Numbers: Book 1

This whole story kept me on my toes. Jem and Spider's story pull you in and make you feel so much. While Jem's ability is what draws you into the book, every chapter will have you ready to turn the page and see what's gonna happen. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

This is good storytelling. That's probably the highest compliment I can think of for a novel and I feel that this one surely qualifies. If you pick it up expecting a sci fi drama you'll no doubt be disappointed. Although Jem's ability to see the dates when people die certainly points in that direction, it is really secondary to what I feel was the novel's main storyline. The characters of Jem and Spider are wonderfully drawn and their relationship forms the meat of this tale. These are two raw street kids from London who have nothing going for them and the process of them truly finding each other, of Jem discovering her own vulnerability, and the shocking things that happen to them in the end make up one great story. It's a fast easy read that is hugely entertaining. There's alot of raw language in this book along with some sex. It's not gratuitous and I feel in this instance the authors use of the language adds to the character development. Just be forewarned this is probably not one for young teens. It's a great story and I am very eager to see where the author takes this next. Brava for a unique YA novel that breaks out of the current trends by giving us some honest characters with some real emotions.

Jem displays the feelings and the angst that many teenagers feel they have a right to, but in Jem's case, the character definitely has a few more reasons to have all the hostility and angst. When Jem looks at someone, she can feel the date of that person's death inside her head. Her father took off when she was a baby and her mother was a drug addict who died from an overdose on the date that Jem saw when she looked at her mother. It was while a man was writing the date of her mother's death 10/10/2001 that Jem realizes that the numbers she feels are dates of death. After her mother's death, Jem is put into the social services network, moving from one foster home to another, one school to another. The androgynous nature of the character of Jem is also very interesting. She works very hard to fit in, to not be noticed, to pass through the halls unmolested. But then she is required to read an essay out loud to her class. This is the essay about her best day ever: "My best day ever. Got up. Had breakfast. Came to school. Bored like usual. Wishing I wasn't here, like usual. Kids ignoring me, suits me fine. Sitting with the other retards--we're so special. Wasting my time. Yesterday was the same, and it's gone, anyway. Tomorrow may never come. There is only today. This is the best day and the worst day. Actually, it's crap." Her only friend is Spider. The adventure starts when she and Spider head off to London for a day in the city while they are suspended from school. Spider has some cash and they are off to have fun. But it all turns bad, as such things will. What follows is an improbable run from the police through the countryside of England while every newspaper pictures and newscast names the pair: terrorists. It seems impossible that they could get far or ever find a place to rest while on the run in a country about twice the size of New York with 60 million people (about 1/5 of the population of the United States). These are all interesting sidelines that will help make the story interesting to U.S. teenagers. There is the sheer number of people living in a small place to think about, as well as how people travel and the differences between the urban and rural areas. (A lot of material to explore with teenagers.) This is an excellent high interest young adult novel, well written, and with characters and situations that would appeal to young adult readers.

Jem doesn't like getting close to people, and it's all because of the numbers. Since her mother died of an overdose, Jem's known the meaning of the eight digits she senses rather than sees every time she looks in someone's eyes--it's the date they will die. Bounced from one foster home to the next, she avoids any type of relationship. But then she meets Spider and these two misfits form an awkward and fragile relationship. While in London together, Jem is surprised to see that in nearly everyone's eyes is today's date. Suspicious, Jem and Spider run for safety, but when the bombing of the London Eye gets pinned on them, this unlikely duo must continue running. Scared and desperate, Jem hardly knows what to do, and when she starts to fall for Spider, she doesn't know how to handle knowing he has so little time left. In this race against time, Jem vows to save Spider, but how can she fight what's meant to be? Numbers is a powerful novel about society, friendship, love, and fate. From the very first page, Jem's frank voice captures the reader's attention and heart. She is such a unique character and not just because of her psychic abilities; she's a realistic human being struggling against forces she cannot control like the class she was born into, the fact that things generally turn out badly for her, and, of course, the inevitability of the numbers. Both Jem and Spider are such easy characters to believe in and relate to, and that only makes their story even deeper and more meaningful. Aside from being a truly romantic love story, Numbers is also philosophical with a bit of social commentary. I love Ward's honesty through Jem here; she gets to the heart of class differences and the barriers that often prevent these classes from seeing eye to eye. The most significant part of this story for me was Jem's knowledge of the future, and what she chooses to do with it. This really begs the question: are people really in control of their lives, or is there something larger like fate at work? Romantic and thought provoking, I recommend Numbers to all readers, especially those who liked Sight by Adrienne Maria Vrettos, Dark Visions by L.J. Smith, and Diva without a Cause by Grace Dent. I highly look forward to more writing from this talented new author.

I wouldn't call this book juvenile literature, mainly because of the prolific profanity. There is plenty of it in English and British English. The setting is in Britain- not far from London I would guess, so there is use of British slang, such as "taking the mickey out of him." (It means to make fun of someone, or tease them, I think.) That could be a real annoyance for readers not familiar with the jargon. There is also some violence in it (though I would call it mild.) The writing style reminds me of teh great books "That was Then, This is Now" and "The Outsiders." The plot involves students (presumably in high school or the equivalent thereof) who live on the fringe of society. One of them has an unusual, though rather morbid gift of knowing "when someone's number is up." The characters are very believable, and somewhat easy to identify with. Most folks at some point in their life feel that they are an "outsider," and to that end the author does a good job describing the emotions involved. I couldn't put this one down until I got to the end, which took about 4 hours. The reading was easy, the story was interesting, and the characters all unique but very "human." I look forward to reading more from this author, but my kids won't be reading it soon.

Jem is a teenager who can see the date when people will die. The first time she realized this was several years before, with her mother. Understandably, her impulse is to withdraw from people until a boy named Spider begins to break down her walls. If you read this story and merely a thriller or an adventure, you'll miss the deeper message that whether or not we know the date of our own death or someone we love, we are all every day closer to that date, and that's not an excuse not to engage or love -- or live. That the author doesn't shy away from death, or life, or physical intimacy, and certainly she doesn't avoid colorful language. In her honesty she shows she respects her audience in a genre that is labeled, after all, young adult. Jem and Spider are both jaded and innocent, streetwise and naive, and easy to care about. Ms. Ward has a great deal of talent and my eyes welled up with tears on two or three occasions as I hoped for a happy ending. When I say inevitable, The author was honest with the reader from the beginning about events to come. She was fair. Life is filled with things we can change and things we can't, and our character is determined in the way we accept both of these circumstances. Life is not something you can shy away from, love is not something to be avoided. Looking forward to the next book by this author. I believe that, if this effort is any indication, she will be someone to watch!