DISCLAIMER: I kind of am a bit hard on Ms. Jones in this review. I don't really mean to be; I love Carrie, really I do. I think her blog entries are hilarious, and I think she has some really great ideas for her books. It's just that this is her seventh-ish book, the fourth that I've read, and I was kind of hoping for some different kind of writing from her. I'm honestly not bashing her personally--I was just so disappointed in this book and the writing in it that I may have been a bit harsher than I meant to be.
CATCHALL
My interest in this book had been waning for some time when I received it as a Christmas present. Not about to let it go to waste, I read it. While it wasn't awful, it wasn't really what I'd been hoping for at all. I felt disappointed and kind of annoyed upon finishing. And my rating is definitely generous. I do, however, want to make on thing clear: I liked this book! It just wasn't my absolute favorite. It is true that in this review I focus more on the negatives than the positives, but I genuinely enjoy reading this book and would recommend it (though not to everyone).
THE HEROINE
AIMEE
Truth to be told, Aimee was kind of annoying. She has these ridiculous prejudices that make no sense. She's also kind of a hypocrite. I thought at first that she might be a strong heroine, but she seemed to get progressively weaker as the story went on, to no real avail. I didn't hate her, really--I simply don't have strong feelings about her at all. She was vapid and irritating--but harmless. Kind of like baby cousins. And, as aforementioned, I hated her stupid prejudices.
EXAMPLE OF DIALOGUE (Please note that these are not exact quotes (although they are similar) and reflect only my interpretation of the text, not necessarily the author's intentions):
BLAKE (Aimee's boyfriend at the beginning of the novel): That Indian boy beat me at racing today.
AIMEE: (to self) Ohmigod. My boyfriend is obviously a closet racist. So he obviously cannot be my boyfriend anymore.
Seriously, people, when is the last time you've heard someone identify someone else by their race and automatically assumed they're a closet racist? (This is actually what she does. I couldn't even make this up if I tried.) Probably never. Especially someone whom you've known for a long time and has always been a good person. More likely you assume they're just trying to make identifying someone easier.
THE HERO
ALAN
And here's the character I liked even less. For one thing, I couldn't even picture him as even vaguely handsome, no matter how hard I tried. I thought he was really self-centered. He also kind of sounds like an idiot. At one point in the novel he thinks of Aimee: "Her mouth is sexy when she chews." Okay, a few things wrong here. 1) No one thinks that. 2) When is the last time you've found someone's chewing mouth sexy? (Also, this is totally in direct contrast with something she Jones writes in Need about it being awkward to watch someone you like chew. I mean, come on, you cannot have it both ways. Make up your mind.) Just…no. I thought he was one of the most boring characters I've ever come across. I've since rethought that--he might just be the most boring character.
THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS
BLAKE
He was probably the only character I felt any sort of connection to. Still, he wasn't exactly extremely likable or anything. Still, I cared what happened to him more than anyone else in the entire book. I consider this sad. He was kind of too stereotypical nice-guy-goes-bad-then-good-again--but that kind of thing I can deal with. It's an unversed plot line, but it wasn't used terribly in this novel.
COURTNEY
Stereotypical high school girl much? I mean, come on, Carrie Jones! In the Need series you've already kind of annoyed me with your completely insane collection of high schoolers, but this is totally pushing it. I am still in high school, and I can guarantee you that, believe it or not (you may want to sit down), there are actually normal people in high school.
I know, I know, I've totally shocked you. I'm sorry. Just take some deep, deep breaths and everything will be okay.
Moving on! I don't really give a damn about the other secondary characters enough to write about them, and none of them are important enough that I feel the actual need to.
THE PLOT
…
…
…
Excuse me. That was me forgetting what the plot was because it was so freaking boring.
AIMEE: Let's save Courtney! She is my OMGBFF4EVA! If we don't save her, she'll die! And since I have visions and all, that will obviously help a ton!
ALAN: You have visions? Awesome.
AIMEE: You're not freaked out like all the other kids?!?
ALAN: Nope. Because I am totally completely in love with you since you have red hair and obviously I am meant to fall in love with a girl with red hair.
AIMEE: *squeal* Okay! I love you too! Let's make out, and then save Courtney if there's time!
Um, yeah, guys, that's pretty much all I have to say about the plot. It was way, way, way too predictable. I could guess everyone long before it happened and I could tell from the beginning how it was going to end.
THE ROMANCE
I have some major problems here.
First off, Aimee's breakup with Blake was completely unbelievable and had no base whatsoever. I felt like it was done simply because Aimee had to get with Alan somehow and Blake was in the way. It didn't ring true to me at all, and it was one of the reasons this book annoyed me from the beginning.
Later…
POLICE: Yo, Alan, Blake is missing. You know anything about that?
ALAN: No, why?
POLICE: Because you got in a fight with him earlier, dude. You've got reason to want him gone.
ALAN: Well, he is my girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, but…
It took me a full two minutes to realize the girlfriend Alan is referring to is Aimee. Why? BECAUSE HE NEVER FREAKING ASKS HER OUT. I don't know about you, but I don't care how much I like a guy--if he wants me to be his girlfriend, he damn well better ask me out officially. This part annoyed me immensely. It seems stupid of him to point out that this missing guy, who he's been in a fight with, is his "girlfriend's" ex-boyfriend. I mean, how stupid can you get?
And since I'm not an instalove fan, I don't like Aimee and Alan's romance. I didn't feel anything at all. I doesn't ring true with me and I cannot fathom their relationship.
THE WRITING
I'm not a huge fan of Jones' writing in her Need series, but I was hoping to see a different style here. Unfortunately, I didn't really see that. There is another author listed, but I could barely see his writing obviously, if at all. I assumed at first that Jones wrote Aimee's POV and Wedel wrote Alan's--I questioned this as I read, but when I came to Aimee's chewing jaw being sexy, I knew that there was no way. I'm fairly certain Jones wrote most of this, or at least edited it heavily. Her writing is still largely immature--not even really high school lever. Just kind of ridiculous.
(NOTE: I was corrected on this. Wedel did indeed write Alan's chapters, and then the two authors collaborated on the editing. I apologize for my mistake, but I shall leave my original review intact, as that was my honest impression. I do apologize for any confusion this may have caused.)
Another problem with Jones' writing is that she has all these ideas she tries far too hard to get across. In Need, she really pushes Amnesty International and Greenpeace--which, okay, I try to deal with because it's not really that obnoxious. But in After Obsession, she majorly tries to push these racism issues, which completely detracts from the already questionable plot and writing, making the book, unfortunately, even worse. I thought this was such a shame. If Jones could step back from all this peace-pushing stuff she tries to do, I would probably enjoy her books much more.
THE ENDING
It was stupid. I hate saying something so negative, but it was. It didn't make a whole lot of sense and too many strings were left untied. (But, my God, please do not let there be a sequel.) I wish that some things had been made clearer--I was left confused and had to go back to clarify a few too many things that should, if the book was better-written, been obvious.
WRAPUP
Since I'm already so invested in Jones' Need series, I will be reading Endure, the last book of that series. Unfortunately, since I found this book to be such a disappointment, it will probably have to blow me away to convince me to spend money on another one of her books. So, whether or not I read Jones' future books remains to be seen. As for Wedel's books, I might give one a try, since even after reading this book I feel I do not know his writing style at all.
FINE.