Adam Wilde has inherited his mother Jem's ability to see "numbers" - the dates people will die - when he looks into their eyes. Adam is very scared because many people, especially in London, have death dates in the first few days of 2027. Sarah Parker has a recurring nightmare of her baby being taken from her and carried into an inferno, and when she meets Adam in school, she is horrified to realize he is the person from her dream. Adam is smitten with her, but feels compelled to warn Londoners of the pending disaster. I found the book kind of slow and written for a younger audience, but liked the accelerating pace and how things came together in the last third of the novel. ( )

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"?

:) ( )

Second book of the Numbers trilogy takes up with the son, Adam, who sees massive deaths in London on 1-1-2027 and makes an effort to warn people. Also introduces Sarah in alternating chapters--a classmate of Adam's who is holed up in a crack house with addicts and pregnant from an incestuous relationship with her dad. Suspenseful but gritty. ( )

Started today, September 1st 2012 (late at night, after 1 am). Just after finishing the first Numbers book. Which I found somewhat weak, the end saved the story a little, making me want to read on. Also, the heros are different in this book, making it possibly more interesting. Jem did nothing for me, except for the seeing of the Numbers, Spider was more interesting.
Like the first book this laked story, the end was nearly as expected, would have been cruel but interesting to let the baby die and let the others cope with their grief. But the basic story was boring.
The lovestory was a lot like in the first book and I couldn't care less for it. The premise of the Numbers did not really spell romance for me, but even then it could have been more different story lines, not only the 2-3 heroes or more SF, more Fantasy.
For an example of a real interesting with a great ending, look at Pullman: "His dark materials: Norther Lights (The Golden Compass)/The Subtle Knife/The Amber Spyglass".
This also the reason why it took me so long to read it, I will not read the third book (already bought it, foolish me) for a few weeks, to read something different and hopefully better in the meantime! Also I could decide not to read it at all. ( )