Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (an imprint of HarperCollins)
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Edition: Hardcover
* Purchased on my own.
Charlotte Cassidy isn't your typical teenaged girl, she's faced with the Need, a sometimes painful call to help others. The more she tries to resist the Need, the more it hurts. When her skin begins to peel away revealing gold, she learns that she's one of the Forgotten, someone who will indeed be forgotten by everyone that they know when their task on Earth is completed. But Charlotte doesn't want to be forgotten, she wants to move to California with her boyfriend Harlin and live a normal life. Onika offers her a way to stay on Earth and to not be forgotten, but it will have dire consequences. Will Charlotte be forgotten? Or will she turn towards the dark to stay with those that she loves?I'll be honest, at first, I didn't care too much for A Need So Beautiful. It felt slow in the beginning and I can't say that I'm in love with Charlotte's relationship with Harlin. It's not that I hate him, but that I didn't really connect with him and it felt like he was barely there. I will admit that I loved Charlotte though; her reaction to discovering that she's one of the Forgotten was spot on in my opinion. After all, who really wants to be forgotten? And although I can understand why so much of the book was simply Charlotte and occasionally Monroe, I wished that the minor characters had played more of a role.
However, by the time that I got around to the last third of the book, things really began to pick up and the ending was fantastic; it's really left me looking forward to A Want So Wicked and although I can't say that I'd strongly recommend this book to you, I can say that if you've been thinking about reading A Need So Beautiful that you should go for it! If you enjoyed Mercy by Rebecca Lim, I think you'll like A Need So Beautiful.
Overall Rating: ★★★★
Very interesting... I say that because I've seen this book cover all over the place but I never took the time to read what it was about or read a review-- thanks for the insights! I have hesitated to add this one to my TBR list, but if I see it too many more times, I probably will give in and add it to the pile ;)
ReplyDelete~Lea @ LC's Adventures in Libraryland
I think I'll definitely pick this one up at some point. I've read too many positive reviews not to. I'm glad to hear your thoughts, though. It's nice knowing that not everyone completely adored it, so I can go in with more realistic expectations.
ReplyDeleteNice story. I like the concept, being needed and nothing you can do about it, and knowing you'll disappear when your done being useful. Nice review. Started slow, but atleast it ended well.
ReplyDeletethanks for the review. Been debating whether or not I should read this.
ReplyDelete