Greetings! I’m back again today with another review for you all! First of all, let me just say how grateful I am for all of you! I started this blog along with my bookstagram on a whim while I was at college. I never expected for it to go anywhere, and I actually considered deleting this blog on a few occasions. It means a lot to me that people actually care about the books I read and what I have to say about them! Thank you all for sticking around! With that said, here is my review of this gritty YA novel!
4/5 stars
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Jo, a girl of many names, was kidnapped by a very famous criminal. Jo has a unique ability–she sees the world in numbers. She’s forced to use her ability to make money for criminals. Hating her gift, Jo is miserable until she meets Red, a fellow prisoner who helps her see the world differently. When an opportunity to be free appears, Jo takes it and finds herself faced with even larger problems that will impact the entire world. She’s the only one with a chance at solving these problems–but even she can’t do everything by herself.
This book was pretty interesting! It takes place in Shanghai, China which was pretty cool! Jo is an interesting character and her gift is fascinating as well. There is a lot going on in this book–Jo’s mission for Chan, Jo’s personal goals, etc. The different POVs from the past through the present told the story in an intriguing way. However, a lot of this book is spent in the narrator’s head. The story mostly is told through the thoughts of the narrator. That makes sense due to the nature of Jo’s gift, but the lack of action made it hard for me to stay interested. Towards the end, the action does pick up and it was enjoyable! I thought this book was going to be a stand-alone, and I was surprised when some stuff at the end suddenly made a sequel seem necessary. I thought the plot was wrapped up rather nicely, and I thought it would make a great stand-alone book. Hopefully the sequel is just as intriguing as this book was!
Ultimately, this book has a lot of good concepts and the author is an incredible writer! I really enjoyed the fact this book takes place in China. I think a lot of readers would love Jo and her story!
The Bookish Raven 