Title: Numbers (Numbers #1)
by Rachel WardPublishing Info: February 1, 2010 by Scholastic Inc.
Genres: Paranormal, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: May 12, 2012
Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!
So… This book is not really what I expected it to be. I think I got really excited about the concept and built a story in my mind, and the book just did not match what I had envisioned. That being said, I think by the end of the novel, I had really come to see more in Jem and actually start to feel her relationship with Spider. For one, I didn’t know that it was set in London before I picked up the book. Not that that should matter, but it just really threw me off for some reason. Secondly, I didn’t like the Jem/Spider romance that they developed until the very end of the story. And for a YA book, it really had a lot of cursing, drug references, and even sexual references that I was kind of taken aback by. Not like I really care how conservative a book is for some reason the sexual relationship between Jem and Spider seemed rushed, out of place, and out of character. I didn’t get into their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship until the very end of the book. And without giving away any spoilers, I think that’s all I can say about all of that! Anyway, I just felt off the first half of the book (well, first 3/4 I think…), but then I think everything kind of worked itself out in the end. I actually found myself interested in reading the sequel, which halfway through I was not interested in at all.
Oh and completely unrated to plot — there’s a character named ‘Britney’ which does not help anyone spell my name right! As a ‘Brittany’, I’ve been fighting against this ever since Britney Spears came around. End rant 🙂
3.5/5 stars
As stated, I was kind of disappointed in the beginning. I think just not the way I expected it to go, but the end played out nicely and I like the way it was resolved (for the most part).
If You Liked This, You Might Like…
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi – Personally, I could not STAND the author’s writing, but there are several people out there who raved about this book. It might make a good match to Numbers in the fact that the heroine is another girl who’s been persecuted for a gift that’s completely misunderstood. I’ve also heard there’s a pretty steamy romance, but I personally didn’t make it that far in the book because I couldn’t get past the writing so take this one with a grain of salt!
…OR…
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – I was actually surprised by how much I liked this book (and even picked up the sequel!) – It was well written, I really liked the character development, and it’s actually quite a different take on the usual vampire stereotype. So Vampires is a way different topic than Numbers, but it’s another strong heroine, a little bit of on-the-run, and a lot of in-your-face rebellion.
1 thought on “Numbers (Numbers #1) – Rachel Ward”
I was exactly the same with Numbers – it wasn’t what I expected. I think the blurb makes it sound like a ‘big world’ all encompassing story, a bit like The Hunger Games, but the actual story, focusing so closely on Jem and Spider and their relationship, just is not what you think from the outside.
It’s been a long time since I read this, but I remember thinking that it reads a bit like a book version of Kids or This is England, with the unpolished sex, drugs, language.