Numbers by Rachel Ward

Numbers is a book that's hard to categorize. It starts out as urban fantasy, then becomes more of an adventure novel, then seems to be a "teaching life lessons" story toward the end.

The heroine, Jem, has a supernatural "gift" that has caused her no end of grief. She sees numbers when she looks at people. As a little girl, she didn't know what the numbers meant — not until her mother's number turned out to be the day she overdosed on drugs. Now a troubled teenager, Jem finds it hard to get close to anyone. How can she get attached to anyone, when she knows the date they will die?

Enter Spider. He's a classmate of Jem's who is teetering on the edge of big trouble. For personal reasons, it took me a little while to warm up to Spider. In Jem's narrative voice, Rachel Ward describes him like this: "One of those people who stand too close to you, doe... Read More

The Chaos by Rachel Ward

The Chaos is the sequel to Numbers, and is a much better book. The way the numbers work is explained better and the plot is more consistent. The Chaos also has the effect of making Numbers feel like a prequel. Jem is long dead in this installment, and her son’s story has a much larger scope.

It’s the year 2026, and things are a little different: climate change has led to many towns being flooded, and the government microchips people for identification and surveillance. Adam has been raised in a country town by his great-grandmother, Val. When their town is flooded, they move to London, despite a warning from Jem before she died — that vast numbers of Londoners are destined to die on New Year’s Day, 2027.

Adam soon sees these dire numbers too, and the nitty-gritty of his ability is ... Read More