Review: Need by Carrie Jones

Title: Need
Author: Carrie Jones
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
More Details: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher/Publication Date: Bloomsbury, January 1, 2008

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

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...

So, last week I read Need by Carrie Jones, and I have to say that It was pretty good; yet, this book had its ups and down. Sure, there were cheesy/cute moments, but in terms of general reading experience and enjoyment, Need was a fun book and an interesting opening to the series.

Need was definitely a paranormal novel. A half-frozen, decidedly sleepy town in the middle of nowhere? Check. Mysterious things happening upon arrival? Check. Paranormal elements? Check. All the semi-necessary ingredients for a paranormal pie heaped with an extra added dose of trouble. I actually liked the way Jones chose to gradually introduce the supernatural aspects into the story. As the story progressed, it became apparent that trouble had been brewing for a while. So, it was nice to see how well those details were developed, and later integrated into Zara’s story.

Zara is the main character, and she was sent to live with her grandmother to help her cope with a recent death in her family. That part of Need was pretty good. The writing was good and made it easy to get into the story, but it also captured Zara’s emotions in a way that made them seem realistic—when it concerned her family.

One of the lower points for me was some of  Zara’s blatantly bad decisions. Despite repeated warnings, she insisted on walking right into trouble against better judgment. The romantic aspect wasn’t necessarily my favorite, but I didn’t really pay much attention to it. I was more interested in the mystery and its solution. It wasn’t all bad of course, I liked the majority of the secondary characters—especially Zara’s new friends and her grandmother, Betty. The paranormal aspects, writing, and the overall plot were also good.

So, Need was interesting. Would I continue on with this series? The copy of Need that I have has a small sneak peek of the second book in the very back. And, just from the sneak peek alone, things seemed to be getting very interesting. So, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of picking up the next book. (Actual Rating 3.5)

The Friday 56 (66) Need by Carrie Jones

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

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...

""I'm good," I say, taking in the room, the coziness of it. It's almost like a timber frame house, I would guess. "--Need by Carrie Jones

What are some of your favorite paranormal or fantasy books/series?

Review: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot

Title: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess
Author: Meg Cabot
Source/Format: Won, Paperback
More Details: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher/Publication Date: Square Fish, May 19, 2015

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Return to the world of Meg Cabot's bestselling and beloved Princess Diaries series in From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess—this time through the illustrated diary of a spunky new heroine: Princess Mia's long lost half-sister, Olivia! Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is a completely average twelve-year-old: average height, average weight, average brown hair of average length, average brown skin and average hazel eyes. The only things about her that aren't average are her name (too long and princess themed), her ability to draw animals (useful for her future career as a wildlife illustrator), and the fact that she is a half-orphan who has never met her father and is forced to live with her aunt and uncle (who treat her almost like their own kids, so she doesn't want to complain). Then one completely average day, everything goes wrong: the most popular girl in school, Annabelle Jenkins, threatens to beat her up, the principal gives her a demerit, and she's knocked down at the bus stop.... Until a limo containing Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia pulls up to invite her to New York to finally meet her father, who promptly invites her to come live with him, Mia, Grandmère and her two fabulous poodles. Maybe Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison isn't so average after all!

I admit that I haven’t read the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, but I have seen the movies, so I’m not completely unfamiliar with the general plot. Anyway, I was really excited to receive From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess in the mail, and I ignored everything else to go ahead and read it. To sum it up, the story was short and cute.

Told from the perspective of Olivia, the story basically follows her as she discovers the truth about her family. The discovery isn’t much of a surprise, because the title and the synopsis are more than suggestive—and I was a little disappointed by that. However, that wasn’t too much of a fault since there were other things going on that were more of a surprise. I also liked how family ties and friendships were dealt with alongside the many changes happening to Olivia at once. The writing was done in a way that captured Olivia’s voice and really showed her as a character, which was great.

Overall, From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess was pretty good. Since I have the second book, I look forward to seeing what happens next and maybe I’ll finally go back and give The Princess Diaries series a try.

Musing Mondays (54) Random Weekly Question(s)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat, that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My Musings for the Week...

Since I took a couple of weeks off, I'm going to get caught up on the random weekly questions I missed.

Random weekly question from May 23rd: Name a book you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.

I try to keep an open mind about books and reserve judgment until after I've started reading—unless, of course, the subject isn't something I'm interested in. Anyway, the series' that I'm about to mention weren't ones I specifically thought I would dislike, but I was unfamiliar with the authors at the time.

So, to answer the question...

The first is the Elemental Trilogy by Sherry Thomas. And the second is The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken. Both trilogies were in the same boat. I'm glad I ended up giving them a chance, but at the time I hadn't read anything by Bracken or Thomas.

Question from May 30th: Name a book that disappointed you.

The Tapper Twin's go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey. This book had its high and low points. Originally, I was really excited to give it a try, but it ended up being just alright for me.

Question from June 6th:What is your most favorite book from your childhood?

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed the Amelia Bedieia series by Peggy Parish, illustrated by Fritz Siebel. I haven't picked them up in a long time, but I do remember enjoying them.

Other Musings...

This week, I'm going to read Need by Carrie Jones.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

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...

What are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (65) From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Return to the world of Meg Cabot's bestselling and beloved Princess Diaries series in From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess—this time through the illustrated diary of a spunky new heroine: Princess Mia's long lost half-sister, Olivia! Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is a completely average twelve-year-old: average height, average weight, average brown hair of average length, average brown skin and average hazel eyes. The only things about her that aren't average are her name (too long and princess themed), her ability to draw animals (useful for her future career as a wildlife illustrator), and the fact that she is a half-orphan who has never met her father and is forced to live with her aunt and uncle (who treat her almost like their own kids, so she doesn't want to complain). Then one completely average day, everything goes wrong: the most popular girl in school, Annabelle Jenkins, threatens to beat her up, the principal gives her a demerit, and she's knocked down at the bus stop.... Until a limo containing Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia pulls up to invite her to New York to finally meet her father, who promptly invites her to come live with him, Mia, Grandmère and her two fabulous poodles. Maybe Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison isn't so average after all!

"None of it's as easy as it looks, especially to people like Annabelle, who think all princesses do is sit around in nice clothes, which isn't true at all."From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot

Comments: I haven't read the original Princess Diaries series, but I have seen the movies. So, I'm pretty excited to read From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess. Have you read The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot?