Wednesday

Numbers 2: The Chaos by Rachel Ward

Author:  Rachel Ward
Pages: 352
Genre: YA / Teen

In NUM8ERS we met Jem - a teen girl who by staring into a person's eyes can see their numbers.  The numbers are their date of expiration or the day of their death.

Adam, is Jem's son and he was born with her same gift ,or curse, as he sees it.  Adam can not only see the numbers of the person's death but he can also feel whether it'll be a painful or peaceful one.   When he starts noticing that most of the people around him will perish in January 2027 and he feels that they will be horrible deaths -  he has a feeling that something big will happen... something chaotic and life-changing.

The story is actually told in dual narrative.  Along with Adam's story, you also meet Sarah.  Sarah is a young girl who eventually crosses paths with Adam.  She has been having the same dream over and over and only knows that a man will take her baby from her and run off with her  in his arms into a fire.  She doesn't know who this man is but  she will do anything to avoid coming into contact with him.  And then she meets Adam... the man in her dreams.

I actually really liked Adam's story much better than Jem's.  As the imminent threat of 01012027 draws near, you can feel the tension and the anxiety grow in these characters.  I really liked both Adam and Sarah and. although sometimes I felt exasperated by their situation, I kept that thread of hope that somehow it would all work out in the end.  They were both likable, believable, and easy to connect with. 

As with Ms. Ward's previous book in this series, she does not hedge around dark topics - rape, drugs, prostitution, runaways and even controlling governments, are all in the mix.   This was a very fast-paced and exciting story.  The last 100 pages had me glued to my seat.  What an epic finale!   

For fans of the series or those of you who have read its predecessor and are on the fence about it, I recommend you read Numbers 2: The Chaos.  I personally enjoyed it much more than Numbers.  For readers who haven't read the first in the series, I still recommend you read this one as it can very easily be a stand-alone novel.  I look forward to Numbers 3: Infinity scheduled to release June 2011. 


My Rating:
  

5 comments:

Danna (Bananas For Books) said...

I've wanted to read this series for awhile now. Thanks for the review!
-Danna

Jen Bigheart said...

I listened to the first one on audio and felt a little mixed about it. The end threw me way off! Not sure if I will give this one a try, but review makes the possibility a little higher.

Thanks!

Book Soulmates said...

Glad to know that Adam's story was a bit better :) I enjoyed Jem's as well, but there were a few things that I could have done without...ya know what I'm talking about.

I figured that I'd put this one on the backburner, but I might want to check it out soon now.

And I really like the US covers!
♥Isalys

Christinabean said...

You nailed it for me with your review. I was on the fence when it came to Numbers and I was going to pass on this one but after reading your review, maybe I'll give it a try. Thanks!

Lola said...

I'm glad to read your review of this. I wasn't going to read the series b/c of all the negative reviews I read for the first book. However, your review of the sequel makes me want to give the series a chance. Thanks! :)

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