Numbers by Rachel Ward

February 2010 by Chicken House/Scholastic Inc. 

Hardcover, 325 pages

Review Copy

Book Synopsis

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...............(Goodreads)

Review

Disappointing is the best way to describe Numbers. I had high hopes going into this story, with the premise that Jem, a 15 year old girl floating through the foster care system can’t seem to settle in any one place. She harbors a dark secret that closes her off from the rest of world, unable to love, or let anyone love her; Jem lives a very isolated existence. Looking into the face of another human flash’s a number, which Jem at a very young age realizes is the date of their death. Jem has always seen this as a curse and not until she meets Spider, a rough, loud and smelly boy in her class does she begin to see her sight may be a gift.

An unexpected friendship arises between the two of them. Jem even starts to lower her defenses with Spider (Travis) and begins doing what friends do- they hang out, talk and one day find themselves in front of The London Eye. Every person in line bears the same number and Jem knows something bad is going to happen, in a panic Jem and Spider run just before the LE explodes. With many dead, and no one to blame the bombing on, witnesses remember the two kids, one white girl and one tall black boy running from the scene. Police are now wanting to question the kids, but Jem and Spider have already weighed what people will see and that is guilt. Out of fear they run trying to escape the police plunging them on a journey of cold nights and dire consequences.

And that’s where the original plot ends. Once the kids are out on the road evading police, we wrap ourselves around unbelievable scenarios, eye rolling scenes (page 300) and ridiculous outcomes. The ending offers no closure and nothing in the book is ever resolved. The main plot thread is just forgotten and left for the reader to figure out. Jem and Spider make really stupid choices, and the author makes it her goal to point out that it’s acceptable for them to act this way because they had douche-bag parents. It’s ok that Jem is terribly disrespectful and she really doesn’t have to listen to any adult, even police because she got handed a bad card in life. At some point in your life “you” will make choices and no blaming society and other people are going to get you out of the bad ones. Jem as any type of teen girl to look up to receives a big epic fail.

Even more troublesome was the overall outcomes of these bad decisions, in some instances the bad choice was rewarded and that’s why I thought most of this story was just too far-fetched in a legal and real world stand point. On a moral stand point, the book with a prime audience of 8th graders crossed the line of sexual friendly. The sex scenes were graphic and very “encouraging” to a young reader.

Rating

Sexually graphic, language, violence, illegal activity, smoking, lying, stealing, drugs and so on and so on….. I do not recommend this book to young readers. Suitable for mature teens 17 and up.

2/5- YA, Suspense
Copy provided by Around The World Tours


SPOLIER****For those of you who have read Numbers or don’t care about a small spoiler………

Fiction aside a serious thought on Jem’s pregnancy- being fifteen years old and having a baby is not “cool” -it’s not fun and it’s not something a teen should want to do. I know this happens in the real world and I know a majority of those girls are single mothers but even in today’s society it’s still shocking to see a very young teen pregnant. The idea that Jem didn’t really find meaning to her life until she had a baby is what I strongly disagreed with. I thought an adult woman writing this content marketed towards young readers was very irresponsible. Regardless of the teens defending this type of writing, saying just because it’s in a book doesn’t mean I’ll go do it isn’t the point. The point is an adult encouraging this type of behavior to a teen reader.

Being a teen mom is hard….I know this because I was one, although I was 18 and not 15 like Jem. Nowhere did she talk about the emotional struggles a teen goes through, let alone the financial devastation it can cause. I strongly believe situations like this need to be presented in a way telling girls it’s not cool and it’s not fun and your entire life will change and a baby at that young of an age will not bring meaning to your life. Another human being should never define who you are as a person. I believe children are a great blessing but a fifteen year old child is not ready to be a mother.