Rachel Ward's Num8ers: The ChaØs (Review and Giveaway!)

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

When he was a little boy, Adam learned about the numbers. The first ones he saw were Jem’s. That was how he knew she was going to die. Adam has more than inherited his mother's curse: When he looks in someone's eyes, he not only sees the date of their death...he feels the searing, shocking pain of it. Since Jem died, Adam has lived by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But when rising tides flood the coast, they return to London. The city is an alien, exciting, frightening place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can't help but clock how many people's numbers are in January 2027; how many are on New Year's Day. What chaos awaits the world? Can he and Sarah stop a catastrophe? Or are they, too, counted among the "twenty-sevens"?

Review:

After reading Rachel Ward's Numbers last year, I was eager to read more by her, especially since her future books' would be part of the same world. Sadly enough, while The Chaos is, without a doubt, an interesting and suspenseful addition, it truly didn't live up to Numbers, in my opinion.

The Chaos begins the story of Adam, the child of Jem and Spider- the main characters of Numbers. Just like his beloved mother, Adam can see the people's death dates as well as what will happen to them when he looks into their eyes. In his opinion, this is not the best ability, as not only was he able to predict his mother's death, but he has also become emotionally scarred by everyone else's as well. After a few incidents, Jem begins to learn it's best to stay under the radar, though everything changes when he realizes how people's numbers are in January 2027. Knowing that nothing good is to come from this, he teams up with Sarah, another teen with a harrowing past of her own, to stop this. However, will they be able to in time? More importantly, will they come out alive? Only time and more pages will tell in this fast-paced thriller.

One of my favorite parts of Numbers was the characters, Jem and Spider specifically, but in The Chaos I had the hardest of times relating to Adam and Sarah. Sure, I found them and their stories interesting, but when it down to it I didn't really have much in common with them; ultimately bring this story down a few notches.

Thankfully, the plot was what saved this novel, because not only did I love the premise, but the execution was also great. There wasn't a moment where I wasn't contemplating what would happen next: Would Sarah and Jem come out alive? What was going to happen in January 2027? There were so many questions, making this novel one I ripped through quickly as possible.

Rachel's writing has also improved, as she did a great job of switching narrators in a way that created lots of tension and suspense and had plenty of decent world building. However, I will admit, I didn't find the ending she gave to be the greatest. I was left with plenty of questions, but with the promise of a sequel in the future, I'm sure they'll be answered then.

While The Chaos wasn't my favorite book of Rachel's so far, I did still find it to be an enjoyable read overall. I will definitely be reading the conclusion to the trilogy, coming out next year. So, in all, I suggest this read to teens of all ages as well as adult fans of YA.

Grade: B

The Chaos is now out! To find out more about Numbers and The Chaos, be sure to visit the publisher's website for the series here.

Source: Publisher

Numbers Book Trailer:



Thanks to Scholastic, I also have two copies of The ChaØs to give away. To enter, the giveaway please fill out the following form.

Here are the rules:

~ Must be 13 years or older to enter.
~ Must have a US mailing address.
~ This giveaway will close on March 23, 2011!