Need

Jones, Carrie. 2008. Need.

Everybody has fears, right?

Need would be good for fans of Stephanie Meyer and Melissa Marr. It's YA fantasy with plenty of thrills: danger and romance. Our heroine, Zara, is unhappy to be moving to Maine. True, life had become almost impossible living with her mother since the death of her stepfather--the only man she ever knew as dad. But is packing her up and sending her to good-old-grandma (her stepfather's mother) really the answer?

While on the surface, Zara appears to be a typical teen with typical angst...but nothing is as it seems. And the town she's moved to is NOT your typical town. Well, unless you like things King-style. (And her grandma--so NOT typical!) It all begins when Zara notices one man--one very strange man--who seems to be following her around. This started on the day her stepdad died. He was there at the airport when she left. He is here in her new town too. She seems him--he's always alone--outside her home, outside her school. She knows something is up when she notices he leaves a trail of glitter behind him.

With the help of her new friends--Issie, Devyn, Nick--Zara is out to solve this mystery. What is driving this is the fact that since shortly before her arrival--boys have been going missing. Something similar occurred in her mom's generation--her days as a teen living in that town. Could the strange man following Zara be the key to solving the mystery of who is kidnapping (and most likely murdering) these teen guys?

Zara is anything but a damsel in distress. She's strong. She's opinionated. She's stubborn. She doesn't follow the rules unless it suits her--and let's be honest--that rarely happens. She's broken in a way--mourning the loss of her stepdad, confused by her new surroundings, and more than a little interested in this ever-dreamy-guy named Nick.

Nick.
Nick has thick, dark hair.
Nick has big, chestnut eyes.
Nick has nice, white teeth.
Nick has a big chest with runner's lungs so he could huff and puff and blow my house in. And I do not care. I lean in. He's so cozy warm but I shiver anyway, remembering the woods. My eyelids just don't want to be open and I really want them open because Nick is so cute when he isn't bossing me around. (114, ARC)

Some mystery. Plenty of action. Some romance. Some angst.

Overall, I liked it.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews