Numbers

sandyc - Jem, is fifteen years old and met a young named Terry, who has a nickname as Spider. Jem initially tries to stay away from Spider although he is one of his true friends. The reason why she avoids contacting with her is because she sees numbers associated with every person when her eyes meets their eyes. These numbers shows the date, the month and the year of that person's death. Jem knows that Spider is going to die in just a few months (after her mother's death). On the other hand, Spider invites Jem to his house, and Jem eventually met his grandmother, the only family member Spider has, and she can see auras and immediately recognized Jem as a kindred spirit, though she doesn't initially realize the depth of Jem's gift. She saw special auras around Jem, and was surprised. Jem and Spider begin spending a great deal of time together after Jem went to spiders house, and became couples afterwards. One day, she and Spider both got into trouble, and decided to run away from home. They visited an amusement park with a huge Ferris wheel, which is the London Eye. While they are having lots of fun, Jem soon saw that all the people there have the same number. She knows that these people would die because of something happening in the park. She and Spider ran away, and after they ran away, a bomb exploded and killed a great deal of people. Unfortunately, some of the people remember Jem and Spider running away before the explosion, So they are chase by the polices. After Spider saved Jem, who tried to suicide because she thinks that people having numbers are all her fault, since she is the only one who can see it. After Spider got released, and died, their son grew up, and appears to see numbers like his mother... I am so excited for the second book! And based on the ending of this book, saying that the boy can also see numbers, I think that the second book would be based on the boy. I am also looking foward to the third book.

Starred review from January 4, 2010
Fifteen-year-old Jem has a singular and terrifying ability—looking people in the eye reveals to her the date they will die. Needless to say, she avoids eye contact. Her mother overdosed; she's on her umpteenth foster home; and school (when she goes) is a dead-end special education class. But school also brings her closer to Spider, a gangly bundle of raw energy who genuinely likes Jem—and who she knows has just weeks to live. Their bittersweet courtship becomes terrifying when their first date ends in a terrorist bombing at the London Eye. Jem escapes with Spider moments before the blast, but witnesses report their flight and suddenly they are persons of interest in a police investigation. It's a gritty tale, unsparingly told, and debut novelist Ward demonstrates exceptional control of her material. Her characters remain true to themselves and their bleak circumstances, making for some excruciating moments. This is not an easy read, but it isn't entirely hopeless either. Despite its supernatural premise, Jem's story shines a stark and honest light on the lives of teens on the fringe. Ages 14–18.