Infinity (Numbers Series #3)

by Rachel Ward

Overview

The mind-blowing conclusion to the chilling NUMBERS trilogy: Because everyone wants to live forever.No matter what it takes, Sarah's desperate to escape from the numbers.Always numbers. Sarah loves Adam, but can't bear the thought that every time he looks in her eyes, he can see her dying; can see her last day.It's 2029. Two years since the Chaos. Sarah and Adam are struggling to survive. She knows he always envisioned them together "'til death do us part." But will a child come between them? The child she loves. The child he saved.Little Mia was supposed to die that New Year's Day. The numbers don't lie. But somehow she changed her date. Mia's just a baby, oblivious to her special power. But ruthless people are hunting her down, determined to steal her secret. Because everyone wants to live forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545443029
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/2012
Series:	Numbers Series , #3
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

RACHEL WARD first won a writers' award at a regional arts festival, and her prize-winning short story turned into the opening chapter of NUMBERS, her breakout debut novel. The trilogy, which includes THE CHAOS and concludes with INFINITY, has sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Optioned in advance of publication, THE DROWNING is already in development as a major motion picture. Rachel lives in Bath, England, with her husband and their two children.

Read an Excerpt

From Numbers #3: Infinity

"Did you hear what she said? Did you hear, Sarah?"

Mia did it again, "Dada," and reached her arms up toward him. He scooped her up and danced around with her, and it was like he'd forgotten everything else, just for a minute. It reminded me why I loved him.

Love him, I remind myself now. Love, not loved. I love Adam Dawson.

If I say it often enough, think it often enough, perhaps I'll still believe it.

But it's difficult if you know that when he looks in your eyes he can see you dying.

I close my eyes and try to empty my head of it all, to let sleep wash over me and blank me out, but everything's all mixed up: people, places, words, and numbers.

Always numbers.

Editorial Reviews

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

School Library Journal

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)

From the Publisher

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)

Kirkus Reviews