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Numbers (Numbers, #1)

Rachel Ward

Why we're reading this: Recommended by Raina
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Feb 10, 2012 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it really liked it

Shelves: sciencefiction, youngadult, thriller

If you could know the date you were going to die, would you want to know?
In a just slightly different now, Jem is a moody teenager in the foster system in London. Her mom was a junkie who died of an overdose. She’s been moved from school to school, and in fact cuts school regularly. She has no friends, and avoids people. But that’s not why she’s a moody loner. Sort of like the kid from The Sixth Sense, Jem doesn’t exactly see dead people, she sees numbers. When she looks someone in the eye, she If you could know the date you were going to die, would you want to know?
In a just slightly different now, Jem is a moody teenager in the foster system in London. Her mom was a junkie who died of an overdose. She’s been moved from school to school, and in fact cuts school regularly. She has no friends, and avoids people. But that’s not why she’s a moody loner. Sort of like the kid from The Sixth Sense, Jem doesn’t exactly see dead people, she sees numbers. When she looks someone in the eye, she sees their death date.
That’s not a spoiler, it’s in the blurb on the book jacket, and it’s a great hook. I totally couldn’t wait to read this book.
Now, about those death numbers... I got a little hung up on this concept. Seeing actual numbers like on a digital clock seems weirdly computerish to me, whereas you’d think if you could sense something psychically about a person’s death, you would sense it in some kind of organic way, a weight of the years, or the shortness of time. But numbers? Plus, Jem didn’t even know what the numbers signified when she was little. What’s going on in her brain? Is there a digital gauge up there somewhere? That was distracting.
Setting that aside, I related well to Jem, with her feeling of always being on the outside, and I was really happy when she made a friend despite herself. Another outsider, Spider gloms on to her, he’s a gangly black kid who should bathe more often.
Certain events lead to Jem and Spider becoming “persons of interest” to the police, and they go on the run, at which point the story becomes more a standard thriller than anything to do with special powers. I was okay with that, because I liked the characters, and I liked how their relationship developed. But I was left at the end of the book with a lot of questions, which I’m hoping will be answered in the sequel. How did Jem get this ability? Are there more people with weird ESP powers out there?
A solid thriller with an intriguing SF-ish twist.
...more

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Jan 07, 2010 Raina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: magic-realism, not-amerika, realistic, romance, ya, action-go-to

What I really liked about this was that it really felt like a realistic, urban adventure story. There are parts that feel a little Will Hobbs-esque. It just so happens that this disadvantaged teen sees the day you'll die in your eyes if you make eye contact. The love story is believable, the ending is realistic, I really loved the way the author portrayed a city girl out of her element in the outdoor, country environment. Solid handseller, but I'd only booktalk it to high school. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2010 Sarah marked it as maybe-someday · review of another edition

Oct 19, 2010 Rachel marked it as to-read

Jan 07, 2011 Sara marked it as to-read

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