Review: The Number 7 by Jessica Lidh

The Number 7
Jessica Lidh
Publisher: Merit Press (December 5, 2014)

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It all starts with a mysterious phone call from Louisa's decorative antique phone. And that wouldn't be so strange, except that the phone is unplugged, and has been for years. Frightened by the call and its message--and questioning her own sanity--Louisa listens as a somehow-familiar voice describes a lost family secret about Louisa's grandfather and his daring involvement in resisting the Nazi scourge in his native Sweden during World War II. Piecing together each clue she can find, Louisa begins to see how her grandfather's guilt and shame continues to haunt her own father, and the rest of her family, decades later, planting seeds of doubt that threaten to tear them all apart.
Now desperate to know the full truth, despite the charming distractions of a boy with secrets of his own, Louisa becomes consumed with her discoveries, which she passes off to her parents as a school history project. Digging through old family albums and letters, she at last begins to see that the phone call was only the beginning, and that she is the one meant to be the messenger who can bring the truth of the past to light--before it's too late for her family.

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Review by Eleanor Smythe

Louise discovers she has psychic abilities, when her dead grandmother communicates with her, via a disconnected telephone situated in the attic of the old family home.
The Number 7 give us two stories that run along side each other, the present with Louise, her father and sister Greta, who are each trying to come to terms with their grief, following the loss of their mother/wife. The second story tells the secrets of the grandfather, Gerhard, told by her grandmother, which leaves Louise with a dilemma, should she share the information with her father and sister? How does she explain that her grandmother is talking to her from the grave?
Once I understood the author was taking us from one story to the other I really began to enjoy the book, and wanted to know more. Initially, because I wasn't expecting the change I found the transition from chapter 6 to chapter 7 a bit off putting, but soon got into the flow. When I came to the end of the book, I wanted to know more about her father's relationship with his parents. Why hadn't he spoken to them for twenty years. Maybe I just missed the clues on that.
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Review: Who is Mackie Spence? by Lin Kaymer

Who is Mackie Spence?

Author: Lin Kaymer

Published by Merit Press

Jeremy's friend, Mackie Spence, seems different. She doesn't act like the same person he's grown up with all his life. And Jeremy would know. In the last year, he's paid close attention, as that funny little girl suddenly turned into a knockout. But now something is beyond weird. He didn't see much of Mackie during the summer that followed her near-drowning incident. But it's September, she's back at school, and Jeremy can't explain the changes in her. After all, he's a jock who understands science and math, not girls like Mackie. Still, when both of them volunteer at the wild animal shelter, he sees how huge, wounded birds calm to her touch. And that's just the beginning. When Jeremy, who's falling hard for Mackie, starts to feel protective of her, keeping an eye on her as she makes her way through the woods and coves of the small Puget Sound island where both of them grew up, he sees things he finds hard to believe. Mackie is still Mackie, but she's also someone beyond normal human experience. So who is she? Or...what is she? How can Jeremy protect Mackie from her fate? Should he even try, or is he interfering in something so big and so ancient that it doesn't even have a name? And while he may love Mackie, is he going where mere mortals are forbidden? To save the girl he loves, Jeremy must solve puzzles that will not only change his future, but the way he understands life, forever.

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My Review

Quite an unusual evocative novel with a charming mythical undertone throughout. I had some issues with the first person narrative in that the main character seemed quite a bit younger than his actual age. I also found the mythical epilogue quite odd - I would have put that at the beginning of the book as a prologue. It just didn't quite work for me at the end.

Having said that, as a whole I enjoyed Who is Mackie Spence? It was very easy to read and kept me eager for the action - which there wasn't actually very much of, but the relationship between Mackie and Jeremy was so sweet that it made up for it. 

Something I was particularly fond of throughout the book was the author's knowledge of sick and injured animals which came through strongly during Jeremy's and Mackie's volunteer work at the animal shelter. (I loved Number 26!) and I must commend the author's beautiful description of Puget Sound - reading the book really made me want to visit! 

All in all, a charming book for young adults.

Lin Kaymer is deeply attached to the wildlife of Puget Sound. Lin worked as a graphic designer and newspaper columnist. She loves to write during the rainy months of the year. Her favorite writers include Charlotte Bronte, Alexandre Dumas, Ruth Ozeki, Charlaine Harris, and Studs Terkel.
To learn more visit Lin's website.