The Humming of Numbers

The Humming of Numbers
by Joni Sensel

THE HUMMING OF NUMBERS by

Category: Paranormal

Age Recommendation: Grades 9+

Release Date: 5/27/08

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Reviewed by:

Rating: 4 Stars

If you are looking for something different to read, pick up a copy of THE HUMMING OF NUMBERS. Several

things

combine to make it a quite unique reading experience.

First, there is the setting – the 10th-century in a Celtic monastery. Most books I’ve read lately have been set in 2008

and

have included the latest in modern technology. In THE HUMMING OF NUMBERS, the main character,

Aidan, is in

training to become a scribe. He lives at the abbey and is a novice monk. His days are spent following

their strict rules and

dreaming of the day he will be able to work magic with his calligraphy pen.

Next comes the magic. Aidan possesses a mysterious talent. He associates numbers with everyone he meets. It’s

almost as

if each person emits an aura (hum) that communicates to Aidan. The story begins one day in the abbey

when Aidan hears

an eleven. Until that day he has never heard anyone above a ten. Most of those he meets hum the

number three. From the

moment Aidan meets Lana, her special number and her lovely face become the focus of his

attention. As the story unfolds,

it also becomes clear that Lana has her own unique magic, and Aidan hopes her

magic can be used to save the lives of

those around them.

Another element that adds a different dimension to this story is the presence of raiders attacking and pillaging the

countryside around Aidan’s abbey. Aidan’s life is spared when he is sent on an errand away from the abbey. Lana

insists

on accompanying him, so she is safe as well. When the two realize the horrors that have destroyed the villages

and killed

many, they offer to use their talents to rescue the local lord’s kidnapped young son. Complicating matters

is the fact that

Lana is actually the illegitimate child of the local lord and has been sent away to the abbey as

punishment.

THE HUMMING OF NUMBERS is truly an escape into another time and place. It is filled with likeable characters

whose

lives revolve in an entirely different direction than ours. This book gives readers a peek into the past, into the

world as it

once was.