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Summary
Summary
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!
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Numbers have a different meaning for 15-year-old Jem: the numbers that pop into her head when she makes eye contact with anyone reveal the day that person will die. Orphaned after her mother's overdose, Jem has been in foster care for years and avoids forming relationships until she meets Spider, another outsider who, despite Jem's efforts, pushes past her self-imposed barriers. A trip to the London Eye ends in disaster when Jem realizes that the tourists waiting in line have the same number and that they are all going to die that very day. Wanted for questioning after fleeing the scene of an apparent terrorist attack, Jem and Spider go on the run-a prospect made all the more daunting for Jem because she knows that Spider's number is up in just a few days. Sarah Coomes brings Rachel Ward's gritty story (Chicken House, 2010) to life with emotion and intensity. She perfectly captures Jem, a teen who hides her pain and loneliness behind a tough girl attitude, and gives Spider his own distinct nuances as well. Jem's emotional growth in the latter half of the book is satisfying, and listeners will be awaiting the sequel even as they are reeling from the twists at the end of this novel.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fifteen-year-old Jem has a singular and terrifying ability-looking people in the eye reveals to her the date they will die. Needless to say, she avoids eye contact. Her mother overdosed; she's on her umpteenth foster home; and school (when she goes) is a dead-end special education class. But school also brings her closer to Spider, a gangly bundle of raw energy who genuinely likes Jem-and who she knows has just weeks to live. Their bittersweet courtship becomes terrifying when their first date ends in a terrorist bombing at the London Eye. Jem escapes with Spider moments before the blast, but witnesses report their flight and suddenly they are persons of interest in a police investigation. It's a gritty tale, unsparingly told, and debut novelist Ward demonstrates exceptional control of her material. Her characters remain true to themselves and their bleak circumstances, making for some excruciating moments. This is not an easy read, but it isn't entirely hopeless either. Despite its supernatural premise, Jem's story shines a stark and honest light on the lives of teens on the fringe. Ages 14-18. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
When Jem looks into someone's eyes, she sees a number. But knowing the exact date a person will die isn't exactly comforting. A prickly veteran of foster care, she befriends Spider, a fellow outcast. When Jem suspiciously flees a terrorist attack, they become fugitives. Plot contrivances mar this debut, but Ward's thoughtful exploration of two teens living on society's fringes is provocative. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Guardian Review
The eyes, they say, are the windows to the soul, but when Jem looks into a person's eyes she sees numbers. These numbers are a date: the date of the person's death. One could describe such an ability as a gift but, understandably, Jem sees it as a burden. Like it or not, she knows when your number is up. Jem is a white, 5ft-nothing teenager. Her dad was never in the picture and her mother, it seems, was a prostitute junkie who died of an overdose when Jem was seven. It was Jem who found her body. Passed from foster parent to foster parent, Jem feels her life is going nowhere. She ends a piece of schoolwork about her "best day" with: "Wasting my time. Yesterday was the same and it's gone away. Tomorrow may never come. There is only today. This is the best day and the worst day. Actually it's crap." Then Spider comes into her life. Skinny, black and 6ft 4in, he's a classmate who spends little time in class. Spider's days are certainly numbered, but he and Jem have fun together on a day out in London . . . until Jem sees a whole group of people with the same numbers in their eyes, queuing for a turn, ironically enough, on the London Eye. And the numbers are that day's date. With a sense of impending doom, she and Spider flee the area, an action (caught on CCTV) which seems suspicious after the carnage that follows. Spider's grandmother, Val, senses the specialness in Jem, while Jem, at the same time, senses it in her. The teenager sees the realities and tantalising possibilities of having a loving, caring relative and - in a very touching and real sense - wishes that she had someone like Val in her own life. Spider, meanwhile, dabbles on the fringes of crime, and we see the ease with which knives can become part of the playground and beyond. Soon enough, Jem and Spider are on the run, with their relationship developing against the backdrop of their attempts to evade authority. The change from friends to lovers is convincingly portrayed, all the more loaded because Jem knows - and so the reader, in turn, knows - that Spider will soon be dead. Then Jem finds herself without Spider, still on the run but encountering different manifestations of kindness, giving her glimpses into a cosier if-only world. There's the middle-class teenager, "rebelling" with the safety net of the sure and certain knowledge of parental love; the young man working in Bath Abbey; the rector's cancer-ridden wife; and Jem's most recent foster mum, Karen, who really is doing her best. On one occasion, Spider wants to know his fate. Does she think the police will catch them? "Are they going to put a bullet in me like they did to that guy in the Tube?" he asks. Jem refuses to answer. Later, Jem thinks a terrible thought: "the numbers were me and I was them. Without me would the numbers exist?" If she takes her own life, will people's predetermined date of death cease to exist too? Thereafter there are real surprises. Numbers is a high-concept, it-could-go-anywhere idea taken down an unexpected and interesting route. Seemingly downbeat, it is both intelligent and life-affirming. First-time author Rachel Ward is certainly one to watch. But I'd avoid eye contact if I were you. The first two of Philip Ardagh's Grubtown Tales are published by Faber in May. To order Numbers for pounds 6.99 with free UK p&p call Guardian book service on 0330 333 6846 or go to guardian.co.uk/books Caption: article-ardagh.1 [Jem] is a white, 5ft-nothing teenager. Her dad was never in the picture and her mother, it seems, was a prostitute junkie who died of an overdose when Jem was seven. It was Jem who found her body. Passed from foster parent to foster parent, Jem feels her life is going nowhere. She ends a piece of schoolwork about her "best day" with: "Wasting my time. Yesterday was the same and it's gone away. Tomorrow may never come. There is only today. This is the best day and the worst day. Actually it's crap." Then Spider comes into her life. Skinny, black and 6ft 4in, he's a classmate who spends little time in class. Spider's days are certainly numbered, but he and Jem have fun together on a day out in London . . . until Jem sees a whole group of people with the same numbers in their eyes, queuing for a turn, ironically enough, on the London Eye. And the numbers are that day's date. With a sense of impending doom, she and Spider flee the area, an action (caught on CCTV) which seems suspicious after the carnage that follows. - Philip Ardagh.
Kirkus Review
Jem's been bouncing between foster homes since her mother overdosed when Jem was only six. Now she's a typical troubled teen, skipping her special-ed classes almost as often as she goes. Though she's not entirely typical, as most troubled teens don't see the death dates of every person they meet, floating in eight stark numerals over each head. 10102001, her mother's number. 07142013, her foster mother's. And 12152010, Spider's. Spider is the gangly, twitchy, stinky classmate who's the first person ever to try to be Jem's friend. When the two of them are seen running away from a massive terrorist attack in LondonJem had warning of the deaths, hadn't she?they flee the police investigation and run away into the country. If only December 15 weren't closing in fast, Jem could even be happy with her new romance. Their journey is filled with heartwarming encounters with helpful but realistically wary strangers feeding their bodies and touching their hearts. A lovely, bittersweet tearjerker about living life to its fullest. (Fantasy. 13-15) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
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.--Carton, Debbie Copyright 2010 Booklist