*I received a free copy of Need from HMH Books for Young Readers via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
Need by Joelle Charbonneau Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on 3 November 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
"No one gets something for nothing. We all should know better."
Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature.
Need is a chilling tale about how far the anonymity of the internet could go if we let it. Putting others behind wants for new and shiny things is not new, but the way this was facilitated in Need made the story quite horrifying.
My Need review:
Need takes social media stalking and bullying to a whole new level, and it’s very hard to see who can be trusted, and who the main character should stay very far away from! With a layered plot, a solid story and characters that are realistic and flawed, Need appealed to me in many ways! Everybody who has a social media account knows how important it is to be polite and show respect online… especially because there are always trolls who want to make even that a difficult experience for some users. In Need, this is taken to another level, when only those who are students at Nottawa High can become members on a new social platform. And the first question they get is ‘What do you NEED?’
Hiding behind anonymous screen-names, all the students get to ask for something they feel like they have to have. Some ask for a new phone or computer, Kaylee, however has something to ask for, something her brother can’t live without. She needs a new kidney for him! Written from the point of view of several different characters, showing the readers how they make their choices, and how far they are ready to go in order to receive what they asked for, the story is really both chilling and scary, because the boundaries between what happens online and what happens in the real world are blurred so quickly! Delivering a box of cookies on someone’s doorstep is no problem, right? And writing the name of someone else in the order book for cookies to be delivered is simply an innocent prank, isn’t it? And it really seemed like that, until one of the students died from eating peanuts in her cookies… And those cookies might not have been delivered to her by chance.
Even following nine different characters wasn’t a hardship at all when it came to this story, I was actually very excited to get into the head of all of them! Seeing what motivated them, and what scared them, and they all had very distinct voices, so it was truly part of the thrill of the story. And with each new aspect of the story, the actions of the characters become more serious, as they also start to feel like they can trust no one. At the same time, most of them are greedy enough to continue, even when they start to understand that the new social network is not as innocent as others they have used, and death becomes their new normal. Kaylee is the protagonist, even if many of the characters get the space to share their thoughts as well, and it took me no time at all to feel connected to her and her quest to save her brother.
If you are in the mood for a dark story, where greed and unhappiness is what makes the world spin out of control, you should pick Need up, as soon as you possibly can!
Some of my favorite Need quotes:
Personally, I think they make Nate’s blond good looks less perfect, which is not a bad thing. He needs a flaw. Or twelve. Of course, I have enough flaws for both of us. The attention-seeking drama queen and the neglected, nonathletic brother. We’re so different and yet, at the core, we’re the same.
“Yeah, but…” But what? I’m not exactly sure. There’s something about this whole setup that bugs me. Or maybe it’s just the question we asked – What do you need? Because I know what need is, and it’s not another phone.
A Tale of Two Cities. Even the title sounds boring. Her teacher swore she wasn’t really assigning homework this holiday. She said she was giving everyone the gift of a wonderful story. Yeah, right. If that were the case, there would be a hot guy on the cover.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
I hadn’t heard of this one, so thanks for sharing! It sounds fantastic though. That’s great that all the point of views weren’t too difficult to follow.
-Lauren
It was very well done, Lauren, and I really enjoyed the way the new social media site made these teens so ruthless!
Sounds chilling, indeed, Lexxie. The thought of social media going so awry is something really scary to me. And kids just really don’t seem to get it – the need to guard yourself. It seems as though Charbonneau nailed multiple POVs and I’m sure that really added to the depth of the story – getting those different perspectives. I’ll add this to my tbr, my dear. Lovely review!
Happy Tuesday! **BIG HUGS**
I know, right? And this one just makes all your worst fears (and more!) come true! It’s very well done, because I could really see something similar actually happening in real life.
Happy Tuesday to you, too, my dear. *BIG HUGS*
I’m about 1/3 the way through this one and enjoying it too. Great review!
I’m glad you’re enjoying this one, Annette! I look forward to reading your review 🙂
This book sounds like a real page-turner and one I think I’d enjoy! I love a good mystery/thriller. The last of your favorite quotes from NEED though lol. Ain’t that the truth 😉 Great review, Lexxie
Yup, Jae, that’s definitely the case – gifts have hot guys on the cover for sure! I hope you’ll enjoy Need as much as I did!
Twitter: talksupeblog
9 characters, whoa! I usually get that many POVs on epic fantasy. Slows down the plot development, but it can be fun especially when it’s done right. I struggle with it in other genre and when the novel is average in length. Good to know it worked well here and didn’t stunt the story for you
It didn’t really slow down the plot, Braine, because the story moved forward through the different characters’ POVs, and it was a great way to get me as a reader to see more of the story than each character did.
gah yup I just bought this one, I hope it is as good for me as it was for you!
I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did, too, Lily!
I love the social media theme to this book and I think it’s a topic that is really scary to think about as it just seems to be getting more and more out of control. The thoughts of nine characters scare me a bit so I’m glad to hear you didn’t find it confusing. I still need to finish this author’s other series -the Testing – but I think I’ll be trying this one out after that.
I thought the nine characters POV made the story more unique, and it really made it good! Each character knew about their own involvement only, and so, me sharing their added knowledge was really good.
I haven’t finished reading the Testing yet, but I will. Soon!
Wow 9 different characters!!! That is a lot. Still this sounds really interesting. Great review!
It was really well done, Grace!