The Chaos by Rachel Ward

Ward, Rachel. 2011. The Chaos. Scholastics, Inc. ISBN: 9780545242691

Grades: 9 – 12

For those who loved Ward’s first book, Num8ers, book two will not disappoint! Rather, readers will find this book to be better crafted, more character driven and stronger development, and definitely more action packed.

Jem’s son, Adam, is now fifteen and exhibits not only his mother’s talent to see someone’s date of death but also to feel and see how that person dies. Adam also exemplifies his father’s energy and spontaneous reactions to anything that bothers him. When Adam notices that hundreds of people are slated to die on the same day, 01012027, he begins to panic and finally comes to terms with the fact that he has to let people know that a catastrophe is going to happen. At the same time Adam meets Sarah who has seen Adam in her nightmares, nightmares of a catastrophic event that plague her every night since becoming pregnant with her father’s child. Adam is drawn to Sarah, loves Sarah, and does everything possible to save her and her child. Both stories come together in a dramatic climax that pulls together dreams, dates, death, and love. The reader will not be disappointed in the least as the story ends with a clean tie up except for one small question; What gifts does Mia, Sarah’s young baby, have that could change the dates of one’s death? Ward leaves the reader grasping for her next book in the series, Infinity.

Set in England and told in alternating voices, Ward moves the action forward, with each voice pulling the reader into that character’s innermost thoughts and actions as it moves on to the next series of events. Ward deftly weaves in drugs, bullying, family drama, love, and incest into the overall story, not letting these items be the focus of the story.Aside from strong language, this is an excellent book well worth including in a library’s collection or recommending to young adults with a love of underdogs and a slightly dystopian future.
A word of caution, profanity is used frequently throughout the story.