Review: A Need So Beautiful

Title: A Need So Beautiful
Author: Suzanne Young
Published: 2011 by HarperCollins
Obtained: Library

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.

First Sentence:
"I sit on the front steps of St. Vincent’s Cathedral and pick at the moss nestled in the cracks of the concrete."

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It took me forever to finish this book mostly because while it looked interesting, I had other stuff to read. However, it is a quite good book.

This is the story of Charlotte who has started having these “needs” which compel her to find strangers, see their life story, and help them. Obviously it’s a little strange that she keeps leaving at random times, and her friends are a bit suspicious. Suddenly she sees a patch of gold on her shoulder, and freaks out. With the help of a doctor friend, she finds out that she is a kind of angel, sent to help people, turn completely gold, and then leave in a burst of light, making everybody feel happy for a little bit. However, this also means her friends and family are going to forget everything about her, pictures will fade, memories will change, everything will be gone. So why in the world would she want to accept her fate?

I give major creative credit to Suzanne Young because this concept is incredibly different. Also, her writing is stunning, I was right there with Charlotte, cringing and mourning her fate. Young’s skill at expressing emotion is spectacular especially near the end when Charlotte’s  friends and family lose memory of her slowly. I was quite depressed by this, and really felt Charlotte’s pain.

One problem I had was the relationship between Harlin and Charlotte. They were portrayed as being totally perfect for each other, and just completely in love, no doubts. However, it seemed to me that their relationship was more lust than love. Every time they were together it was physical. Charlotte mostly just thought about how hot he was, and he just checked her out constantly. Yes, a lot of times he was worried for her health, he went with her to special events, and at the end it was really apparent he loved her, but I couldn’t help feeling that their relationship was more based on how hot they both were, than on their actual LOVE for each other.

Anywho, this is a nice, short, book with fantastic writing and a creative concept.

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Content Warnings: Kissing/Making-out/Sex (fade-out), and language.

Rating: