Numbers

The concept for numbers is a great one: After the death of her mother, fifteen year old Jem is able to see the "death-date" of anyone she looks into the eyes of. The blurb alludes to a life-changing, world shattering event occurring (which to some degree it does) and from here you might expect a fast-paced, adventure-filled rollercoaster of events but unfortunately that doesn't last for long.It's not often that a concept as good as this comes along so I imagine tons of readers like me will read the blurb and snap it up in a instant. But, as a word of caution I think it's a good idea to take advantage of the "Look Inside" option and have a quick read. The reason being, one of the main issues I had with this book was the way it was written. I felt that the author had tried to reach the teenage-audience (although it is appropriate to older readers too) by using "hip" language and a huge amount of slang words. Having said this, just because I didn't like it isn't to say it won't seem like a fantastic idea to other readers so as I've said, definitely take advantage of the "Look Inside" option to make sure.The second reason for my two star rating is the characters. To me the characters have the potential to really sell a book and make it interesting and unfortunately I felt like they fell a little bit flat. Jem, although seemingly interesting because of her unique ability, I failed to connect with - Infact, I didn't like her much at all for a great portion of the book. I have to say though that the more minor characters such as Spider's nan (Spider is Jem's closest friend in the book) were really great and I wish we could have heard a bit more from them.The final reason I disliked this book, and something I found really disappointing, was the introduction to big event about a quarter of the way through. Ordinarily it would be nice to have the action kick off straight away and at first I was excited that it had but it was downplayed so much, it didn't seem particularly catastrophic and it was the only piece of action in the entire book. From that point onwards the book became dull and went downhill from there with the odd bit of excitement.Despite my poor star rating I do think this book had the potential to be fantastic but sadly (and I really did try to love this book) it just didn't work for me. I wish I could have loved it and given it a great score but because of all the issues I had with it I can't recommend this.

Like many of the books I have been reading lately this one is offered in the 'children's' section but on reading it I would be surprised if many parents let their youngsters read it. None of the characters could be described as a positive influence and whilst swearing and the use of the F word may be common place to some it is used with alarming frequency. Teachers are not seen as authority figures but some one to disrespect and treat with contempt, drug use and teenage pregnancy are also present. Also present is a lot of poorly expressed English where some one 'didn't do nothing' for example.That being said the book is written from the point of view of the two main characters who are mostly uneducated, confrontational, disrespectful and antagonistic mistrusting teens. Both come from relatively poor homes with a distinct lack of faith in their peers, their respective parental figures and each other. As the story progresses they come to rely on one another and learn, in part, to trust a small number of the adults in their lives.Its a strong and slightly disturbing story where there is no light at the end of the tunnel and the conclusion sets up nicely for book two: The Chaos. I wish more was written about Spider and Jem but their parts in the overall story are sadly short as the next book has new characters in.

I was very excited about reading this book as I thought that it sounded awesome as a concept. Sadly for me it didn't live up to expectations. I didn't warm to the main character at all. Yes she had her share of problems but so do a lot of people. I thought the entire main part of the story was very childish. While not a prude I thought that was an excessive amount of swearing for a young adult book (it would certainly put me off recommending it to teenagers - yes I know kids swear but I don't want to endorse it). I am still interested to read the sequel as I do like the ideas behind it but I'll wait until I can get it cheap rather than buying it full price.

As an avid reader of young adult's fiction, particuarly dystopians, I was drawn to 'Numbers' for three reasons:1) It fit the bracket of books I wanted to read at the time.2) The entire triology was available, unlike other series (I like to read them all together so I don;t become 'disconnected' during the wait!)3) I was led to it through Amazon's 'Other Books You Might Like' feature on the webpage of a novel I had previously read and loved (check out James Dashner's 'The Maze Runner', it's great!)I feel that 'Numbers', unfortunately, falls into that group of novels that sound great when you read the blurb - with a sytlish cover to match - but does not live up to its own - or the reader's - expectations. Whilst the urban setting of London provides a sense of clear realism, I was unable to find any emotional connection with the protagonist, Jem, or the other main chcracter, Spider. Their attitudes were so horrifically negative throughout the novel that I actually re-read the sentence or two where they used words like 'thanks', sure I'd mis-read. At times their attitudes were actually intolerable and I couldn't manage more than a couple of chapters at a time.For the duration, Jem has an extremely bad attitude towards education, or anyone who tries to help her in any way, for that matter. After a while, even the upbringing she has had does nothing to stop you from declaring her horrid and insufferable. Whether it be a foster mother who bends over backwards to show her some compassion, or a dog walker who tries to offer her money when she's homeless and sleeping in a field full of cows, Jem's response is usually an aggressive 'F off'. After a while, you simply want to step into the story and tell her to 'F off', to be honest, and perhaps slap her across the face for good measure. It's not the swearing that's the problem (in fact, this makes it more realistic given the setting) - its the constant bad attitude that stops the reader from connecting with her in any way, or actually bothering to care about what happens to her. The realism though, is also let down by the fact that Spider's grandmother is so blase about allowing him to run away from the police. It just doesn't seem feasible and appears to be a very clumsy way of getting the story moving.The novel is badly let down in three main areas:1) Although the beginning and end are actually good and keep you page-flicking, the larger middle portion is slow and doesn't really seem to go anywhere (and, to add to this, this is where the reader suffers Jem's appalling attitude).2) The lack or absence of an ability to connect with the protagonist emotionally - to care about Jem is difficult, if not impossible.3) The complete underuse of the whole 'I can see the day you die' idea. Whilst it suggests an inner conflict within Jem, it is severely underdeveloped, which is trange because it is what the blurb focused on, what the reader expects, and what the first few chapters concentrate on so clearly, only to tail off and disappear somehwere in the middle.With all of the above having been said, I would say, overall, that 'Numbers' simply does not live up to expectations. This is of course, only my opinion, and others may not agree. For me however, the lack of consistent realism, the inability to really care about the protagonist (at one point I think I actually hoped she'd die herself), and the sluggish pace of the larger middle section outweighs the glimmers of uniqueness that the novel could have captured in its entirety.If you were to take my advice, I'd give 'Numbers' a miss and immediately skip to reading its sequel 'Numbers 2: The Chaos'. I'm glad I bought the trilogy in one go, simply because the sequel is superb, and is everything that its predecessor should have been. The pace is fast and furious, the reader is able to care about the protagonists despite their failings, and the setting is much more exciting and realistic - set in the not-so-distant future and quite dystopian. You would literally be able to read the sequel and understand everything just fine, without even bothering to read 'Numbers'. It is for that reason that I can award 'Numbers' three stars instead of two (or even one) - it is the predecessor to a fantastic sequel!

Although an adult, I've been reading a lot of YA fiction recently and for me Numbers stands out for its depth, startling concept and believable inner life of its plucky female character, Jem.Like some other readers I was a bit taken aback by some of the language, even if this portrays the way a lot of kids speak today. Likewise for the drug references....on the other hand this is the way so many kids live and partly what makes the book so gritty and realistic.Lots of tension as Spider and Jem go on the run, and a really original and witty take on their romance, which is not mushy yet still sentimental.Later scenes in the church I found a little drawn out and melodramatic, but the twist at the end was very clever and chilling.Overall this is something different and truly original, with bags of fantastic writing.