Need by Joelle Charbonneau

High school teenagers begin getting invitations to join a social network site.  They have to, in turn, invite five other friends to join.  When they do, the site - NEED - will fulfill a request, seemingly free of charge ("What do you NEED?").  Of course, nothing is ever really free, and soon NEED members are being asked to perform small tasks in exchange for something they request.  But when the tasks get more dangerous and begin to have real consequences, the teens must begin to question their ethics and sense of right and wrong.  Are those concert tickets really worth it?  How far would you be willing to go?

I liked the premise of this book.  In today's social media age, it's not so far-fetched to imagine a scenario like this in real life.  What ultimately turned me off from this book was the explanation at the end of who/what was behind NEED.  I won't spoil it here, but I didn't buy it.  If this book was more dystopian/science fiction, then maybe.  But this is firmly realistic mystery fiction and I didn't believe the "big reveal."  Too bad, because this one had potential.

This is Where it Ends, by Marieke Nijkamp

Where to begin with this book?  I'm writing this review as the flags fly half-staff for the school shootings in Oregon.  Reading This is Where it Ends was obviously highly unsettling and uncomfortable.  We all know this story.  We know this story because it keeps appearing on the news.  It's happened before and sadly, will probably keep happening again.  I realize author Marieke Nijkamp didn't write this book hoping for something like Oregon to happen to give her story a sense of urgency.  Still, the timing will make this title fly off the shelves.

This is Where it Ends begins on an ordinary morning in Opportunity, Alabama.  The author uses multiple narrators who are all in different locations around the school: Autumn, a ballerina, and her girlfriend, Sylvia, are in the school auditorium for morning assembly.  Sylvia's brother, Tomás, and his friend Fareed, are using the fact that the entire school staff is at the assembly to break into the principal's office.  Claire has track practice and isn't at assembly either, although her brother Matt is.

Nijkamp switches between these characters, their perspectives interspersed with social media posts and text messages from other individuals inside and outside of the school.  The five main characters in particular are all connected by a relationship to Tyler, Autumn's brother.  When Tyler locks the students and staff in the auditorium and begins shooting, the scenario becomes all too real. 

The story unfolds over less than an hour's time, but somehow it feels longer.  I understand why the author would want to tell this story from multiple points of view.  After all, when something like this happens in real life, the news and social media seems quick to point fingers at who's to blame.  How could no one see this coming? How did no one stop it before it got too far?  The reality, of course, is that there are no easy answers.

Here's the thing.  I didn't really like this book very much.  It wasn't the violence, although that was certainly upsetting.  I just found parts of it to be highly unbelievable.  Tyler begins shooting at 10:05 a.m.  The police and SWAT team don't arrive on scene until about 30 minutes later.  REALLY???? When the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary occurred, police were on scene four minutes after the 911 call.  I do not believe that it would take police half an hour to respond to a school emergency. 

Secondly, when the book opens, Tomás and Fareed are able to break into the principal's office because the entire faculty and staff is at the principal's assembly.  ON WHAT PLANET is the front office of a school left sitting empty for someone to just waltz in? 

Finally, near the end, three characters escape from the auditorium.  However, for reasons that are murky and incomprehensible, they don't run outside. They think that the only means of escape is to go upstairs to a classroom that has a window leading onto the roof.  I didn't understand this either.  Despite the fact that dozens of students have managed to slip away from the auditorium before them, why did this group feel like they had to make this choice? 

Such glaring issues keep me from fully recommending this title.  Jennifer Brown's Hate List and Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes have already addressed this topic.  I don't feel that This is Where it Ends brings much more to the table, other than having a cast of diverse characters.  I am all for diversity in YA lit, by the way.  But it has to feel natural to the story and the setting.  I felt like the author was trying a little too hard to check off all the diversity boxes.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

 I can't think of too many books this year that have been met with as much advanced buzz as Everything, Everything, the debut from Nicola Yoon.  Ever since the wild success of The Fault in our Stars back in 2012, publishers and audiences have been clamoring for the next romance with a "hook," which this title delivers: 18-year-old Madeline lives a life of solitude.  She's never been to school, never learned to drive, never taken a vacation.  Maddie suffers from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, also known as "bubble boy disease."  Because any small element outside of her sterilized environment could trigger a massive attack or illness, she spends all her time indoors with her mother and her nurse. 
Maddie spends lots of time looking out her window at the house next door, eventually catching the attention of her cute neighbor, Ollie.  He writes his email address on the window pane, and soon the two begin emailing and instant messaging.  When that doesn't become enough, Maddie's nurse, Carla, begins sneaking Ollie inside the house (after going through decontamination) for short visits in person.

One thing I liked about Everything, Everything is the format; it's not just straight prose, but includes diary entries, IM chat transcripts, sketches, and so forth.  It makes for a very quick, accessible read.  Madeline and Ollie are both sweet, likeable characters, even though you know their relationship will only spell trouble in the end.  My biggest complaint, however, was the unlikely "twist" at the end.  It defied credulity and was something of a let down for me.  The ending felt rushed and a little too tidy.  Nevertheless, this title should find a big audience with teens.