Need (Need #1) by Carrie Jones

Need (Need #1) by Carrie Jones

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Release Date: December 23rd 2008

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Page Count: Hardcover, 306 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

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. - Good Reads

I was intrigued by the description in the book jacket. I have this odd fascination with Maine. And I like YA and Paranormal. Put those three together and it was inevitable I would read it.

Need was okay. Just okay. Some may think it was really cliché. I could see that, if it wasn't so off-the-wall. I honestly laughed a little when ideas started floating around between the characters about what could cause the boys to disappear and who Zara's stalker could be. Wow. That honestly blew me away. The mythology surrounding this book was just a little too off beat for me for me to take seriously. It not that I'm not open to books with the "themes" this book had. Not at all. Normally I find them interesting. I guess it may have been the combination that bothered me. And as well - they didn't really go into much depth about the back story. All of it had to be looked up on the internet by the characters in the book, which didn't make a lot of sense considering some of them were apart of the "supernatural club" and should at least know the basics without having to scour the internet for information.

Zara was an interesting character though, at least partly. I honestly felt pity for her as she struggled to recover from the death of her father. And there was a particular scene in the book that tugged at my heart a little. I also liked that she was into Amnesty and John Lennon. But her 'too dumb to live' antics started to get to me. I don't know, if I had a stalker I wouldn't run out and try to confront him, especially if I didn't know what he was or was capable of. I guess I'm just amazingly smart like that.

If anything was cliché though, it definitely would have been the romance in the book. I think it made the book a little more interesting. I'm a sap though and as I've mentioned in previous reviews: little things can set my little heart aflutter. I really did like Nick "the bad boy". Ha! I thought it strange that people in the book referred to him as such, because I honestly did not feel that vibe at all. At any time. He seemed a little nerdy to me even.

I guess I'll probably read the next book to see what happens. I'm not sure if this is something I'd really recommend though at this point.