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familiar_diversions's review
3.0
I found a good chunk of this book to be highly addictive, even as I realized it was basically wtf reading for teens. I loved the early descriptions of Farrah as a girl who could be completely derailed by a bunch of randomly-placed tiles or sequins that aren't arranged in predictable patterns. I liked that all the terrorist stuff started with a bunch of numbers unobtrusively placed in the opening credits of a popular TV show – the eco-terrorists love Fibonacci numbers!
Unfortunately, I felt things slowed down a bit as soon as Farrah ended up in FBI custody. When I originally picked this book up, I was hoping for lots of math-related deductions that only Farrah could help out with. Instead, for a long period of time just about anybody could have been helping the FBI. John was the one doing most of the skilled work, busily translating a bunch of transcripts into English. All Farrah did was read through them along with him and act out certain scenes with him in order to relieve their boredom.
When they located a bag full of papers with numbers on them, I figured the math stuff would be coming back. Again, not so much. Farrah and John spent some time running from the bad guys, Farrah lusted after John, John acted like he wasn't interested...until they escaped to John's parents' hidden home. It was off both the FBI and CIA's radar, and, what with all the privacy, John started to cave a bit (no sex, just kissing), and suddenly Farrah and John became a gooey happy couple. John's parents were mildly disapproving, until they saw how happy he was. I'm pretty sure Farrah's parents showed even less disapproval than John's.
Farrah is 17, soon to be 18. I think Farrah guessed John's age to be 21, so the age difference isn't that great. However, there were a few things that bothered me about their relationship. One, the entire relationship sprouted up while they were both in danger. They were in close proximity, and they landed in several adrenaline-pumping situations. I wasn't entirely convinced that their relationship could survive in normal, everyday life. Two, while their ages may have been similar, their maturity levels weren't. John seemed much more mature to me than Farrah did. One scene that still sticks with me is a party Farrah went to. She spotted a guy who was passed out and dumped head-first into a garbage can. He was there because he refused to let a popular student copy his geology report, so the popular guy made him do beer bongs until he passed out. This same popular student was the one Farrah was about to let kiss her, so that she would fit in with all the other girls who thought he was hot.
I understand that Farrah wanted to be seen as normal, but she could have been a normal girl who didn't hang with the kind of people who did things like that. The book was written in the first person from Farrah's perspective, so, if she had even thought about going to check on the passed out guy, it would have been in the text. All she did was look for movement and then head off with the jerk who did it all in the first place. I liked Farrah's voice, and I liked the “Digit” side of her, the side that wouldn't get her invited to parties or let her hang with the popular crowd. I really didn't like the things she did in order to fit in, though, and I wonder if John would have liked her so much if he had known her prior to her visit to the FBI.
One thing he did know, though, was that Farrah sometimes did stupid things even though she was told not to, even though she was in a situation where she, as the inexperienced one currently in danger, should have listened to the FBI agent charged with protecting her. When she was explicitly asked if she had a cell phone, she remembered that she had one on her, and she chose to keep it with her anyway, without telling anyone, because she didn't want to be without the photo that could help her snap out of a math-related freak-out (couldn't she had asked someone to bring her other photos of trees?). Even I know that it's possible to use a cell phone to track someone, and I found what she did to be boneheaded, especially considering that all she ever did was check for text messages from one of her friends. Which, I want to point out, was not the original purpose for which she kept her cell phone.
As addictive as some parts of this book were, overall it wasn't really what I was hoping for. Farrah's math skills were only used maybe a couple times in the book. At other times, she seemed fairly ordinary, aside from her ability to quickly do calculations in her head. Despite everything she said about having difficulty being around things that weren't in regular patterns, she didn't seem to have any difficulties at all with this during the story.
As far as the FBI and eco-terrorist stuff went, that seemed a bit lackluster and oddly-paced. After an exciting beginning, during which Farrah was on the run from a terrorist who realized she'd seen and probably cracked his code, things got a little boring as Farrah and John were closed up together. Then they spent some time on the run again (because Farrah made herself cry in order to get John to take her with him – yet another thing that made me feel she wasn't mature enough for John), and then things slowed down again when John and Farrah hid out at John's parents' place. The big twist near the end wasn't all that shocking to me, because I figured out that person's involvement with the terrorists long before everyone else, after coming across an enormous clue early on.
This book had potential, and it was still an exciting read a good chunk of the time. I just wish Farrah had had more of a chance to use her math abilities, and I wish she had spent a little less time thinking about how hot John was.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Unfortunately, I felt things slowed down a bit as soon as Farrah ended up in FBI custody. When I originally picked this book up, I was hoping for lots of math-related deductions that only Farrah could help out with. Instead, for a long period of time just about anybody could have been helping the FBI. John was the one doing most of the skilled work, busily translating a bunch of transcripts into English. All Farrah did was read through them along with him and act out certain scenes with him in order to relieve their boredom.
When they located a bag full of papers with numbers on them, I figured the math stuff would be coming back. Again, not so much. Farrah and John spent some time running from the bad guys, Farrah lusted after John, John acted like he wasn't interested...until they escaped to John's parents' hidden home. It was off both the FBI and CIA's radar, and, what with all the privacy, John started to cave a bit (no sex, just kissing), and suddenly Farrah and John became a gooey happy couple. John's parents were mildly disapproving, until they saw how happy he was. I'm pretty sure Farrah's parents showed even less disapproval than John's.
Farrah is 17, soon to be 18. I think Farrah guessed John's age to be 21, so the age difference isn't that great. However, there were a few things that bothered me about their relationship. One, the entire relationship sprouted up while they were both in danger. They were in close proximity, and they landed in several adrenaline-pumping situations. I wasn't entirely convinced that their relationship could survive in normal, everyday life. Two, while their ages may have been similar, their maturity levels weren't. John seemed much more mature to me than Farrah did. One scene that still sticks with me is a party Farrah went to. She spotted a guy who was passed out and dumped head-first into a garbage can. He was there because he refused to let a popular student copy his geology report, so the popular guy made him do beer bongs until he passed out. This same popular student was the one Farrah was about to let kiss her, so that she would fit in with all the other girls who thought he was hot.
I understand that Farrah wanted to be seen as normal, but she could have been a normal girl who didn't hang with the kind of people who did things like that. The book was written in the first person from Farrah's perspective, so, if she had even thought about going to check on the passed out guy, it would have been in the text. All she did was look for movement and then head off with the jerk who did it all in the first place. I liked Farrah's voice, and I liked the “Digit” side of her, the side that wouldn't get her invited to parties or let her hang with the popular crowd. I really didn't like the things she did in order to fit in, though, and I wonder if John would have liked her so much if he had known her prior to her visit to the FBI.
One thing he did know, though, was that Farrah sometimes did stupid things even though she was told not to, even though she was in a situation where she, as the inexperienced one currently in danger, should have listened to the FBI agent charged with protecting her. When she was explicitly asked if she had a cell phone, she remembered that she had one on her, and she chose to keep it with her anyway, without telling anyone, because she didn't want to be without the photo that could help her snap out of a math-related freak-out (couldn't she had asked someone to bring her other photos of trees?). Even I know that it's possible to use a cell phone to track someone, and I found what she did to be boneheaded, especially considering that all she ever did was check for text messages from one of her friends. Which, I want to point out, was not the original purpose for which she kept her cell phone.
As addictive as some parts of this book were, overall it wasn't really what I was hoping for. Farrah's math skills were only used maybe a couple times in the book. At other times, she seemed fairly ordinary, aside from her ability to quickly do calculations in her head. Despite everything she said about having difficulty being around things that weren't in regular patterns, she didn't seem to have any difficulties at all with this during the story.
As far as the FBI and eco-terrorist stuff went, that seemed a bit lackluster and oddly-paced. After an exciting beginning, during which Farrah was on the run from a terrorist who realized she'd seen and probably cracked his code, things got a little boring as Farrah and John were closed up together. Then they spent some time on the run again (because Farrah made herself cry in order to get John to take her with him – yet another thing that made me feel she wasn't mature enough for John), and then things slowed down again when John and Farrah hid out at John's parents' place. The big twist near the end wasn't all that shocking to me, because I figured out that person's involvement with the terrorists long before everyone else, after coming across an enormous clue early on.
This book had potential, and it was still an exciting read a good chunk of the time. I just wish Farrah had had more of a chance to use her math abilities, and I wish she had spent a little less time thinking about how hot John was.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
qmedna's review
2.0
Halfway through the book, Digit only thought of kissing John like bro, you are being attacked by terrorists and you just want to feel skin contact. What! Farrah may be smart in math, but oblivious to reality. Bright side to the story was John and his father. They were so cool and I loved John's father for his funny and chill mood
alittlebitmaria's review
4.0
I actually really enjoyed this book. The story of Digit is an interesting one, with her incredible wealth of knowledge she struggles to feel accepted.
akaruzas's review
5.0
This book really reminded me of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series and "Anna and the French Kiss" - two of my favorite books and this one definitely made my top twenty list! The main character, Farrah, is not your normal teenager. She is seriously amazing with numbers - which is where she gets her nickname: Digit. I really liked the FBI agent, John Bennett, as well! I truly think without him, the story wouldn't have been as good!
I encourage readers that need a quick read that has a great storyline to check this book out! (:
I encourage readers that need a quick read that has a great storyline to check this book out! (:
jadeshea's review
4.0
A Girl Named Digit begins when Farrah ends up finding out a code for a terrorist attack. She's been hiding who she is all through out high school, so she could actually have a "normal" life, but all of that changes when she ends up having to use the FBI's help to stay alive. Along the way she and a rookie FBI agent end up getting a little more close then normal, and all kinds of crazy things start to happen!
I really enjoyed this book. It was really good. It had a very interesting plot line, with some great characters as well. The only issue I had with it, was it was sometimes hard to "feel" what Digit was feeling. It was almost just cut and dry with out a lot of feelings. But other then that I enjoyed it a whole lot! And the ending was a complete HEA, with a beautiful laugh!
I really enjoyed this book. It was really good. It had a very interesting plot line, with some great characters as well. The only issue I had with it, was it was sometimes hard to "feel" what Digit was feeling. It was almost just cut and dry with out a lot of feelings. But other then that I enjoyed it a whole lot! And the ending was a complete HEA, with a beautiful laugh!
lenni_loves_literature's review
4.0
I loved this book!!! I hadn't expected it to be so short or so awesome!!! I loved how Farrah would think she was talking in her head, but she was really talking out loud. It was just a really funny and great book.
maidmarianlib's review
3.0
An interesting mystery and I like the extraordinary abilities of the main character.
bookishdea's review
2.0
I got this book out for three reasons: 1) I like books about people with quirks like that, especially math ones; 2) I like thrillers, especially ones that are out of the norm; and 3) my family is full of SAMOHI alumni and future students (my sister starts in the fall, my brother will next fall, and my sister will in...eight years, okay, but still).
This book...didn't really live up to any of my reasons for reading it in the first place. Sure, "Digit" had a cool math ability, but besides it being useful on, like, two occasions, it was treated more as a "woe is me, I'm ~weird~" thing and less of a "hey, being a math geek is cool, look at my ability that is actually helpful". The thriller plot was...mediocre. The ~twist~ wasn't that much of a twist, and to be honest, there wasn't much mystery at all. The plot of the book was more about a romance between Farrah and the young FBI agent on the run than anything else. There was no suspense, there was no thrill to the book. And three, while SAMO is mentioned, she really could have gone to any other school in the US, because man. Talk about cliches. I don't know why she set it at SAMO, except...well, I have no idea. It's got a good reputation, I guess, but with family members in SMMUSD, including a mother who works currently in the district and used to volunteer at SAMO on a regular basis, and having went there myself and talking to my brother who went there and everything, it's pretty much unrecognizable, because it's not like that. Plus, it's a public school, and SMMUSD doesn't take new permit students older than 7th grade, it's notoriously hard to get a permit (because it isn't based on grades but basically first come-first served), AND as far as I can tell, Farrah's family did not live in Santa Monica. And really, hiding your ability at SAMO is pointless, because while there are a few cliques, I was one of those weird, gifted kids and I had lots of friends, who were just like me. SAMO (and SMMUSD) is known for its music program (my family has been involved in said program for, oh, forty years now) and it's a pretty dang welcoming place for kids who are ~different~, and kids there go on to great schools. Seriously, MIT isn't that big of a deal there, nor is being the child of an actress or a math professor (I went to school with kids like that, so do/did my siblings). For someone who grew up in LA (but clearly doesn't live there anymore), you'd think the author would be a bit more realistic about stuff like that.
This book...I just, I wanted, and I was pretty excited when I got it out of the library, but it was nothing like I expected or wanted. Actually, I think I'm going to go watch Numb3rs now, because even though I've never watched it before, it sounds like the type of plot I was looking for in this book and didn't get.
That said, I didn't dislike the book -- I didn't care about the book. I try to reserve 1 star reviews for books I really hated/threw against the wall kind of thing, so therefore the two star review.
This book...didn't really live up to any of my reasons for reading it in the first place. Sure, "Digit" had a cool math ability, but besides it being useful on, like, two occasions, it was treated more as a "woe is me, I'm ~weird~" thing and less of a "hey, being a math geek is cool, look at my ability that is actually helpful". The thriller plot was...mediocre. The ~twist~ wasn't that much of a twist, and to be honest, there wasn't much mystery at all. The plot of the book was more about a romance between Farrah and the young FBI agent on the run than anything else. There was no suspense, there was no thrill to the book. And three, while SAMO is mentioned, she really could have gone to any other school in the US, because man. Talk about cliches. I don't know why she set it at SAMO, except...well, I have no idea. It's got a good reputation, I guess, but with family members in SMMUSD, including a mother who works currently in the district and used to volunteer at SAMO on a regular basis, and having went there myself and talking to my brother who went there and everything, it's pretty much unrecognizable, because it's not like that. Plus, it's a public school, and SMMUSD doesn't take new permit students older than 7th grade, it's notoriously hard to get a permit (because it isn't based on grades but basically first come-first served), AND as far as I can tell, Farrah's family did not live in Santa Monica. And really, hiding your ability at SAMO is pointless, because while there are a few cliques, I was one of those weird, gifted kids and I had lots of friends, who were just like me. SAMO (and SMMUSD) is known for its music program (my family has been involved in said program for, oh, forty years now) and it's a pretty dang welcoming place for kids who are ~different~, and kids there go on to great schools. Seriously, MIT isn't that big of a deal there, nor is being the child of an actress or a math professor (I went to school with kids like that, so do/did my siblings). For someone who grew up in LA (but clearly doesn't live there anymore), you'd think the author would be a bit more realistic about stuff like that.
This book...I just, I wanted, and I was pretty excited when I got it out of the library, but it was nothing like I expected or wanted. Actually, I think I'm going to go watch Numb3rs now, because even though I've never watched it before, it sounds like the type of plot I was looking for in this book and didn't get.
That said, I didn't dislike the book -- I didn't care about the book. I try to reserve 1 star reviews for books I really hated/threw against the wall kind of thing, so therefore the two star review.
labraden's review
3.0
Farrah Higgins has been known as Digit for most of her life due to her extraordinary ability with numbers, puzzles, and codes. Moving to a new school has given her the opportunity to hide her abilities in order to appear "normal," but one night when watching one of her friends' favorite teen shows on television, she notices a group of numbers in the corner of the screen. She is fascinated when different numbers appear for the next three weeks, but when she begins to figure out the meaning of those numbers and realizes that they point to a terrorist attack that occurred at JFK Airport, she has to find someone who will listen to her theory. After several failed attempts, she finally gets an FBI agent to listen to her, which leads to a fast-paced chase that takes her from California to New York and back again.
Digit uses sarcasm and a natural sense of humor that make her many quirks hard not to like. When she meets John, the young FBI agent that believes her story, the action, adventure, and romance amp up pretty quickly. Overall, a quick enjoyable young adult read.
Digit uses sarcasm and a natural sense of humor that make her many quirks hard not to like. When she meets John, the young FBI agent that believes her story, the action, adventure, and romance amp up pretty quickly. Overall, a quick enjoyable young adult read.