YA Pick: NEED

NEED
by Joelle Charbonneau
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2015
335 pages
ISBN: 9780544416697


From the author of the Testing trilogy comes this fast paced and freaky novel. NEED will fulfill teen appetites for solid YA thrills. The town of Nottawa, Wisconsin, has been infiltrated by a new website which promises teen followers to fulfill their needs. The only catch: if you post a need, you then must invite friends to join. As needs are met, more and more teens post on the site. Then the rules change.

Kaylee doesn't see the harm in asking for a favor. She wouldn't ask for something for herself, of course. She asks for a kidney for her younger brother who will die unless he gets a transplant. When she hears that other needs are being fulfilled, she's hopeful. Soon, new members are being asked to do easy tasks: dig a hole, take a photo, deliver a box, take a photo. What is the harm in that? When one teen dies and others are threatened, NEED turns into the enemy. And no one can "unfriend" NEED.

Who or what is pulling the strings at NEED? Can Kaylee and  Nate solve the mystery before it kills them? Whoever is behind NEED knows all the teens and all their families. What does NEED want?

As the duo close in on answers, more violence is unleashed. Readers will race through pages at a breakneck speed. This is one quick, unputdownable read!

Cover art and quotes of the needs will draw readers in. The quote, "No one gets something for nothing. We should all know better..."  promises twists and turns. A second book is possible since one character leaves town at the ending.

Highly recommended. Violence. No profanity. No sex. Grade 7-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

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