ones responsible for the disappearance of several local boys. So why are they after Zara now?

I hadn't read many fairy books and I'm glad that I started with this one. I really liked the characters that Carrie came up with. Zara was a socially-conscious teen who adored her father, but wasn't obnoxious. One of my very favorite characters is Issie - her unofficial sidekick. She was cute, fun and completely lovable. Then of course you have Devyn the brainiac, Nick the hottie and Zara's love-interest and Betty, her feisty non-grandmotherly grandma. You will also learn which of the characters have "secret identities" - some more obvious than others. Overall I thought the characters were well diversified...you never want too much of the same!

Even though the storyline wasn't very original "girl-moves-to-new-town and meets-interesting-locals", Zara's obsession with phobias and the way that Carrie worked them throughout the story was original. {Note: you get to learn about some very interesting phobias out there.} In addition, I thought Carrie offered us very clever & witty dialogue. I thought that the interaction between her and the other characters was quirky, yet realistic.

And no worries, there is an interesting plot in there that is followed through Captivate {Part 2}. I don't want to give anything away so feel free to pick up this book if you want to find out WHY the pixies are after Zara *wink* I give this book ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥