Numbers is the story of a Jem, a loner that's been shuffling through foster homes, roaming the streets and looking out for her own neck. She's never been interested in anybody ever since she realized what the numbers instead her head mean. Numbers that pop up in her mind, every time she sees someone, indicate the day of their death so naturally Jem has avoided forging a bond with anyone. But that's until Spider comes along, and the two are a run from the police. 
 Numbers fell a little flat to me. I just couldn't shake off a feeling of boredom within the first 100 or so pages, and even afterwards nothing really picked up or happened. Numbers is relatively character driven, but I honestly did not love Jem, oftentimes her attitude annoyed me. I kept waiting for something bigger than the event at the beginning to happen, and unfortunately that never materialized. Some parts felt a bit inconsistent and weak to me, and I don't really see a lot of supporting characters grow. Jem changes as a person, but I can't really pinpoint why I'm upset with her character. I think I just expected more out of Numbers. 
 However, there's some areas I also really liked. Ward sculpts the plot delicately, and the high peaks of tension came off really well. Some pinnacles of the novel were masterfully done, but I felt a lot of it was too little too late. Numbers may be a good read to some, but it just wasn't the novel for me.