Pixie Conclusion

When you think of the end of the world as we know it, you certainly don't think of pixies as the cause. But when they are Carrie Jones' man-sized blue pixies with shark teeth and murderous tendencies, I guess you can go with it. In the Need Series' final installment, Endure, Zara and the rest of the crew fight the apocalypse with everything they have.


Now that she has become a pixie queen, Nick won't even look at her. Never mind the fact that she became a pixie to save him from Valhalla when he died and went to the warrior's heaven. But Zara has bigger things to worry about. Her position as Astley's queen bought them some time and loyalty from his pixies, but there are worse pixies out there who have no problem usurping their territory. Now kids are going missing from town and people are fleeing. No one is sure what is really happening, but everyone knows it isn't something easily explained.


Zara knows she is the key to stopping the apocalypse, but the extent to which she must go is not easy to digest. She is torn between her love for Nick and for Astley, but the fate of the world is in her hands. When she realizes there isn't much left to do, she does the unthinkable: she begins training the humans to fight the pixie army. After lifetimes of keeping the pixie secret, you would think it would be hard for humans to accept the new boundaries on their world, but with all the crazy things they have witnessed, they are willing to accept anything if it gets them their world back. Even pixies.


Ahhhh. The infamous love triangle. Always life or death, always seemingly unsolvable, and always "undeniable, over-the-moon, love-like-no-other" love that crushes the soul and takes no prisoners. And how convenient that this love triangle is possible with inexperienced teenagers?! (ok, Astley isn't your average teenager...) I don't know why I am ranting about the love triangle in this series since it has existed from the very beginning... No, that's a fib. I do know why. I have a tough time understanding the "OOhhh I love him. No, scratch that, I love the other one. Oh woe is me, they are both beautiful with soul crushing eyes and I can't choose from the two men who love me to the point of obsession!" I have a particularly hard time understanding that IN THE FACE OF AN APOCALYPSE! If the world is falling down around you and you are a key player in the apocalypse, why exactly are you pining over guys? Knock it off girlfriend! Pull yourself together, save the darned world, and THEN you can sort out your love life. Not to mention the probability of preventing the apocalypse is pretty slim (unless you are a YA novel, of course. Then it is pretty much a lock), so why waste your time on this now when you are all most likely going to die anyway?!


But despite the absurd love triangle nonsense, I actually really like this series and really like how it concluded. The books are compact and exciting and appeal to a decent range of kids. I like Carrie Jones as an author, and this series is a good representation of her talent. Plus, blue, shark-toothed pixies? How can you not want to read about them? So if you have followed the Need series, you will be happy with this conclusion. But just be careful, the love triangles are contagious!

A Need to Help People

We all want to help people in one way or another. We want to help a little old lady cross the road, donate to charities, save abandoned dogs, and Adopt families during the holidays. But how far would we go to give to someone or help them in a time of need? In Suzanne Young's A Need So Beautiful, Charlotte must ask herself that question on a whole new level.


Charlotte has always experienced the Need. When she feels the Need, she has to follow it to whomever is in need of the knowledge she has, whether it be to warn a pregnant woman that something is wrong with her baby or to guide a criminal to the right path. In the past, the Need only came once in a while, but the crippling need to answer the Need is becoming more and more frequent. So frequent in fact that her adoptive mother, best friend, and boyfriend are starting to notice that it isn't just asthma (which she uses to explain the loss of breath when she feels the Need). She just can't hide her secret anymore


But something else is wrong. Charlotte is starting to get scared and seeks out the help of her family doctor, the man who runs the local free clinic. She shows him that something strange is happening to her skin, almost like it is peeling away, but she isn't ready for the answer he has for her. Trapped in an impossible decision with catastrophic consequences on either end, Charlotte comes to a crossroads that will ruin her. The question is, will she help herself or help others?


This story was a strange and unique angle on the whole angel genre that has flooded YA novels in the past few years. I had never thought of this type of angel and was really interested in the impossible decision Charlotte had to make. The worst part about it is that she is a good person who just wants a little happiness for herself after being abandoned at the age of 6. Luckily, she was adopted by a wonderful woman and had a supportive best friend and loving boyfriend. Her life wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad, either. But this choice... this choice is horrible to ask of anyone, but particularly horrible to ask of Charlotte. If you ever needed to see a main character pushed to the brink, this is the book for you.


On a whole, though, there were times this book was a little slow for me. The unraveling of the true nature of the Need was paced well, but I still found myself wanting it to just move along. But overall, it wasn't a bad book and I intend to check out A Want So Wicked when it comes out. This is a good book for a middle school through emergent older reader as it is interesting, but has fairly simple language. It isn't a book I would throw at everyone who came by, but it was a fun and decent read. You will enjoy it!