“Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die”

Numbersthe debut novel for teens (and up) by Rachel Ward is a book very much concerned with life and death, and the quote above by Tennyson, seems to me to capture its essence in a nutshell perfectly.

Told in the first person, this is Jem’s story of the time spent with her friend Spider. Fifteen year old Jem doesn’t really have friends, she doesn’t like to look at people, as she has a unique ability that she sees as a curse – when she looks at someone she sees the date when they will die.

Jem’s Mum died of an overdose when she was seven. She was taken into care and lived in a succession of foster homes. Since she worked out what the numbers meant though, she has tried to tune out of normal life, preferring her own company, and ending up being branded as difficult by the system. Then, one day she meets Spider, both skiving off school, and despite the numbers over his head, they click and become friends. Then one day when they’re in London something terrible happens and due to the circumstances, they run …

That’s enough of the story! This is an absolutely tremendous novel. It’s not without its faults though – the last section of the plot before the end and subsequent coda, is rather contrived and unlikely. Where it succeeds really well though is in its depiction of teenagers and understanding of their problems. The growing sexual awareness between Jem and Spider is handled sensitively. Other issues such as knife crime, drugs and violence are introduced in a way that makes it easy to see how kids get into this cycle of behaviours, when doing things like listening to them before things get out of hand could make a lot of difference. Both Jem and Spider were very credible characters, and you desperately want things to turn out well for them, although adult readers will probably work out the ending well in time. It was totally gripping from page one – and a novel to really make you think. Highly recommended. (9/10)

0 thoughts on ““Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die”

  1. An acquaintance says:

    How on earth do you read so many books in the time you have available. You must sit with your nose buried in a book from the time you get in until the early hours!!!!

  2. Annabel Gaskell says:

    My motto should be something like ‘always carry a book’ or ‘never be bookless’ – I will work on the Latin! That’s my secret along with being a fast reader. I usually manage to get an hour or more in per day around everything else. I averaged 2.2 books per week last year. In my days when I commuted to work from Cambridge I often got through three or four!

Leave a Reply to Annabel GaskellCancel reply