Numbers: Book 1 [Hardcover]

Rachel Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2010 | Series: Numbers (Book 1)

Countdown to a blowup! A gripping debut psycho-thriller that pairs futuristic sci-fi with frighteningly real themes of global terrorism!

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!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 8–10—10102001. That's Jem's mother's number. Jem saw it whenever she looked into her mother's eyes, but it wasn't until four years after the woman's fatal heroin overdose when Jem was 11 that she realized that the number was the date her mother would die. And it's not just that number that the teen sees—she knows when everyone will die by looking into their eyes. Isolating herself from the rest of humanity seems to be the only solution until Spider, a freakishly tall, twitchy mess of a boy, refuses to leave her alone. In spite of the fact that she knows his death date is only months away, she can't resist his overtures of friendship. One afternoon, while ditching school, they head for the London Eye tourist attraction. When Jem realizes that several people standing in line are fated to die that very day, she panics and takes off. Newspapers and television pick up the story, and Jem and Spider, targeted as the terrorists responsible for destroying the Eye, or at least witnesses, are on the run in a stolen car. Ward's debut novel is gritty, bold, and utterly unique. Jem's isolation and pain, hidden beneath a veneer of toughness, are palpable, and the ending is a real shocker. Teens who read Charles De Lint, Holly Black, and Melvin Burgess will take to this riveting book and eagerly await the upcoming sequel.—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK
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From Booklist

Fifteen-year-old Jem Marsh has always had an unwelcome gift: when she looks into a person’s eyes, she sees the date of their death. A foster-home child since her drug-addicted mother’s overdose, Jem’s knowledge and experience isolate her from her peers. She surprises herself by building a relationship with another misfit, the tall, geeky Spider. Their interracial romance (Jem is white, Spider is black) leads to a day trip to London, which ends disastrously when Jem realizes that all the tourists at the London Eye Ferris wheel have the same death date: that day. Ward’s first novel is a fast-paced thriller with deep philosophical roots and tremendous empathy for those who don’t fit the mold, not to mention a jaw-dropping ending that stands alone beautifully while whetting readers’ appetites for the sequel. Clear, straightforward prose is the perfect voice for prickly Jem, and Ward’s complex, intriguing characterizations challenge the reader to look beyond appearances. The British setting and tone will intrigue, not deter, U.S. readers. A fascinating premise, creatively explored. Grades 8-12. --Debbie Carton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Chicken House; 1 edition (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545142997
• ISBN-13: 978-0545142991
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a fortysomething author of books for young adults. I live in Bath, England, with my husband, two teenagers, dog, cat and chickens. I've had 'sensible' jobs for 25 years, and now I'm a writer too. I've been writing for about 10 years, and have published the Numbers trilogy. The first book came out in the UK in 2009 and the USA in 2010. My Numbers books explore the gift of being able to see death dates. If you looked in somebody's eyes and saw the date of their death, would it change the way you felt about people? Would it change the way you lived your life?

Find out more about me at my website: www.rachelwardbooks.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Promising, But Uneven December 12, 2009

By Ken C. TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Rachel Ward's NUMBERS has a good premise: a teenage British girl who can see your "number" (that is, the date of your death) just by looking into your eyes. It's the kind of "blessing" that is, in fact, a "curse" and has all kinds of possibilities as a science fiction thriller. The trouble is, NUMBERS has an identity problem. It's a coming-of-age tale that wants badly to be a science fiction piece and ultimately winds up being a hybrid -- one that doesn't quite satisfy on either front.

Not that there's a lack of things to like about the book. It maintains your interest as the protagonist, Jem, a rather street-smart type, hooks up with Spider, a black ne'er-do-well who gets in trouble with the law and goes on the lam with his sweetheart. In fact, the "road" portion of the book, where Jem and Spider are fleeing authorities after witnessing a terrorist attack (they ran because Jem saw the same numbers -- that day's -- in all the people's eyes), is the best stretch of all, as it allows Ward to show a deft hand at characterization and humor. But the numbers keep getting in the way, and when they do, you expect Ward to go somewhere with them. She never quite does that. Instead, the book holds to realism more than you might expect, and you grow increasingly intolerant of a numbers sub-plot that ultimately transforms into an irritant. It all lands in a heap at the end -- an eye-roll "surprise" line at the finish which doesn't quite satisfy and seems a bit pat.

Still, I wager that the book might appeal to older teens (if it were a movie, it would assuredly earn its "R" rating) curious as to what happens with the death-date thing. I myself wondered how Ward would handle it. But ultimately it was the "book that wasn't" that I liked best -- the narrative of an unlikely "odd couple" falling in love. Take away the premise of the numbers and there you have it: a solid story of two dumb but lovable kids. Gimmick-free, that alone could have carried the novel in my mind.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Formulaic Young Adult Book November 28, 2009

By E. D. Garcia VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The earlier reviewer who wrote: "The book started off strong, bogged down in the middle, and then whimpered toward an unsatisfying predictable ending" was spot on.

The premise is that Jem, a 15 year old orphaned girl in London knows when people will die. When she looks someone in the eye, a date pops into her head; that date is the day the person will die. Knowing when others will die leads Jem to avoid personal relationships with everyone; she never lets anyone get too close.
Jem, begrudgingly, befriends another social outcast like herself nick-named Spider. When the pair finds themselves suspended from school, they head for the tourist areas of London, and wind up making a bit of a scene in front of the London Eye. Jem then notices that a bunch of people in line for the Eye have the same number: today.

It's a wonderful setup that quickly devolves into familiar themes and worn out cliches.

The big lure of "Numbers" is centered around the London Eye, but this particular plot device runs its course rather rapidly (and yet, is never resolved). It's merely the launching point for the "grand adventure" in the book. I put grand adventure in quotes there to signify that it's really not all that grand. I completely understand the author's decision to use this event as a fulcrum, but the adventure that follows seems to glorify being homeless, not showering, and stealing. I could mention a few other items, but I don't want to completely give the story away.

The upshot for me being that Jem and Spider make some SERIOUSLY bad choices and the author justifies these choices by saying it's because of where they come from. Blaming society... hasn't that been done already?

There are, however, a few memorable moments in the book where Rachel Ward scores a direct hit. When the kids first encounter cows ("That cow is sick...") is the comedic high-point of the book. And when Jem's foster-mom asks her if she's ever been camping gets major points for symmetry and poetry.

I'd imagine that the target audience for this book is mid- to late-teen girls, but I'm not too sure if the bleak and hopeless adventure that makes up 80% of the book is going to satisfy them.

For me, "Numbers" was formulaic, thematic, predictable, and unsatisfying. I have a feeling a lot of others will agree with me.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 Stars for Num8ers March 12, 2010

By L. Reeves VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

3 Stars - First off, I almost didn't finish reading Numbers. It kept me forever waiting for something to happen. I never felt that I connected with either of the characters until I'd say the last few pages. Then I finally felt like Jem was or could be a real person, who was more then the hard shell she put up around her.

After I finished reading, I figured a few things out, that the parts of the book that dragged for me, needed to drag for the end result to have the affect on me that it did. To be able to really see just what the message of this book was, there needed to be all that came before it. At least for me to be able to understand things that is.

The message is finally clear in the last few pages and I'm sure there are other readers out there who will have the same reaction I did. I don't want to tell anyone because it will give too much away.

Jem is such a strong 15 year old girl that sometimes that strong nature gets in the way. She tries to stay away from everyone for her fear of the numbers that she knows are the dates people will die, she just doesn't understand why she can see them or what they really mean.

Along the way she allows herself to connect with a fellow classmate Spider. After witnessing a horrible event, they run. Most of this story is of the two of these characters as they flee from London. Oh, and that's another thing I loved about this book. It's all set in England. Some who aren't familiar to British terms or slang might be a little confused, but don't let that bother you. With the internet it's easy to look things up to understand what the various things mean.

Jem and Spider somehow fit together. They are both so different from each other and yet they work. At the end of the book I was rooting for them in their relationship and in their troubles with the police.

As I said before, there's a bigger picture to this whole story, it just took this reader awhile to get there. If it wasn't for the ending I don't think, no correction - I would not have been able to give it the star rating that I did.

If you're just picking this book up and want to give up, keep reading. If your hearing mixed reviews, give it a try; just don't give up on it. The message at the end is well worth it. I'll be reading the sequel - Numbers 02. The Chaos, what about you?