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    NEED
    NEED
    NEED
    Audiobook8 hours

    NEED

    Written by Joelle Charbonneau

    Narrated by Laura Knight Keating and Thérèse Plummer

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this audiobook

    "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
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 3, 2015
    ISBN9781490691848
    Author

    Joelle Charbonneau

    Joelle Charbonneau has performed in opera and musical-theater productions across Chicagoland. She is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Testing trilogy and the bestselling Dividing Eden series, as well as two adult mystery series and several other books for young adult readers. Her YA books have appeared on the Indie Next List, YALSA’s Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and state reading lists across the country. Joelle lives in the Chicago area with her husband and son. www.joellecharbonneau.com

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    Reviews for NEED

    3.5/5

    88 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      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
      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.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      Featuring a unique but socially relevant storyline, NEED by Joelle Charbonneau is a fast-paced and riveting young adult mystery/thriller. Enticed by a new social networking site that promises to give them what they want and/or need, the students attending Nottawa High School are soon drawn into a sinister web of seemingly innocuous tasks that take a menacing turn.

      Kaylee Dunham typically eschews social media but after her friend Nate Weakley sends her an invitation to NEED she signs up in hopes of obtaining a kidney for her younger brother. Membership for the website is by invitation only and after the invitee signs up, they send in their request. But before the request can be granted, they are given instructions that must be followed to have their wish fulfilled. Although the assignments are innocent in the beginning, the students are then required to perform more ominous tasks. Kaylee is the only person willing to break the rules and reveal the truth about the site, but her history makes her an unreliable source of information that no one, including her mother, is willing to believe.

      Kaylee is obsessed with finding a donor match for her younger brother, DJ and her desperation to help him lead her to some pretty harebrained schemes. Her relationship with her mother is quite strained and Kaylee is angry with her for not doing more to find her father, who abandoned the family soon after DJ's diagnosis. Her actions have left her socially isolated but fortunately, Nate has remained her steadfast (and only) friend.

      While Kaylee's request on the NEED site is selfless, the same is not true for her classmates. The requests are mostly benign and fall into the "want" category instead of being an actual "need". No matter how outlandish the request, each one is filled as soon as the tasks are completed. Not knowing what some of these requests entail, many teenagers are horrified by the results of their actions, but fear and embarrassment make it impossible for them to tell anyone what they have done. As the situation spirals out of control, Kaylee makes a shocking discovery about who might be behind the NEED website, but will she be able convince anyone that she is telling the truth before it is too late?

      NEED by Joelle Charbonneau is an intensely compelling and suspense laden young adult novel. The storyline is thought-provoking and the mystery surrounding the NEED website is quite intriguing. Unexpected plot twists, startling revelations and a pulse pounding race to uncover the person behind the NEED website culminate in a dramatic and action packed conclusion. A very clever young adult novel that I highly recommend to readers of all ages.
    • 2/5
      When a website is launched, promising to fulfill students needs, teenagers at Nottawa High go crazy asking for cell phones, concert tickets. However, the cost of fulfilling the needs quickly rises from seemingly harmless pranks to deadly capers. Need seemed to move fairly slowly and took forever to get started. It may have been a bit more enjoyable if the author had used fewer viewpoints. This book reminded me a lot of Erebos, a book I read in 2014. Although I have loved Charbonneau’s other books, this one was a bust.
    • 4/5
      No one gets something for nothing. We should all know better.In this gripping novel (I read it in less than twenty four hours, and couldn't put it down for the last third of the story), Charbonneau expertly tackles loaded and terrifying questions. How far would someone go to get something they think they need? How well do you really know the people you see everyday? And just how far can social media's influence go, and what can it get people to do?Kaylee Dunham is a girl no one believes, not since what she did to try to help her brother. Her brother desperately needs a kidney transplant, and so when Kaylee is invited to NEED, a new social media site, she clicks yes. She knows what she really needs. Not the new phone, or purse, or concert tickets her peers ask for. But a kidney for her brother.But Kaylee quickly realizes the site is asking for more and more from its participants who want their desires filled, and as the body count rises, Kaylee realizes she may be the only one who can figure out the truth behind NEED.This is a thriller that starts out slow, building the tension as readers meet more and more characters, and begin to gather information about what NEED really is. This is how a YA thriller should be written.
    • 4/5
      This book is another one of those guilty pleasure books. There was nothing that redeeming about all of the teens in this book yet the story itself was intriguing to me. The most intriguing part was that I could so picture this book being current events. Which is very scary. Teens now a days are more like sheep, they just follow without really being leaders. As I was reading this book I kept thinking is there anything in this world that I would really "need" that I would be willing to do anything for? My answer was: "There is nothing that I would absolutely "need" that I would go to great lengths to do things for to get what I "need". Again I did not feel any remorse for the teens in this story but this is one of those books where if the storyline is great then it does not really matter if the characters where just so so.
    • 4/5
      Need will be released towards the end of 2015. Charbonneau also wrote The Testing trilogyThis novel demonstrates how social media can control people. Kaylee’s little brother is very ill and needs a transplant. She has done some pretty outrageous things to get people to register and get tested as donors. Consequently, she has lost friends and her mom’s trust. As time passes, Kaylee is exasperated that her father left during such a stressful time and hasn’t been tested. She spends her time trying to find a donor and trying to find her father behind her mother’s back. Her mother tells Kaylee that she is handling it, but Kaylee doesn’t see that she is. In the midst of her troubles, Kaylee depends on her best friend, Nate. Nate’s brother, Jack, is a jerk. When Nate sees that Jack has a new iphone after their parents refused to buy him one, Nate discovers a new social network. Jack received an email inviting him. When you join, you can ask for a “need.” There are definitions for “wants” and “needs.” Jack asks for an iphone. Often, the site will ask a member to perform a task in order to get what he/she “needs.” Nate logs into Jack’s email and invites himself. Soon almost all the students are on the site. The tasks asked to be performed seem harmless, but once someone dies, Kaylee begins to get suspicious. Upon investigating, Kaylee learns not only the secrets behind the social media network, but also the secrets her mom and her best friend, Nate are keeping.This novel is almost scary because it shows what people are willing to do for things that they want. Only one person in the novel actually asks for a need. The modern world and the desire to have everything is put to the test. I don’t think this novel is as good as her earlier novels, but it is an interesting look at man’s choices and what someone considers necessary. You won’t put this novel down.