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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Very touching and beautiful book.
It is a book about hope and of faith. Not faith necessarily in religion, but a faith that believes doing the right thing will be ok no matter how much it hurts in the present. Eventually, all will be ok and even better than ok.
Others have said that some of the characters are one dimensional which is perhaps true. Charlotte was a well developed character though-her struggle seemed real and that is the focus of the book.
Charlotte's relationship with Harlin was very sweet. Harlin seems very much to be the ideal heart throb of young women everywhere-bad boy looks, but sensitive, caring, and protective. Some have criticized the relationship between Charlotte and Harlin as being too physical, but aren't the early parts of relationships like that? Two people wanting to be inseparable?
The last two pages are ambiguous and I do want to read the sequel.
It is a book about hope and of faith. Not faith necessarily in religion, but a faith that believes doing the right thing will be ok no matter how much it hurts in the present. Eventually, all will be ok and even better than ok.
Others have said that some of the characters are one dimensional which is perhaps true. Charlotte was a well developed character though-her struggle seemed real and that is the focus of the book.
Charlotte's relationship with Harlin was very sweet. Harlin seems very much to be the ideal heart throb of young women everywhere-bad boy looks, but sensitive, caring, and protective. Some have criticized the relationship between Charlotte and Harlin as being too physical, but aren't the early parts of relationships like that? Two people wanting to be inseparable?
The last two pages are ambiguous and I do want to read the sequel.
I somehow hadn’t read A Need So Beautiful even though I’ve been meaning to forever. I didn’t even really know what it was about other than the cover was awesome. (Meredith doesn’ agree, but I really like it.) So when I started reading, and couldn’t put it down, I wasn’t surprised. Thankfully that day I had testing at school and finished early, so I finished it during class and afterwards I had that “I-loved-that-book-so-much-I-have-a-hole-in-my-heart” kind of feeling.
For some reason, I kept on wanting to call Charlotte Willow from Angel Burn. Don’t ask why. I think it was because the plots were getting all mixed and melded together in my brain, but I believe that’s a good thing, because I adored Angel Burn. The relationship between Harlin (I love his name. So much.) and Charlotte was similar to the intense relationship between Willow and Alex in Angel Burn, so that might have been part of it.
One thing that definitely set this one apart from any other novel of it’s kind is the entire idea: that there are people meant to help those in need, and once their time is up, they disappear. I felt so deeply connected to Charlotte that the last thing I wanted was for her to leave and for Harlin to be all alone, because I loved them together.
For me, A Need So Beautiful was fresh, new, romantic, and everything I could’ve asked for. I loved it!
For some reason, I kept on wanting to call Charlotte Willow from Angel Burn. Don’t ask why. I think it was because the plots were getting all mixed and melded together in my brain, but I believe that’s a good thing, because I adored Angel Burn. The relationship between Harlin (I love his name. So much.) and Charlotte was similar to the intense relationship between Willow and Alex in Angel Burn, so that might have been part of it.
One thing that definitely set this one apart from any other novel of it’s kind is the entire idea: that there are people meant to help those in need, and once their time is up, they disappear. I felt so deeply connected to Charlotte that the last thing I wanted was for her to leave and for Harlin to be all alone, because I loved them together.
For me, A Need So Beautiful was fresh, new, romantic, and everything I could’ve asked for. I loved it!
See full review here!
2.5 stars
There wasn't much about this book that actually appealed to me. It didn't help that the narrator mispronounced words and changed her pronunciation of names throughout the book. And her "British accent" was terrible. She had such a child-like voice that I couldn't believe the story was coming from a high school girl. I wasn't fond of this narrator, at all.
I didn't ever really feel sorry for Charlotte. I couldn't relate to her. She makes people's lives better and she hates it. She's obsessed with her boyfriend and their relationship but she can't tell him the truth. He's a high school drop out who doesn't have a stable home. Her friend - I can't even remember her name.. Sarah, I think - is a stuck up rich girl. Charlotte gets his by a car and when she FINALLY calls (even after she says she talked to people and found out the story..) she's complaining because Charlotte isn't at school to help her with some douche bag boy she has a crush on. Charlotte has no parents, but she has a foster/adopted mom, a gay foster brother, and a new, hard-attitude foster sister. The gay brother was the only appealing thing in that set. Then there's the creepy weirdo doctor.
Not even the whole "need" thing made me want to finish this book. Somehow I did, and soon I won't remember a thing about it. I usually don't like to write reviews like this, but everyone else gushes about this book. I didn't find it all that great. Oh well.
2.5 stars
There wasn't much about this book that actually appealed to me. It didn't help that the narrator mispronounced words and changed her pronunciation of names throughout the book. And her "British accent" was terrible. She had such a child-like voice that I couldn't believe the story was coming from a high school girl. I wasn't fond of this narrator, at all.
I didn't ever really feel sorry for Charlotte. I couldn't relate to her. She makes people's lives better and she hates it. She's obsessed with her boyfriend and their relationship but she can't tell him the truth. He's a high school drop out who doesn't have a stable home. Her friend - I can't even remember her name.. Sarah, I think - is a stuck up rich girl. Charlotte gets his by a car and when she FINALLY calls (even after she says she talked to people and found out the story..) she's complaining because Charlotte isn't at school to help her with some douche bag boy she has a crush on. Charlotte has no parents, but she has a foster/adopted mom, a gay foster brother, and a new, hard-attitude foster sister. The gay brother was the only appealing thing in that set. Then there's the creepy weirdo doctor.
Not even the whole "need" thing made me want to finish this book. Somehow I did, and soon I won't remember a thing about it. I usually don't like to write reviews like this, but everyone else gushes about this book. I didn't find it all that great. Oh well.
After finishing this book, I feel at peace. Which is what Charlotte is meant to do-fill people with love and peace. She is a being whose purpose in life is to help strangers. She never knows when the need to help will hit, or who it will be, or what it will be. As time moves on, the Need grows more intense and she has decisions to make regarding her ultimate purpose.
I really liked this book. I instantly fell into the story, probably because the story started instantly. There was not much lead up time, not much time to figure it all out, it was just there. And it was refreshing. What was not refreshing was the love interest. It had its place in the book, it served its purpose. But I'm a little over the books where the girl wants to drop EVERYTHING she is meant to be for some guy. So frustrating!
Okay, so now I am ready and waiting for the next one! Yay!
I really liked this book. I instantly fell into the story, probably because the story started instantly. There was not much lead up time, not much time to figure it all out, it was just there. And it was refreshing. What was not refreshing was the love interest. It had its place in the book, it served its purpose. But I'm a little over the books where the girl wants to drop EVERYTHING she is meant to be for some guy. So frustrating!
Okay, so now I am ready and waiting for the next one! Yay!
Not what I expected. At the beginning I was going to give a 4, then I continued reading a 4.5, and now a 5. The story was really good, I didn't know what was going to be happening. I haven't read a book before with a similar plot so I love this book.
Review: http://theliteraturelion.blogspot.com/2011/09/need-so-beautiful-by-suzanne-young.html
Charlotte is continuously being haunted by a feeling that she can't seem to make disappear. She calls it the Need. When the feeling hits, she gets a sudden urge to help someone specifically. She pushes this Need away, as she wants to live her own life, with her amazing bad-boy boyfriend Harlin and best friend Sarah, who's determined to embarrass her rich father.
I really enjoyed reading this from Charlotte's point of view. From the outside she's a typical girl with a great boyfriend but with a rough childhood. On the inside, she's golden, (literally.) She's caring, protective and as an intense love for her boyfriend Harlin. I think Charlotte and Harlin are perfect for each other. Harlin is just as protective of Charlotte as he would be off a baby bird, and he's just so sweet to her. Yet he's got that bad-boy image that just makes readers swoon.
I think Monroe was another one of my favorite characters in this. He's a big impact in Charlotte's life, as he's a form of protector of Charlotte but he's still a fatherly figure to her. At some points, Charlotte felt that Monroe was betraying her and being by her all the time for the wrong reasons, but in the end those feelings got patched up a little more, so now Monroe is back on track as Charlotte's 'dad.'
The plot was very interesting, and definitely different! I've only read a couple other angel books, and this one would have to go near the top of angel favorites. I really enjoyed how the plot was fast-apced and exciting, yet you got some down-time and were able to enjoy other aspects of Charlotte's life, such as her foster family's life, her romance with Harlin, and her best friend's troubled family.
Overall, this book was very good, but I wouldn't consider it one of my favorites. It didn't exactly have a great spark that made me want to sit down and read this. I actually read a chapter or two, and then set the book down for a half an hour. It was definitely an easy read, and very good otherwise! I'll definitely be reading the sequel!
Charlotte is continuously being haunted by a feeling that she can't seem to make disappear. She calls it the Need. When the feeling hits, she gets a sudden urge to help someone specifically. She pushes this Need away, as she wants to live her own life, with her amazing bad-boy boyfriend Harlin and best friend Sarah, who's determined to embarrass her rich father.
I really enjoyed reading this from Charlotte's point of view. From the outside she's a typical girl with a great boyfriend but with a rough childhood. On the inside, she's golden, (literally.) She's caring, protective and as an intense love for her boyfriend Harlin. I think Charlotte and Harlin are perfect for each other. Harlin is just as protective of Charlotte as he would be off a baby bird, and he's just so sweet to her. Yet he's got that bad-boy image that just makes readers swoon.
I think Monroe was another one of my favorite characters in this. He's a big impact in Charlotte's life, as he's a form of protector of Charlotte but he's still a fatherly figure to her. At some points, Charlotte felt that Monroe was betraying her and being by her all the time for the wrong reasons, but in the end those feelings got patched up a little more, so now Monroe is back on track as Charlotte's 'dad.'
The plot was very interesting, and definitely different! I've only read a couple other angel books, and this one would have to go near the top of angel favorites. I really enjoyed how the plot was fast-apced and exciting, yet you got some down-time and were able to enjoy other aspects of Charlotte's life, such as her foster family's life, her romance with Harlin, and her best friend's troubled family.
Overall, this book was very good, but I wouldn't consider it one of my favorites. It didn't exactly have a great spark that made me want to sit down and read this. I actually read a chapter or two, and then set the book down for a half an hour. It was definitely an easy read, and very good otherwise! I'll definitely be reading the sequel!
The romance here was the worst, for realsies. I kept expecting Harlen to be the “initial” (loser) boy, to be replaced by the real love interest later. BUT NO. He was it. The boy who would NOT TALK ABOUT HIS MOTHER and would in fact insult and threaten Charlotte whenever she brought it up. And this was her soulmate? I can only see that because Charlotte is SO LAME.
Everyone was flat. Everyone was boring. I couldn’t bring myself to care that Charlotte was going to turn into a lightbeam from her goodness or whatever.
Also, Portland as a setting was criminally underused. It might have been New York. In fact, it felt more like New York. I can understand the desire to put in a uniformed Catholic school downtown (St. Vincent’s). But…they never seemed to go to the East Side, they all seemed to live in central downtown, and Charlotte believes that her and her high school dropout boyfriend will buy an apartment in the Pearl while she goes to college. Ummm. No. (it's the super upscale, yuppy area). Young, you live in Portland. You have no excuses.
The story could be interesting (girl whose destiny is to compulsively help people until she turns into fizz) but the execution does not live up.
Everyone was flat. Everyone was boring. I couldn’t bring myself to care that Charlotte was going to turn into a lightbeam from her goodness or whatever.
Also, Portland as a setting was criminally underused. It might have been New York. In fact, it felt more like New York. I can understand the desire to put in a uniformed Catholic school downtown (St. Vincent’s). But…they never seemed to go to the East Side, they all seemed to live in central downtown, and Charlotte believes that her and her high school dropout boyfriend will buy an apartment in the Pearl while she goes to college. Ummm. No. (it's the super upscale, yuppy area). Young, you live in Portland. You have no excuses.
The story could be interesting (girl whose destiny is to compulsively help people until she turns into fizz) but the execution does not live up.
What a bore... Charlotte is so perfect she's really a boring character to have to follow. Like I get she's supposed to be some kind of angel-like being but damn give me some flaws!
This appeared on my desk today. I staed it at lunch and couldnt wait to get home to finish. A beautiful tale about sacrifice and what gives others hope.