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After giving a little more thought to what Ypulse readers want to know about teen/YA readers, we’ve dome some reworking to our YAB review format. Today, we debut the new, improved version with Youth Advisory Board member Caroline Marques’ review of Carrie Jones’ Need.

As always, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment below. And If you are a publicist and would like to send our Youth Advisory Board books to review, please email me.

YAB Review: ‘Need’ By Carrie Jones

First Impressions:
My first impression when I got this book honestly wasn’t that great. I mean, there’s a woman with gold lips and a forest growing on her neck. I looked at this book and thought it looked less appealing, than the glamorous covers of “Gossip Girl,” or the familiar “Twilight” ones. It wasn’t badly done, it just looked like a different book than the one it turned out to be. It looked like a somewhat dark story, that had something to do with love and gold dust. However, the back cover did spark my interest. It doesn’t reveal a lot, but you still want to know what happens. I think if I had seen this in a bookstore, I would have maybe picked it up to see what it was and who it was by etc. And if I had read the back cover, I probably would have bought it.

When Were You Hooked?
I was drawn into the story very quickly. I started reading and found it quite interesting. When the main character Zara and her friends, Devyn, Issie and Nick, went to the library to find out things about magical creatures like pixies, I started to really feel the need to read more. But I was drawn in pretty much from the beginning. Zara is a character you come to care about quite quickly, making the reader want to know her fate. I started reading this book at 11 p.m. one night, and couldn’t put it down after I started. There are several surprises and cliffhangers, though there are also a few plot points you can predict ( her love interest, the storyline with her mother… )

The Extras (i.e. author and/or book’s website, additional marketing materials, etc)
I went on Carrie Jones’ website, and was surprised that I hadn’t heard of her before now. I found out what she looks like, that she loves Fudgsicles and that she already published a lot more books for me to read. She seems like a funny and cute person, and that made me smile. I wouldn’t have necessarily known she had more books, considering this was the first I’d heard of her. But after looking at her site and reading the book, I now know she’s funny and very good with words so I’ll be sure to go check out her other books.

Final Verdict
I would, definitely pick up another book from Carrie Jones. This book was good and the chapter names were all phobias, which I thought was original and entertaining. I thought this book was nicely written, and felt like I could relate to the characters (at least, some of them). In general, it was just a good story.

However, there is one thing that has been bothering me ever since I first looked at the cover: the resemblance to the first book in the “Twilight” series. I know that book by heart, and couldn’t help comparing the two. I mean, they both have classic love stories, include werewolves, magical species, and the woods. Issie reminded me of Alice, Zara was like Bella undercover and Nick was obviously Edward. That said, I did like the book. It just had a lot in common with Twilight. And although I think they are both good authors, for a Twilight fan, it was hard to appreciate Need as more than a Twilight-esque story. Not to say that they are identical. Not at all. There are still many differences and, like I said, Carrie Jones did a great job.

In fact, her book actually inspired me to be like Zara and Nick and try to “save the world” through helping people. Zara works with Amnesty International, and that inspired me to look it up and try get involved myself. After reading the book, I thought about how the two teenagers did a lot of good things, and started also thinking what i could do myself.

Since the first reading, I’ve already re-read this book and thought about it a lot. I think it’ll stay in my head for a long
time.

More about Caroline

Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.

For more coverage of YA books and publishing, check out the Ypulse Books Channel sponsored by The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (LB Teens).

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Categorized under: Books & Print, YAB Review, Youth Advisory Board

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