Captivate

Reader: Megan W
Age: 17
Title: Captivate
Author: Carrie Jones
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pub Date: 01/05/10
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
How would you convince a friend to read the book: I would tell them that Captivate is a fast-paced, adventurous tale of a girl who has some rather bad encounters with pixies. This is a sequel to Carrie Jones' novel Need, so it would be a bit difficult to read it without having first read Need. I really enjoyed the book, and even though I didn't remember much about Need, it was easy enough for me to remember what had happened. (Thankfully characters would mention things that had happened so I could have a vague idea) The main character, Zara, is back, along with her friends. They thought that they had solved their pixie problem in the previous book, at least temporarily, but of course, all chaos is broken loose when more pixies arrive.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: At times this book reminded me a lot of Melissa Marr's book Fragile Eternity (especially near the end) but for the most part it was an original plot. It was a real page turner, and I managed to finish it in a long car ride home from South Dakota. At times I was really frustrated with the characters, but I kept reading. I was especially upset at the end of the book when it ended on an unfinished note. I'm almost wishing that I had never read Captivate, for Need had ended happily, while Captivate did not. I guess I'll just
have to wait for the next book.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: There were moments when the decisions that the characters made seemed way too mature for a bunch of teenagers. I mean, I know that they've had to deal with some pretty awful situations, but still. I did enjoy the writing style though; it was easy to read and understand. As I stated earlier, while I didn't remember hardly anything about Need when I picked up this book, I quickly got sucked back into the world of pixies and shape-shifters.
Comments: Unfortunately, I'll have to wait for the next book, because I am in too deep to just not care about the characters. Will Zara have made her decision for nothing? I anxiously wait for the next book, if only for the reason that I have to know what will happen next. I found that I didn't really care about any of the characters except Nick; the others seemed rather shallow and undeveloped to me. Still, it was a pleasant read.
Did it reflect the contents: The cover, as the title implies, is captivating (at least to me) I love how there is only half a face, and how the black contrasts with the pale skin of the person's face. Just like the book before this one (Need) there is an insane amount of gold makeup on a person's face. While I think the tear is a little weird, I do love the overall effect of the cover. In my opinion, it reflects the book's contents fairly well.
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal