Thos book was intense and although I figured out the ending somewhat before the end it was still awesome. ( )

THanks to the author for providing the ARC!

This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

As pervasive as social media is among today’s students, NEED illustrates what can happen when teens are faced with having every wish fulfulled so they can appear superior to their peers. Angst and stress rule in this small town in Wisconsin, where all troubled and misunderstood Kaylee wants (or NEEDs) is a kidney for her younger brother. She is doubtful of the site’s ability to grant wishes, yet she posts her request up anyway.

Getting deep into the story may take a while: there are many characters and each chapter is told in their own point of view. We see the social media site becoming larger and more greedy, in how it changes its requirements to submit a “need”. These “needs” morph rapidly into “wants”, and grow rapidly from a new pair of skis into setting up an entire VIP package – including car service and front row seats – for a concert. Greed and deceit go hand in hand, while Kaylee (who may or may not be completely innocent) tries to figure it all out. Authority figures see her as an unreliable narrator and thwart her efforts.

Soon, very bad things are happening, and deaths start occurring. As the plot unfolded, it went from believeable to almost over the top; how was it that the police and other school figures weren’t able to stop the killing? However, when you consider the teen hormones and lack of good judgement, it did kind of make sense. Towards the last third of the book, the dark twists suddenly started making sense, and I was on the edge of my seat, hoping Kaylee would be able to figure things out in time to save others from certain death.

There are plenty of lessons to be learned from reading NEED, the most important being if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Plus, reading this from an adult aspect made me truly see how 17-somethings treat everything like life and death, whereas a jaded (read: older) person would see through all the convolutions and machinations and not become sucked in. Kaylee annoyed me sometimes when she was so hesitant to make a move, but given her past (which the author slowly reveals) she has reasons to be that way.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the cold weather and the bare emotions of the teenagers, just trying to get through the drama. The plot twists will keep you interested, and once details are shared, bit by bit you see the big picture and how all the narrators/characters tie in to each other.

NEED should be a big hit in today’s social media obsessed world. YA readers will enjoy the escalating greed of the members of NEED, as well as the ever fluid high school world of who-is-cool-this-moment dynamic. Charbonneau’s premise is brilliant without being too dystopian. Definitely one to check out. ( )

This was a fast paced action packed story about a social media website called need which fufills real life needs that. Sounds great right? But everything had a price right? In this book you will see just how far these teens will go to get what they need (or sometimes want) It has multiple points of view. I liked the beginning and middle better then the end because I feel like the end got really unrealistic and unbelievable. I spent a good chunk of my time reading this article the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was behind Need but when it was revealed I was dissapointed.
Overall it was an enjoyable fast paced action packed book that I enjoyed but wad dissapointed by the ending (which is why I rated it 3 stars) ( )

NEED is an amazingly well written book. I can't really call it a favorite, but it was so well done, I want to read other books by Joelle Charbonneau like her Testing series.
"NO ONE gets something for nothing. We should all know better." These statements from the front of the book really set the theme.
NEED is the story of a social network website that targets students at a high school in which the protagonist, Kaylee is a student. The purpose of the website it to grant the "needs" of students who join. As we quickly learn, the website doesn't give things without a cost.
Kaylee is introduced to the website by her best friend, Nate, whose brother, Jack, has been active already on the site. We meet several students who begin to use the site, but before long, they are being asked to do things in payment for their "need" that don't always seem right. The story gets really intense when a student dies from a severe allergic reaction when she eats a cookie laced with peanuts that was delivered in a gift box to her door.
Many issues are addressed in this story including greed, selfishness, and heroism. The story ends leaving open the possibility for a sequel.
The book should be classified as a young adult, psychological thriller that borders on horror - a very scary, well written, thought provoking story that is a fast paced page turner and well worth the read. ( )

3.5 stars, really. YA tale that is not quite dystopian, but definitely has the evil genius element of total control going on. It is frighteningly realistic, and set in contemporary times and feels like it could happen if..... The main character, Kaylee Dunham has a younger brother DJ who is in need of a kidney transplant. She has done much to try to make this happen, though not a match herself. She has lobbied everyone in her school and her small WI town of Nottawa, has tried to steal medical records, and has made a big effort to track down her father who walked out on the family when DJs condition became too much to bear. So when she hears of a new social network (NEED) unique to her high school where needs (and wants) are granted, she has to try. Initially, those who join are requesting superficial things: a new phone, a computer, concert tix, money -- typical things you'd expect from self-centered HS students. And all they have to do in return is get some others to join. That's the beginning. Once the network is saturated, the stakes get a little higher. Now to get the need, you might have to drop off a mysterious letter or package, fake a business transaction, share some privileged documents. And consequently, users begin to die. It seems accidental at first, then coincidental, until Kaylee begins to notice a pattern and evidence in the form of "proof" pictures posted to the website. When she gets the cops involved, she faces the wrath of the network and it becomes more like a Big Brother situation. But who is running NEED? And how can Kaylee prevent more deaths? At this point, the book turns down the thriller path and gets a little preposterous with Ethan, a video game vigilante, a love interest (Nate) that can't be trusted -- or can he?, and her Mom and brother leaving town, but leaving Kaylee behind and home alone -- classic set-up for teen horror and mayhem. This all takes place in the frigid WI winter -- Christmas break, when kids have a lot of time on their hands, but should've been satisfied with what Santa brought, rather than asking for more. The best concept here is the idea of need vs. want. How do we classify that in our own lives and what is the result? What would we do to get it? That is the chilling part. Using this book for 8th grade book club and interested to see the input and opinions. ( )