When Your Number Is Up
Review by Kim Cantrell
Jem is a troubled young girl.
It’s not that she’s a bad girl, just burdened.
Burdened by the numbers she sees if she meets another’s eyes.
Her mothers’ numbers were 10102001.
The date of her death.
British author Rachel Ward’s debut novel Numbers is centered on Jem’s…ability….to know the person’s last day.
Labeled as Young Adult fiction, Numbers starts off with a bang. Yet by the middle of the book, the excitement found in the first few chapters has completely petered out. And the end…well, let’s just say that I had an ability to see what was coming.
And while I understand that Americans are a bit more prudish than the British when it comes to our young ones, I just can’t fathom allowing my late middle school or early high school teen read a book filled with hard-core expletives and a very descriptive sex scene.
Lastly, I was thoroughly put off by the race issues that were portrayed in this book. On numerous occasions, Jem’s boyfriend Spider makes reference to her being in less trouble because she is a “white girl.” There is absolutely no need for a fictional book to fuel the fire on the race issue.
Overall, however, I do see that this writer has potential. And as one could figure out with the last sentence of this book, there is a sequel in the works; set to be released in June 2010.
You can find more about Rachel Ward and upcoming books at www.rachelwardbooks.com.
