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Number 8

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Number 8

By: Anna Fienberg
Narrated by: Stig Wemyss, Rebecca Macauley
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About this listen

 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 Family & Relationships Mysteries & Detectives Thrillers & Suspense

Editorial reviews

Told from two different points of view, this action-packed story begins when Jackson's mum, a professional singer, whisks him away to a new home in the suburbs after she witnesses some unusual business at the casino where she used to work. Narrator Stig Wemyss takes on the chapters from Jackson's point of view and quickly establishes a rapport with listeners with his plainspoken and unrushed performance. Jackson is a numbers freak, and Wemyss portrays this obsessiveness with grace. Rebecca Macauley performs the chapters from the perspective of Esmerelda - Jackson's new girlfriend - with equal vitality. Wemyss and Macauley work smoothly together to build nail-biting suspense as danger arrives to threaten Jackson and the people he cares for.

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)

What listeners say about Number 8

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