Numbers
Rachel Ward
Chicken House/Scholastic
325 pgs. ARC February 2010
Summary
Jem knows your future. Or rather your lack thereof. She can tell you when you will die. She sees it in your head. She's been hiding from this "gift" her whole life. Keeping her head down. Not wanting to know. But once she sees those numbers there's no turning back. Enter Spider and what she knows about him shakes her to the core.
My Thoughts
Numbers starts out strong. Jem is a spunky, smart-mouthed loner and Spider is a walking, talking, bundle of action. They are opposites in every way: he's black, she's white, he's tall, she's short, he's friendly, she's not...
They form a friendship that, for Spider, quickly turns into something more. They start hanging out during and after school. Even though Jem knows Spider's number, somehow he helps her forget about those things.
Jem and Spider take a day to hang out and Jem notices that everyone in line to ride The London Eye have the same number and it's today. She convinces Spider to run away from the line. Everything explodes and she's forced to tell Spider about her "gift". They decide to go on the run and find a place to start their lives over. Only things don't play out like they'd hoped.
I enjoyed Numbers even though it dragged a bit in the middle. There was a little too much description of the locations for me. I also wish Ward would have spent more time on Jem's conundrum: was she causing death because she saw the numbers or could she prevent death by seeing the numbers?
The ending had a good twist and I look forward to reading the sequel. I give this 3 copies. I think students will enjoy this one and want to read with a friend.
ARC provided by Scholastic, Inc. Cover is the UK version.
I just caught mention of this book at Charlotte's Library. Sounds like the kind of dark YA fare that I might like. The premise is certainly promising. Nice review. My interest is perked a little bit more.
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