Numbers by Rachel Ward

Jem doesn’t like getting close to people, and it’s all because of the numbers. Since her mother died of an overdose, Jem’s known the meaning of the eight digits she senses rather than sees every time she looks in someone’s eyes—it’s the date they will die. Bounced from one foster home to the next, she avoids any type of relationship. But then she meets Spider and these two misfits form an awkward and fragile relationship. While in London together, Jem is surprised to see that in nearly everyone’s eyes is today’s date. Suspicious, Jem and Spider run for safety, but when the bombing of the London Eye gets pinned on them, this unlikely duo must continue running. Scared and desperate, Jem hardly knows what to do, and when she starts to fall for Spider, she doesn’t know how to handle knowing he has so little time left. In this race against time, Jem vows to save Spider, but how can she fight what’s meant to be?

Numbers is a powerful novel about society, friendship, love, and fate. From the very first page, Jem’s frank voice captures the reader’s attention and heart. She is such a unique character and not just because of her psychic abilities; she’s a realistic human being struggling against forces she cannot control like the class she was born into, the fact that things generally turn out badly for her, and, of course, the inevitability of the numbers. Both Jem and Spider are such easy characters to believe in and relate to, and that only makes their story even deeper and more meaningful. Aside from being a truly romantic love story, Numbers is also philosophical with a bit of social commentary. I love Ward’s honesty through Jem here; she gets to the heart of class differences and the barriers that often prevent these classes from seeing eye to eye. The most significant part of this story for me was Jem’s knowledge of the future, and what she chooses to do with it. This really begs the question: are people really in control of their lives, or is there something larger like fate at work?

Romantic and thought provoking, I recommend Numbers to all readers, especially those who liked Sight by Adrienne Maria Vrettos, Dark Visions by L.J. Smith, and Diva without a Cause by Grace Dent. I highly look forward to more writing from this talented new author.

Rating: 4.75

Review copies from Amazon Vine and publisher Scholastic