Reviews for Need

The average rating for Need based on 2 reviews is 1 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-02-10 00:00:00 David Camanse UPDATE 6/9/19 - Original Review Below Me: (Coming back and re-reading this review that I wrote while reading an online version of this book at a point in time when I was 17, home from school sick, delirious with fever, and not sleeping like I was supposed to be.) haha lolz Me: (Getting to the bottom and noticing there's 100+ likes)....oh no what have i done... Seriously, tho, guys, thnx for the likes. This was...not an intentionally funny review and was very critical and unprofessional in my "fever haze state" but...I guess it plays XD ORIGINAL REVIEW FROM FEBRUARY 10, 2014 NEED:BECAUSE YOU NEED TO BURN THIS BOOK. I knew there was going to be trouble when I started getting Twilight flashbacks in chapter one: girl has awkward family situation. She moves to someplace cold. Where it's really cold. She probably should have put on a better jacket but she's not used to that because she used to live somewhere warmer. And now it's cold. Because of awkward weather situations, she's also given a new car (well, Bella's wasn't new, but whatever. Same intent). Did I mention it's cold? FUN FACT!: The word 'cold' is mentioned eleven times within the first chapter. Just in case you forgot. Zara is a pity-me-but-I-will-still-save-the-world type of character. She is so noble, in fact, that we need to be told that she's going to try and save the world several times in the first chapter. Because that must be really important. She also, sadly, cannot differentiate between Stephen King novels and Harry Potter. Sad day, Zara, sad day…Plus, she has a name that makes it sound like she's already a fairy herself. Not that I'm judging…not at all…*** (***EDIT: For those of you who have not read my reviews before, you probably aren't aware of an on-going rant I seem to be caught up in and that's the idea that a lot of American/British authors like to pick "exotic" sounding names for their white characters. This isn't supposed to be taken as an insult against people named Zara in general, but the fact that Zara is a typical Bella-Sue character with a name from another culture and there is 0 explanation as to why she would be named that other than "it's different and more interesting than naming her Sara, which is the name Zara is derived from. The name IS in fact odd considering her CHARACTER. If she was actually a different ethnicity it would make much more sense. Thank you to the two Goodreads members who pointed out to me in the comments that this point might not be made clear enough on its own.) Although I will judge her on the fact that she believes that people only wear boots when it's cold up in Nowheresville. Well, I'm proud to say that up here in Wisconsin, I've been wearing boots since October. And yes, yes they are these tiny brown and black little boy boots with thick lace up strings and everything. No UGGs for me!! Basically, take this picture. Then make it a size zero. THAT is my fashion sense. And I like it thank you very much. And Zara wears prissy shoes. So though it gives her character, I suppose, it does not score her any points with me. I believe common sense generally dictates that when there is snow, you should wear boots. But that's just me. Anyways, Zara-with-the-odd-name** of course meets a nice hunky guy while pulling into the school lot. A guy who is an athlete, already knows who she is, and actually stops to say hi and whatever. Of course. And comments on the fact that she should be wearing boots. As a high school senior, I have learned by now that rare is the teenage boy who would do any of these things. And he WALKS her IN to the SCHOOL. Can you purchase one of these boys? Possibly at Pick 'n Save? Then we must have the immediate run in with the hair-flippin' bitch archetype. Because apparently her character is a necessity to the plot. (Question mark?) And we'll call her a Barbie. Because that's very original. And their little insult exchange? Teen girls nowadays aren't even a quarter that straight forward, they would never say those sorts of things in front of an adult, and since the schools systems have initiated the War on Bullying, being caught in this sort of predicament would bring down the counselor squad right away. Anyways, all I'll say about the rest of Zara's introduction to her new school is "hey, 'sup! Welcome to Coldville Coldstown, where everyone is an archetype to fit perfectly into your budding heroine needs! Welcome, welcome, welcome Bella-Zara! We will all stop our lives to pay attention to YOU!" STOP THE PRESSES, FOLKS! GOT A NEW HEADLINE!!! ZARA WHITE IS HERE!!!! Also like Bella, these kids apparently find all their information on the internet. Can I also purchase websites that give me answers to everything? Basically I can't handle the energy of writing a full review while being sick. So I'm just going to list of a bunch of ridiculousness in this book: Days off in cross country. Can I get a day off in cross country? The only times we didn't have practice were Sundays. And that's it. And apparently everyone believes in pixies and stalkers and weirdness and are ALL cool with it. Because that makes sense. While we're at it, can I get an express elevator to Middle Earth? Everyone good with that? Do all libraries have fairy encyclopedias? Mine sure doesn't. Trust me on this: I checked. UPDATE: (I'd put a page number but I can't because this is an online version I borrowed from the library. With no page numbers) I should have guessed. And I think I did. Stalker fairy needs Zara for bloodline purposes! We love having babies in the paranormal romance part of the world! (Yes, yes there IS a paranormal romance part of the world. All cold places like Russia, Washington, and Maine. I guess poor old Wisconsin just got left out of the loop. Again: can I order that express elevator?) 32% through the book: "Do you think she knows?" Devyn asks. "Knows?" "About the pixies?" I imagine Betty with her gruff flannel shirts and her fact-gathering nature. "No way." TEN BUCKS SAYS BETTY KNOWS. 33% through the book. They found a note that says "Don't fear. Here there be tygers, 157." Uh-oh! Tygers is spelled with a 'y'! Ray Bradbury and a William Blake reference! Sh*t's about to go down folks. 34% Zara given iron bracelets. Fairies…bracelets…Sh*ts goin' down fo sho. 35% Apparently if you know army time, you are a geek. Hey guys, it's official now! I'm a geeeeeeeeeeeeekkk!!! Also, Zara doesn't finish dinner. And it's spaghetti. This girl is weird. Oh, and then she goes running. To find a pixie. So she's stupid, too! 37% "It sounds so stupid."That's because it WAS stupid, Zara, dear. Pixie hunting in the dark by yourself is very VERY stupid… 43% PREDICTION: Nick is crazy fairy dude. Or a werewolf. Take yer pick. (Or, I'll even broaden it and say 'were'-something. Just to give it a better shot.) Wait, I change my mind. Certainly a were-something. 45% Wait…a buncha teenage guys keep on going missing in this specific town in a very specific area? And the US Marshalls aren't there yet? 46% "I'm not most girls." says Zara. Nope; just like every other YA heroine in the world. But that's okay! You're still an individual! "I'm not into pity parties." *Shakes head sadly.* Yes you are, Zara. Yes you really are. Also, Zara wants to know why it's cold in Maine. Compared to the south? Possibly because it's further north. Just spitballin' here. Could be wrong. 49% Wait…she can't tell Stephen King apart from Harry Potter but she can quote Nietzsche? 51% Zara is stupid. Zara hears a pixie calling her. Zara goes out into the woods. Zara hears a dog out alone in the woods. The dog is hurt. Zara miraculously makes it back to her house. $20 says the dog is Nick. (I really want to make some money offa this thing. I think I deserve it.) 55% I WAS RIGHT ON BOTH BETS!!! KILI WINS, YOU LOSE!!! I JUST MADE $30!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! … Wait, who's gonna pay me? 56% Zara previously correctly guesses that the dog is a werewolf. But when the dog disappears and she's left with a naked guy in her house, she somehow can't put the pieces together that naked Nick is the werewolf. Hence, there WAS no dog. Zara is stupid. 64% Screw pixies, Zara STILL can't get over the fact that Maine is cold. She should try living in Wisconsin with cold urticaria. 67% Pixies start to invade the house and Zara thinks that the voice outside that sounds like her dead dad is actually her dead dad. Obviously not dead. Apparently Zara has never read Spiderwick. Also, Zara is stupid. Well, at least she doesn't let him in. At least she figures it out just in time. At least she is the luckiest person alive. 74% On a pixie hunt. Let's stop what we're doing, have a snowball fight, and kiss each other. Sounds good? Ambush? Worry about an ambush? What are you, crazy or something? Pixies can't come out during the day!! Hahaha! Whoops. Except for when the "need is great". Remember that bit? I sure did. 77% The name Zara means princess? Well Sarah means "God's princess". Ha, I win. Also: Megan and Ian are pixies!! Well, that explains a lot. 79% The end of this book is just like Twilight…Wait. 79%? It's not over yet??!! What are they going to do, kiss for the last 20%? 81% Oh….I get it now. Must rescue the mother now. Okay. Fine then. 95% (Which IS actually the end of the book because I guess they count the author bio page and sneak peeks or whatever as the last 5%) … Wait, what? I just realized, absolutely NOTHING happened in this entire book. 306 pages of NOTHING HAPPENING. That was very boring. That was very annoying. I'm not sure why in the world I just wasted an hour+ reading it. WHY? WHY???!!!! Oh wait, I'm sick. And sort of delirious. Yep, it all makes sense now. Review mostly finished. GIFs to come. And a rant on a serious lack of good YA villains, because that's just one of my favorite complaints to make in the world. Probably.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-04-11 00:00:00 Kathy Wallace I randomly picked up this book at the library. I had seen it at Borders at least a dozen times, and I needed a book, so I decided to check it out. Okay, let start off with the basic plot. Zara, a once popular and happy girl living in Charleston, watches her father die of a heart attack on their kitchen floor. Feeling depressed and "dead inside," her mother forcibly sends her to Maine to live with her grandmother because somehow solitary confinement will help her cope. There, she makes a whole bunch of new friends and enemies as soon as she steps in the door (literally), and she acquires a 'powerful' stalker. She is surprised to find out that pixies and weres exist, and her stalker is actually the King Pixie. She is also shocked to find how her family has ties to the age old battle between the pixies and the weres. She has to fight along side her new best friends to help save the world, and save herself from becoming the Queen Pixie. Now that that's over, let's talk about my opinion. All right. One word to describe this book: stupid. You could actually use pointless too! This book felt like a complete waste of time, and it took every inch of my willpower to finish it up. Halfway through the book, I was about to throw it against the wall or something! Talk about unoriginal and forced! Whew! This book was obviously written for the Twilight crew, for the two books greatly resembled each other (and that is definitely not a good thing.) Anyways, let's break it down into elements: Negative Elements: The Plot - I've seen this plot time and time again. Girl with tragic past moves to new town. Girl makes a boatload of new friends and is torn between two unrealistically hot guys. Girl gets into trouble through her own stupidity that is somehow portrayed as courage. Helpless girl gets beat up a little (but not so much as to distort her pretty features) and is saved by her love. With the help of her "awesome" friends, the bad guy is defeated. Girl ends up with hunkiest guy. That was the plot, no joke. It was so predictable... so boring. The ending, however, is what really made me uncomfortable. Way to make the bad guy look like a wimp and set up a boring ending, Ms. Jones. The Characters - I thought the characters, especially the main one, were extremely annoying and unoriginal. Zara is a perfect embodiment of Mary Sue. She was too perfect, and idealized by the other characters. Nothing is wrong with being liked by others, but it is a problem when you're loved by all and don't have a personality. Her lack of flaws, stupidity and neediness alone was enough to drive me insane. Continuing the trend of current YA novels, she was way too dependent on Nick. She couldn't live without him, couldn't stop thinking about him, etc. The other characters were also perfect in pretty much every way; they only had a few, obviously placed flaws. The antagonists were wimps who were too stupid for their own good. The "Romance" - Gosh, talk about corny. The romance between Nick and Zara was completely fake. Nick, of course, was REPEATEDLY (as in throughout the entire freakin' book) described by Zara as having bulging muscles, smooth skin, dreamy eyes, a washboard stomach, a Mediterranean tan, ultra-soft lips, luscious hair, manly scruff, blah, blah, and blah. Their so-called chemistry was based solely on looks, not what really counts. All Zara talked about was how cute Nick was. *groan* As for Nick, he was a flawless hunk whose only goal in life was to protect Zara. Ha ha, sound familiar? The Believability - Okay, I know it's a story about Pixies and Weres, but come on! The author could have made it at least a little bit believable. Everyone was so calm about finding out the pixies and weres actually existed. If I moved to a new town and some people I barely knew told me these types of things existed, I would contact a mental institute. Zara was just like, "Pixies? Like, no way. Like, they actually exist? I totally believe you." Everyone was so.. matter-of-fact. It was annoying. Obviously this was done to bypass the time needed to create an exceptional novel. This book, if you can ever call it that, was a money maker and nothing else. The author did not write to selflessly put her imaginary world on paper, she wrote to exploit this generation's young adults and cash in a huge profit. The Dialogue - Forced and lacked meaning. The entire dialogue was full of bad sarcasm, stupid comments/questions and cheap romance. Need I explain more? Positive Elements: The Phobias - The ONLY thing I enjoyed about this book was Zara's hobby - chanting all the phobias. Every chapter was titled a phobia, and Zara was constantly describing them. I enjoyed reading them and finding out what they meant. I especially loved the long ones that I couldn't pronounce. All in all, I found this book to be a waste of time, and I don't recommend it to anyone. Feel free to disagree with me, but this is one of the worst books I've ever read. I hated how the not-so-evil villains acted and how all the females were portrayed as useless damsels. It was uncomfortable and uninteresting. Read it if you dare. ;)