Numbers by Rachel Ward

Image from google

Jem has seen the numbers all her life. 'When she looks in someones eyes, she can see the date they will die'. When she goes on a trip to the London Eye with her new friend Spider, their lives change forever.

I have to say, Rachel Ward has written a stunning book. Everything in it, no matter how different to our lives or how spectacular, is so utterly believable.
All the characters are very well-rounded. Their emotional journeys are perfect. Even the smaller, less featured characters seem to be quite well developed, which is remarkable for such a small book.

One thing which is also pretty cool, is that this time I knew that Ward had definitely done her research as a writer, or at least been to Basingstoke, among other areas. If you know/have driven in Basingstoke, please, please read the part of this book that mentions it. I won't ruin it for you. So very, very funny.
The amount of detail that the book goes into it utterly brilliant.
Numbers has everything I wanted from a book; adventure, morals, explorations of society (free will, control and predestination to name a few), mortality and even romance.
I may have also teared up a tiny bit at the end. (It was quite emotional, to be fair.)

So I'm giving this book a definite 5 out of 5. Number 2: The Chaos is on it's way in the post and Numbers 3 I'm sure will be too!

Image from google

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Rachel Ward's Website.
The Guardian's Review
Review by Galleysmith