Review & Giveaway: Numbers by Rachel Ward

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: The Chicken House (Scholastic); 1 edition (February 1, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0545142997
• Source: Big Honcho Media

Jem is a fifteen-year-old British teen who has an unusual gift; she can predict the timing of an  individual’s death simply by looking them in the eye.  Their “date of death” is clearly displayed above them.  Jem has been virtually on her own after her mother died of an overdose. She was transported from one foster home to another.   For obvious reasons Jem is quite a recluse, until she meets Spider, another social outcast.  She reluctantly allows Spider a space in her life.  Suddenly, just as her life was beginning to feel relatively normal, things go very wrong.  While visiting the city with Spider, Jem predicts the death of dozens of people, deaths to occur all in the same place at the same time.  When she realizes what is about to take place, she grabs Spider and runs. A terrorist attack hits a tourist spot hard and heavy.  Witnesses report seeing two teens running from the scene.  Jem and Spider pack a few meager things and go on the run.

Numbers had a lot of great potential. The premise interested me immediately. Ward carried the suspense through the beginning, but midway through the “numbers” sort of fell by the wayside. Instead, it became a story of unlikely love despite unspeakable odds and living each day to its fullest. Once I got over this shift in storyline, I found the book to be quite the engaging read.

Numbers is geared toward teen girls, but given the language, sex, and mention of drug use, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone younger than fifteen years old.

I am looking forward to reading the sequel: Numbers 2-Chaos.  I think Ward’s writing has a lot of potential and I’m interested in reading more about how she plans on continuing the story.

To read more about Rachel Ward and read an excerpt from the book, visit: http://www.scholastic.com/numbers/

On to the giveaway!  Three lucky individuals will win a hardcopy of Numbers!  To enter, fill out the form below.

Winners will be announced on Monday, March 29th.  Residents of US and Canada only, no PO Boxes please.