Number 8

By: Anna Fienberg

Narrated by: Stig Wemyss, Rebecca Macauley

I think the best number in the whole universe is eight. My friend, Asim, likes numbers about as much as me, but he likes them all - odd or even. Esmarelda, though, who lives across the street, isn't so fond of numbers and she hates maths. Singing's more her thing. She's really good, too, nearly as good as my mum. Mum's a professional singer. Or was, until we had to move. The worst number in the universe, though, is seven. For a start it's an odd number, and it's thin and sharp and mean-looking, like a medieval scythe. So when I saw 777 on that Mustang's numberplate, I knew it was the start of something bad. And I was right.©2006 Anna Fienberg. By arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia) (P)2007 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"Anna Fienberg has created interesting characters and some beautiful scenes in this novel." (Fiction Focus)

"Thirteen-year-old Jackson and his widowed mother, Valerie, are new in suburbia. Almost immediately Jackson makes friends with Esmeralda, who's fascinated with Valerie's singing career. In alternating chapters, the dual narration of Stig Wemyss and Rebecca Macauley defines the two young people. Macauley brings out the poetry, music, and passion of Esmeralda while Stig Wemyss shows us the logic of Jackson, whose mind is eased by the number 8 and disturbed by number 7. So he has a reason to fear when a car with 777 on its license plate circles the neighborhood, tries to run him over, and kidnaps Esmeralda. Bit by bit tension builds, and so do friendships between major and minor characters. All of them are given depth and believability by the two narrators." (AudioFile Magazine)

"Number 8 is an action-packed offering from award-winning author Anna Fienberg. As well as the danger-filled plot, there is plenty of humor, and themes of friendship, family and teen relationships, as well as those of difference and of immigration. This is a lot for one book to explore, but Fienberg does it well, leaving the reader satisfied." (aussiereviews.com)