Num8ers Review

TITLE: Num8ers
AUTHOR: Rachel Ward
PUB DATE: February 2010
PAGES: 336
PUBLISHER: Scholastic

Source: I received this book from Nikole at Scholastic Canada.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Whenever Jem 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 an awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. But while they’re waiting to ride the Eye Ferris wheel, Jem notices 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!

MY THOUGHTS
Thank you Nikole for sending me this book.

This is Rachel Ward’s debut novel and the first of a possible three book series. After reading Num8ers I have to say that I will be picking up her future books. Num8ers was originally published in the UK.

What would you do if you had a secret that was so terrifying and it forced you not to get close to anyone because you knew exactly when they were going to die?

This is exactly what Num8ers is about. Jem is a fifteen year old girl and she has the ability to look into someones eyes and know exactly when they will die. She is living with a foster mother because when she was a young girl she discovered one morning that her mother died from a drug overdose.

Jem attends a school that is basically for problem kids. There are days that she skips school because she just doesn’t want to deal with the problem of feeling and being like an outcast. Its on one of these days that she has skipped school that she runs into a fellow student in her class named Spider. Spider is the last person she wants to see. At first she pushes him away and wants nothing to do with him. Over a short period of time he quickly makes her change her mind. Spider is just like her an outcast. I think this is what bonds them.

After an incident at school both Spider and Jem are suspended from school and decide that they will spend the day together. Its when they go to London Eye Ferris Wheel that life for Jem and Spider are about to change and not for the better. Spider and Jem must run to save there lives before its too late.

I had to keep reading this and pretty much finished this in one sitting because I had to find out how Spider would end up dying and I have to say it wasn’t what I had expected.

As you can tell I did enjoy reading this book and after checking out Rachel Ward’s site I just discovered that book 2 in the Num8ers series called The Chaos is already out in the UK. I looked around and I don’t see a US/Canadian release date. Rachel is currently working on book 3 which just might be the last one in the series.

Here is the book trailer for you to check out: