Book Review: A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

A Need So Beautiful

Suzanne Young

Publication Date: June 21st 2011

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Pages: 267

Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult

We all want to be remembered. Charlotte's destiny is to be Forgotten...

Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.

But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend's arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become--her mark on this earth, her very existence--is in jeopardy of disappearing completely.

Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny--no matter how dark the consequences.

Like with Bumped, A Need So Beautiful was a book I checked out because I had won the sequel, A Want So Wicked. It had been a book I had been debating about reading for a long time however never got to it. There is really one word to describe it: Beautiful.

This is a story about the ultimate sacrifice, about what love is and how much memory means. Charlotte has odd urges to help people how, tell them the one thing they need to hear and now she's started losing skin and turning gold, then she is told that eventually everyone she loves will forget her.

It was absolutely heartbreaking to read, but I couldn't stop. The writing style fits the plot so perfectly with its slight poetic tone. It really makes you wonder what would you do if you were in Charlotte's position. Would you give into temptation? Or would you want to sacrifice yourself? I honestly am not sure what I would do myself, as one of my biggest fears is not existing (weird I know), so the idea of it scares me so much.

I cried when Harlin came running for at the bridge because he remembered her still. While everyone else forgot, he had remembered it and broke my heart even more while making me so happy for Charlotte. The fact that he was also a Seer made sense and my heart goes out to him so much, I am really interested to see how he plays out in the next book. The idea of the Seer is just as bad as the Forgotten in how torturous it is. I loved the idea that Onika played in this. That she showed what happened when they fell in love, what happened when a Forgotten tries to overcome the destiny set out. It's very devil versus angel, but I feel like that it'll end up more complicated than that as time goes on.

This is a book one reads while listening to epic Celtic music. It's paranormal, but plays out more like a Tragedy than YA Paranormal. You leave the book with an odd feeling inside of you that I can't quite explain, all I can say I don't regret reading it one bit.

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