There’s a large cast of characters who each pull the reader into their reasoning for making certain choices. NEED was interesting to write because while Kaylee is the lead voice, she is not the only point of view in the story. How important was it that your lead be a strong female for this story and why?

It’s admirable that your main character, Kaylee Dunham, is desperate to get her brother the kidney he ‘needs’ to live and must navigate this dark online world that crosses over into real life-or-death. NEED leads teens down a dangerous path to fulfill their needs with potential dire consequences. After writing funny for adults, it was startling to find out that Young Adult could be so intense and violent. To be honest, I was surprised to learn that in going darker I had also taken a turn into writing Young Adult. Exploring my thoughts about those choices or the choices others have made turned my writing darker. I’ve seen up close how certain issues lead some teens and their parents into making questionable choices. While I loved writing funny mysteries, I’ve found myself compelled to explore areas like the dangers of high stakes testing and the crazy scary pitfalls of social media because of my work with teens. What prompts you to dive into darker, intense topics for teens that ask big questions rather than amuse? Like your trilogy, The Testing, NEED is a voyage into dark Young Adult fiction - unlike your adult mystery fiction which tends to be light and funny.

Charbonneau shares today why she’s drawn to writing darker fiction for a younger audience and how her years as a voice coach for teens fed into her inspiration for NEED.

The Testing trilogy and NEED have both been optioned for major motion pictures and are currently in development. In this chilling YA thriller, NEED examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature.Ĭharbonneau’s Young Adult books have appeared on the Indie Next List, on the YALSA Top 10 books for 2014 as well as the YALSA Quick Picks for reluctant readers and state reading lists across the country. Soon the site turns malevolent, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes that deliver a rising body count.

In NEED, high school teenagers are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need. Joelle Charbonneau, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Testing trilogy and two adult mystery series, has now released a Young Adult novel that reveals sinister social media forces at play-NEED.

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