Helpful Score: 1
I got this book as an advanced reading copy (ARC) through the Amazon Vine program. The premise sounded interesting and overall it was an entertaining book if a bit flawed at parts.
Jem is a fifteen year old girl who has a special skill...she can see a person's date of death when she looks them in the eye. She befriends a guy named Spider and through a series of coincidences her and Spider are outside the Eye of London when it explodes. Jem saw that everyone standing in line at the Eye was going to die; she panicked and ran off pulling Spider along with her. Now the two of them (both having been in previous trouble with the law) are on the run from the authorities; apparently they were seen fleeing the Eye before it blew up and are now wanted as terrorists.
This book starts out pretty good. Ward brings up a lot of interesting issues about how it would affect your everyday life if you knew when people were going to die. For example, if you knew the person sitting next to you was going to die next week, would you even waste the time getting to know them? Unfortunately the whole premise of Jem seeing numbers never really goes anywhere and is never really used to drive the plot all that much.
Jem and Spider are interesting characters. They are the only characters in the book that are really fleshed-out well. They do a lot of stupid teenage things, but this endures them somewhat to the reader. Jem's hard attitude are snarky manner are well-portrayed, as is Spider's boundless energy.
The best parts of the book are the beginning and the middle when Jem and Spider are on the run. These parts of the book just fly by and make the book very difficult to put down. The action scenes are well done, as are Jem and Spider's struggles to survive in the English wilderness. As the book continues though it doesn't seem to know where it wants to go. Towards the end of Jem and Spider's run, the plot became perfectly predictable and boring. I was disappointed that this whole buildup of Jem seeing numbers didn't really go anywhere much.
There was another huge thing that bothered me that I have seen this in a number of books recently. What is it about female authors not understanding the stages of pregnancy? I mean come on! One female character (I won't say who to prevent spoilers) has sex and then the next day is nauseous because she is pregnant. Is there anyone out there who has morning sickness the second day of their pregnancy? That is just ridiculous. Okay, sorry, I had to vent about that. I have just seen a couple books that are weird about this lately and it is not something that is hard to research and get right.
So overall I liked it okay. It was a quick, adrenaline packed read for the first part of the book. The end of the book was a bit predictable and odd. I liked Ward's characterizations and fast-paced writing style; but the plot left a bit to be desired. I can't really say this book made me really excited to read more books by Ward, but I found it entertaining enough. An additional note on content, there is a ton of swearing, some sex, drugs, and a lot of delinquent behavior in this book; definitely only for older young adult readers or adults.
Jem is a fifteen year old girl who has a special skill...she can see a person's date of death when she looks them in the eye. She befriends a guy named Spider and through a series of coincidences her and Spider are outside the Eye of London when it explodes. Jem saw that everyone standing in line at the Eye was going to die; she panicked and ran off pulling Spider along with her. Now the two of them (both having been in previous trouble with the law) are on the run from the authorities; apparently they were seen fleeing the Eye before it blew up and are now wanted as terrorists.
This book starts out pretty good. Ward brings up a lot of interesting issues about how it would affect your everyday life if you knew when people were going to die. For example, if you knew the person sitting next to you was going to die next week, would you even waste the time getting to know them? Unfortunately the whole premise of Jem seeing numbers never really goes anywhere and is never really used to drive the plot all that much.
Jem and Spider are interesting characters. They are the only characters in the book that are really fleshed-out well. They do a lot of stupid teenage things, but this endures them somewhat to the reader. Jem's hard attitude are snarky manner are well-portrayed, as is Spider's boundless energy.
The best parts of the book are the beginning and the middle when Jem and Spider are on the run. These parts of the book just fly by and make the book very difficult to put down. The action scenes are well done, as are Jem and Spider's struggles to survive in the English wilderness. As the book continues though it doesn't seem to know where it wants to go. Towards the end of Jem and Spider's run, the plot became perfectly predictable and boring. I was disappointed that this whole buildup of Jem seeing numbers didn't really go anywhere much.
There was another huge thing that bothered me that I have seen this in a number of books recently. What is it about female authors not understanding the stages of pregnancy? I mean come on! One female character (I won't say who to prevent spoilers) has sex and then the next day is nauseous because she is pregnant. Is there anyone out there who has morning sickness the second day of their pregnancy? That is just ridiculous. Okay, sorry, I had to vent about that. I have just seen a couple books that are weird about this lately and it is not something that is hard to research and get right.
So overall I liked it okay. It was a quick, adrenaline packed read for the first part of the book. The end of the book was a bit predictable and odd. I liked Ward's characterizations and fast-paced writing style; but the plot left a bit to be desired. I can't really say this book made me really excited to read more books by Ward, but I found it entertaining enough. An additional note on content, there is a ton of swearing, some sex, drugs, and a lot of delinquent behavior in this book; definitely only for older young adult readers or adults.
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com
For as long as she can remember, Jem has seen numbers whenever she looks into people's eyes. Numbers that tell her the exact date they will die. Orphaned as a little girl, bounced from foster home to foster home, Jem has kept her ability a secret and shunned human company.
But then she meets Spider, a boy almost as much a misfit as she is, whose eyes show he has only a few weeks left to live. Despite Jem's attempts to dissuade him, Spider stubbornly works his way into her life.
Then Jem and Spider end up mixed up in a terrorist attack in a spur-of-the-moment trip downtown, and find themselves running from the police. As they hurry across the country, just trying to stay alive and free, Jem allows herself to really open up to another human being for the first time. With Spider's time ticking away, she decides to do whatever it takes to keep him alive and beat the numbers.
NUMBERS is a different sort of paranormal romance. Spider is hardly suave or handsome, in a way that's completely refreshing. Jem's feelings for him develop naturally as she sees his true colors, and their relationship is based on mutual affection and respect rather than blind passion. Jem herself is totally believable as an outcast with an understandable chip on her shoulder, and it's a pleasure to watch her grow as circumstances force her out of her comfort zone.
Highly recommended for fans of the paranormal looking for more realism in the stories they read.
For as long as she can remember, Jem has seen numbers whenever she looks into people's eyes. Numbers that tell her the exact date they will die. Orphaned as a little girl, bounced from foster home to foster home, Jem has kept her ability a secret and shunned human company.
But then she meets Spider, a boy almost as much a misfit as she is, whose eyes show he has only a few weeks left to live. Despite Jem's attempts to dissuade him, Spider stubbornly works his way into her life.
Then Jem and Spider end up mixed up in a terrorist attack in a spur-of-the-moment trip downtown, and find themselves running from the police. As they hurry across the country, just trying to stay alive and free, Jem allows herself to really open up to another human being for the first time. With Spider's time ticking away, she decides to do whatever it takes to keep him alive and beat the numbers.
NUMBERS is a different sort of paranormal romance. Spider is hardly suave or handsome, in a way that's completely refreshing. Jem's feelings for him develop naturally as she sees his true colors, and their relationship is based on mutual affection and respect rather than blind passion. Jem herself is totally believable as an outcast with an understandable chip on her shoulder, and it's a pleasure to watch her grow as circumstances force her out of her comfort zone.
Highly recommended for fans of the paranormal looking for more realism in the stories they read.
Helpful Score: 1
Numbers is about a girl named Jem that sees the date that someone is going to die. When she was a little girl, Jem saw the number for her mother and then her mother died of an overdose. From then on, she is sent through the system in London. In order to protect herself, she withdrawals from society, until she runs into Spider while she is ditching school. She can't seem to shake him. He follows her around,which is easily noticed based off of his smell, and he stands up for her in school. This however ends up being a bad thing. Jem begins to be noticed at school and she starts getting picked on. So, Jem ditches school and goes to visit Spider while he is suspended. The two of them head to the touristy London Eye where Jem notices something odd. As she looks through the line, all of the people standing there have the same number. Jem freaks out and pulls Spider away just in time. A terrorist attacks the London Eye. Jem and Spider are seen running away from the scene of the crime. This leads the two of them to begin a life on the run.
Honestly, I was intrigued by the premise and the possibilities that could have happened with a girl that saw when someone was going to die. For some reason when I read the back of the book I thought that the terrorist attack was going to be a larger focus than it was. I was disappointed that the majority of the book was about her life on the streets more than anything to do with the numbers. Honestly, the numbers are only a small part of the book and don't lead the plot at all in my opinion. The relationship between Spider (who is not your typical love interest) and Jem is the main focus of the book. The interactions between the two of them is entertaining. Reading how their relationship unfolds and gives Jem hope for things that she didn't bother with before is the best part of the book. I liked the book, I just thought that Ward could have done so much more with the premise that she devised. Let's see what the sequel brings.
On another note, this is definitely for older teens. There is drug use, death, theft, sex, and teenage pregnancy in the book.
3/5 stars
Honestly, I was intrigued by the premise and the possibilities that could have happened with a girl that saw when someone was going to die. For some reason when I read the back of the book I thought that the terrorist attack was going to be a larger focus than it was. I was disappointed that the majority of the book was about her life on the streets more than anything to do with the numbers. Honestly, the numbers are only a small part of the book and don't lead the plot at all in my opinion. The relationship between Spider (who is not your typical love interest) and Jem is the main focus of the book. The interactions between the two of them is entertaining. Reading how their relationship unfolds and gives Jem hope for things that she didn't bother with before is the best part of the book. I liked the book, I just thought that Ward could have done so much more with the premise that she devised. Let's see what the sequel brings.
On another note, this is definitely for older teens. There is drug use, death, theft, sex, and teenage pregnancy in the book.
3/5 stars
