Need

Need by Carrie Jones

ISBN# 978-1-59990-338-5

Available now

Published by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books

Format: HC, 306 pages

Genres: YA, fiction, urban fantasy

This is the only book I've read by Carrie Jones and it looks to be her only YA urban fantasy so far.  She does have a few other YA books that look pretty interesting though including Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend and the sequel, Love (and other uses for duct tape).  The good news is that Carrie is currently working on the sequel to Need so maybe the pixies won't be stuck in that house forever after all (you'll know what I'm talking about after you read the book).  Besides enjoying the main story in this book you'll also learn a little about Amnesty International and a whole list of phobias you never knew existed thanks to the main character's causes and quirks.  I like books that are able to accomplish more than just a good story as long as it doesn't get in the way of said story or bog it down.

For a change of scenery Zara's mom decides to send her to Maine hoping that a stay with her grandmother will jar her back to life.  Zara's been going through her daily routines like a zombie since her step-father (the only father she's ever known) died.  Surprising herself, she quickly makes a few friends at her new school including the classic overachiever, Ian, and the rebel without a cause, Nick.  Each of them warns her off the other, but since she likes both of them and is enjoying feeling somewhat normal again she dismisses their rivalry.  Normalcy is soon gone again once Zara sees her stalker again, this time right outside the school lunchroom.  She has seen him twice before, but she can't believe that someone would follow her from South Carolina to Maine until witnesses see him this third time too.  Of course, how can you believe your witnesses when they try to tell you that your stalker may be a pixie?  Zara is about to learn that her family and this town are full of secrets that will be just as hard to swallow as pixies actually existing.  Pixie lore says that without a queen the king must take young men as blood tributes so will Zara be the queen they need or is there another way?

I found myself comparing this book to Melissa Marr's writing style, especially Ink Exchange because the endings both had the same problem for me.  In both, the humans completely overlook that the faeries/pixies need this lifestyle to live and put a stop to them anyway.  Since Zara is so gung ho about Amnesty International I thought she would come up with a middle ground, but no such luck.  I still have high hopes that something will be worked out in the sequel though.  If you're looking for a short, fast-paced read and love YA urban fantasy with a penchant for Faery and all of its denizens definitely pick this book up.

Zhye