Synopsis from book jacket:
Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die.
Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!
Was the Book Worth My Time?
Not so much.
I was very close to putting the book down. However, last night I skimmed through the 2011 Lonestar book nominations, and Num8ers was on the list. I finished it hoping that I hadn't gotten to the part in the book that would make this a Lonestar nominee.
The plot is fantastic and compelling. Unfortunately, there were too many negative aspects of my experience reading this novel to compete with a create story line.
What Bothered Me?
Frankly, I'm surprised I didn't put this book down on Chapter 6. I am not a fan of books that have little conflict. I wasn't sure why I was reading. In fact, the only reason I kept reading was to see if Spider actually died in the end. Other than that, I skimmed through paragraphs and tried to finish the book quickly. I wasn't "in" the book. The bombing isn't set up with a lot of depth and because of that I spent most of the book wondering if the event the book jacket talks about was something entirely different than the London Eye event.
I think another reason I wasn't into the book was because the book holds much darkness. Obviously, death is talked about in excess. Jem also, like any person stuck with this horrible "gift" is depressed and finds solace only in being alone. Like I said after reading Laurie Halse Anderson's Twisted, I'm just not a big fan of "dark" novels.
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