From the Publisher
Praise for NUMBERS
"Even the idea of this book gave me chills. How would you like to know someone's fate just by looking in their eyes? Creepy and original." -- R.L. Stine
"A page-turner. What starts as a simple extrasensory gimmick grows into an increasingly engrossing and au courant plot line involving terrorism, class tensions, and youth. One thing is certain: Ward's Numbers is ace." -- The Los Angeles Times
* "Gritty, bold, and utterly unique. Jem's isolation and pain, hidden beneath a veneer of toughness, are palpable, and the ending is a real shocker." -- School Library Journal, STARRED review
* "It's a gritty tale, unsparingly told, and Ward demonstrates exceptional control of her material. Her characters remain true to themselves and their bleak circumstances, making for some excruciating moments....Despite its supernatural premise, Jem's story shines a stark and honest light on the lives of teens on the fringe." -- Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"A lovely, bittersweet tearjerker about living life to the fullest." -- Kirkus Reviews
"A moving portrayal of life and love lost." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Intelligent and life-affirming. Rachel Ward is certainly one to watch." -- The Guardian (UK)
"Utterly compelling." -- The Sunday Telegraph (UK)
VOYA
- Jamie Hansen
Once, Sarah loved Adam. Now, after two years struggling to survive in a devastated England, she wonders how much longer they can stay together, even to care for her daughter, Mia, and their unborn baby. Adam has an ability that is destroying him. Looking into someone’s eyes, he sees a number--the date that person will die. Even worse, he feels the pain and shock of the death itself. Adam knows Sarah’s number, as well as Mia’s, but Mia worries and frightens him. She should have died with so many others the day the Chaos began on New Year’s Day 2027; however, Mia seems to have changed her number with someone else’s, giving her the potential to live forever. Now, an utterly ruthless stranger named Saul is determined to capture Mia and steal her number for his own perverted purposes. Sarah and Adam must now save Mia, as well as their baby, who may have gifts even more vital to Saul. From its poignant beginning to its heart-stopping conclusion, Infinity will thrill readers new to the Numbers series, as well as fans of the two previous titles. Told alternately in the distinctive voices of Adam and Sarah, the novel gives readers a remarkably original premise, authentic world-building, and some genuinely creepy villains. All libraries serving teens will need to add this thrilling title to their collections. Ages 12 to 18.
Kirkus Reviews
A trilogy that began in the recognizable present concludes in a post-apocalyptic dystopic England, 17 years from now. Adam--the child conceived in tragedy in Numbers (2010)--is a father now himself, caretaker to his girlfriend Sarah's daughter Mia. Like so many other former Londoners, this young family lives in the woods, surviving by hunting after the devastating earthquake that destroyed their society. But Adam is different from everyone else in this ravaged England, because he's the wild-eyed prophet who predicted the Chaos. Adam sees the potential death date of everyone he looks at, a curse that makes him valuable to dangerous people. When a paramilitary group kidnaps Mia, Adam has no choice but to put himself in their hands. In alternating chapters, Sarah and Adam describe their experiences, first in the woods and then with their tormentors. Whom can they trust? What is the extent of Adam's power--and perhaps of Mia's? The post-apocalyptic setting has limited realism (with England's woods thick enough to support many surviving Londoners on a diet of venison), and Mia's little-girl babble tends toward the twee. A little violent, a little supernatural, a little mysterious, a lot sentimental; fans of the trilogy won't be disappointed as this story edges toward magical thriller. (Science fiction. 13-16)
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—The action never stops in this dystopian trilogy conclusion. Having escaped London in the aftermath of the Chaos, Sarah, heavily pregnant, is tired of living rough. She's sick of scrounging for food and constantly looking over her shoulder in fear. She wants to settle down with her young charges, Marty and Luke; her daughter, Mia; and Adam. However, the Adam she knows now isn't the guy she fell in love with. This Adam is paranoid and distrustful. He hates that he can see people's "numbers," the day they're going to die, and he's disturbed by not understanding how Mia was able to switch her number for a higher one, giving her a longer life. ("I don't know what the rules are anymore. I don't know how it all works.") When their small makeshift family comes across a friendly settlement, Sarah begs Adam to stay. Though he doesn't like to be around people, and especially hates to be recognized, he reluctantly agrees, and trouble soon follows. This installment alternates between Adam's and Sarah's voices. As the characters are kidnapped by men working for the government, forced to answer questions, and fight for their lives, readers will be caught up in the multiple mysteries as well as the couple's emotional turmoil. Fans of the first two novels will be disappointed only with the short length of this final volume—Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL
