Author: Rachel Ward
Published: February 2010
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic Inc.
Series: Numbers #1
325 pages (hardcover)
I grabbed this book off the shelf (initially intrigued by the cover with the eerie eyeball, haha) because the summary sounded slightly reminiscent of Death Note (a graphic novels series that I love). In Death Note, the gods of death are able to see numbers floating above human heads that indicate how much time they have left of their lives. In Numbers, there is a similar concept. Jem, the main character, has always had this strange ability – when she looks into someone’s eyes, she sees numbers. It wasn’t until she was older she realized that the numbers are the person’s date of death!
Jem’s mother was a drug addict and died of overdose – her death was the reason Jem realized what the numbers meant at all, because she had always seen the numbers in her mother’s eyes but never knew what it meant. Jem was then thrown around from foster home to foster home, mainly because she’s a rebellious kid with some anti-social or withdrawal issues. I gather I’m supposed to feel sorry for her or something because she’s had such a rough life and doesn’t get along with anybody, but I find her mouthy, short tempered and unnecessarily critical of everyone around her instead of sympathizing for her. This novel is told from the first person perspective of Jem and well, she’s really a hooligan kind of character and I just couldn’t get myself to like her. Most of the unfortunate situations she gets herself involved in are kind of her own fault. She’s not a character I could relate to at all, so I had an extremely difficult time trying to like her (and failed in doing so).
The story starts off interestingly enough. Jem makes friends with fellow classmate and hooligan, Spider (real name Terry). Right away she sees his numbers and realize he’s going to die in one month. Despite her attempts to distance herself from him, Spider’s vibrant personality pulls her in and she finds herself having a friend for once, even though she knows he is going to die soon. She soon wonders if there could be a way to prevent his death. One day, when they are just hanging out by the London Eye (a ferris wheel, I think), Jem sees a whole bunch of people all with the exact same numbers. Knowing that something very, very bad is going to happen, she convinces Spider to flee the scene with her, just as the London Eye explodes. On the news, it’s called a terrorist attack, and the police are on the hunt for two young teens in hoodies last seen running away from the London Eye before it explodes. The police stress that they are looking for them as key witnesses, not suspects, but Jem and Spider, with their colourful delinquent records, feel they’ll be pinned the blame and decide to make a run for it. It all sounds very exciting and I was expecting some action packed scenes to follow.
This is when the story shifts from being about Jem and her numbers to Jem and Spider on the run. Unfortunately, it is not a very interesting escapade either, despite taking up the biggest chunk of the story. It was a little disappointing to have the majority of the novel not focus on the numbers. I thought being on the run from the police would be exciting but it was more on the ho-hum side. Their every day was spent more or less in the same way, nothing of real substance happened except I guess, Jem and Spider’s relationship reached a new level. Which was a little bit strange on its own because it was kind of odd seeing tough Jem acting all lovey-dovey.
The ending redeemed the novel in my eyes. I don’t want to give it away, of course, but the story did shift back to being about Jem and her numbers, and I did enjoy the ending very much. Spider is the character I feel I was attached to at the end (still didn’t really like Jem very much), and I was happy the numbers were back playing a big role. The very end of the novel set up the story for a sequel, which, according to the back cover flap, the author is already working on. Overall, this is a book that if you feel intrigued by, I say give it a go. It is a solid debut novel for the author. I would gladly read the sequel which I think I will enjoy (based on how this first novel ended) though I won’t be anticipating anything too amazing (still, I always hope)!
My Rating: 3/5
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