Captivate

Reader: Mollie W
Age: 15
Title: Captivate
Author: Carrie Jones
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pub Date: Jan. 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: When Zara and her posse of misfits find themselves in even more pixie mayhem than usual, they must band together and protect their families, themselves and the world.
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Despite how the cover majorly flops, the contents of the book live up to the first one, and in some instances exceed expectations. In this book Carrie Jones widens the gap between her book and Twilight's, for obvious reasons. Though she swerves the plot away from anymore 'wow this is so much like Twilight' comments, she does so naturally and the book remains incredibly likable.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: My favorite part about this series is how Carrie Jones is able to bring her characters alive. She charges them with relatable but distinct personalities that draw you to some people and pushes you away from others. But like reality, there's a picture of good and bad people and you never 100% know what's going on in their heads.
Did you finish: Yes
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: Need (the first book in this series) made quite an impression on me when I picked it up. Once finished with it, I thought the book was tied in well with the cover and that a very good job was done on it. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the second book, Captivate. When I saw it across the room, did I immediately know that it was the sequel? Yes I did. Was it intriguing in any way at all? No. It seems the people who chose the cover weren't as creative as they should have been. I'm sorry but the yellow liquid dripping down the girl's face looks disgusting.
Age Range: Under 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it