MY REVIEW


Zenn Diagram follows the story of Eva Walker, who is the ultimate math nerd. Not only is she really great at all things math-related, but she also just flat out loves math. It’s her passion and she’s not afraid to admit it. Eva is a bit of a loner though, not because she’s a math nerd, but more so out of necessity. She has a condition where when she touches someone or touches something that belongs to them, she gets visions. The more troubled the person’s life is, the more dramatic and violent these visions are and the more unbearable they are for Eva. They can literally bring her to her knees and so for this reason, Eva tends to limit her contact with others. She has one close friend, Charlotte, who knows about Eva’s visions, and beyond that, the only real social interactions she has are with the students that she tutors in math. Eva is a whiz when it comes to tutoring, not just because she has mad math skills, but because she can actually get visions of what exactly a student’s math struggles are just by touching their calculators. This is probably the only way her “gift” comes in handy.

The visions Eva has have plagued her pretty much all her life and although doctors have no idea what has caused them, Eva is a girl with a plan. She plans to go to college, study neuroscience, and find the cure herself! When we meet Eva, she is actively making plans to apply to elite colleges such as MIT and Northwestern and to apply for as many scholarships as she can to make her dream a reality.

Enter Zenn Bennett. Zenn is a new student who walks into Eva’s life when he needs help with math. During one of their tutoring sessions, Zenn accidentally leaves his jacket behind and Eva, without thinking, grabs it up to take it to him. The fractal that hits her is so dark, violent, and upsetting that she literally collapses on the floor. In spite of this, however, she stills feels herself drawn to Zenn. He’s cute, funny, appreciates her math nerd humor, and she feels a connection to him that she hasn’t felt with anyone else before. Is there anyway this can work out for Eva?



LIKES
Eva. I am all about main characters who are a bit nerdy, so I adored Eva. I mean, seriously, how cool is it to have a girl that’s into STEM as the protagonist? I also loved that she wore her nerdiness loud and proud and was just downright hilarious at times. I would have totally wanted to be friends with Eva if I went to her school and the vibe I got from Eva was that if she didn’t have this issue about getting physically close to people, then she probably would have had tons of friends and been actively involved in many social circles.

I think the author did a wonderful job of making Eva a relatable and sympathetic character. I understood the hurt, resentment, and even jealousy Eva felt when her only friend Charlotte suddenly becomes interested in dating and the two of them start drifting apart because Eva can’t really follow suit and date as well. It’s very easy to relate to her plight because these visions really are keeping her from living her life the way she wants to. How can she have friends, boyfriends, etc., if she has to cower away from all physical contact in order to keep the visions (or fractals as she refers to them) at bay?

Zenn. I loved Zenn as much as I loved Eva. He’s a gifted artist and he’s also sweet, funny, and super cute. He also has this tremendous sense of responsibility that’s very appealing and that makes him a character that is easy to sympathize with. Early on we learn that he is working three jobs while trying to go to school because his father is out of the picture and his mother is a mess. He would actually love to go away to art school after he graduates but it just doesn’t seem in the realm of possibility based on his current circumstances.

I fell in love with Zenn the moment that he showed that he totally “got” Eva’s math nerd humor. He totally appreciates her nerdiness and the two of them just instantly click. Theirs is a relationship that you can’t help but root for, whether Eva and Zenn just become really close friends or if they can actually get past those darn fractals and date each other. Their chemistry is just so sweet and after seeing what both of their lives have been like up to this point, it’s like “Please just let them be happy together!!!”

The Fractals (or Visions). While Zenn Diagram would have been a great contemporary read even without Eva’s issue, I loved the little almost sci-fi twist that these visions throw into the mix. The fractals themselves fascinated me. They’re not exactly psychic visions, but more along the lines of colored patterns that she sees when she touches a person or something that belongs to them. The more personal the item, the more intense the visions. They’re traumatic for Eva because while she can’t necessarily sense actual events that have happened to a person, she senses all of the emotions from the events. So if someone has been abused or otherwise had something horrible happen to them, it’s all laid bare for Eva just by touching something that belongs to them. Not only is it overwhelming when it initially happens, but Eva also finds it heartbreaking because she automatically wants to “fix” whatever it is that has happened to the person, but knows she’s can’t. Eva says that the only people she can really bear to touch are children because they’re still so innocent and their fractals are therefore peaceful and soothing.



DISLIKES
The only moment where I felt a little let down was where I guessed what was going to happen regarding a certain scholarship that is mentioned throughout the novel. I don’t want to give too much away, but as soon as I read about it and then saw who had applied for it, I totally guessed how it was going to play out. I still love the direction the story took but just wished it hadn’t been quite so easy to guess.



FINAL THOUGHTS
If you think you would enjoy a contemporary YA read with a sci-fi twist and if you love nerdy main characters, I’d definitely say to give Zenn Diagram a try. Zenn Diagram is one of those books that I probably wouldn’t have picked up if not for the recommendations of some of my fellow bloggers. I’m so glad I listened to those recommendations though because I really loved it.



RATING: 4 STARS


Thanks so much to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion.

Personally, I never liked math. But Eva convinced me there might be something to it--if only I even owned a calculator for her to touch. This book was definitely interesting. There are a few things that are a little predictable, but ultimately I loved this book and would buy a copy as a gift for my sister any day.

Unable to actually open the file. So am currently unable to read. My apologies.

An interesting book, I enjoyed it mostly because of the concept of touching somebody to find out their emotions. I will definitely be recommending this book to YA readers!

I recieved this book from Netgalley to read for an honest review. This book was somewhere between a 4.5 through a 5 star for me. Maybe even a 4.8.

I really liked the plot of the book. I'm not a math student by any means, but the plot was unique enough to immediately suck me in. A math nerd and an art student was a cute plotline! But wait, there's more. The math student can't touch people and she wants to find out why she has fractals or whatever they're called. I try to not give too much of the story line away, but the story line between these two characters made it a super cute read. It had me at the math jokes in the beginning of the book. The book also gets more intense later on, but again, I don't want to give away anything. I'd recommend this book to high schoolers and above, not to the middle schooler level. I also liked the other characters of the book as well.

There are two slight problems I had with this book though that made it not be quite a five star read for me. (They are only slight spoilers.) When the girl's best friend got a boyfriend, I didn't like the attitude the girl had. At one point of the book, she thought something like, "Oh, look at that! My best friend actually remembered to text me even though she has a new boyfriend and got all popular all of a sudden." I really didn't like that attitude at all because it teaches girls that it's ok to not be happy for their best friends when they do finally have that somebody special in their life. If they were really your best friend you should be happy for them and not try to push them away and act like that. I get that it's fiction and not everybody will see it like that though.

The other slight problem I had with this book was when the girl sacrified something important towards her future for a guy...it ended up being all right in the end, but when she first made the sacrifice I did want to smack her a little bit for doing that. (Again, don't want to give away many spoilers.)

I still really liked the book in the end though and thought it was a really cute read. It's definitely for people who like to read contemporary YA book. The author's style reminded me of Sarah Dessen's books, and I like her books as well. It was very close to a five star read for me.

While I did not exactly love doing math as a student, I like looking at equations, graphs and diagrams, and enjoy trying to solve mysteries. When I saw that the cover implied those + wordplay, well, then = yes to the power of 100.

Onto the characters, they are easy to like and relate to. I found the cast pretty special and diverse, and I picked up on the author’s best interest to bend some stereotypes such as on geniuses, artists, athletes, pastors, Christian families, big families, adoptive parents, troubled parents and the perfect all-American teen couple, among others.

Eva and Zenn’s voices stand out, and I appreciate how they are represented as funny, sarcastic, insightful, spiteful, hopeful and reckless all at the same time—multidimensional just like real people. I may not have squealed over them that much, but looking back, their romance is just right, perfectly paced to stay attuned with the rest that was going on in the story.

Speaking of the book as a whole, I enjoyed how engaging it is enough to make me have read it to the end in one sitting. It explores a lot of universal issues that both YA and adults can mull over and make sense of.

However, some parts were predictable and there were a few things here and there that made me flinch a little, although they are nothing unbearable. There also remained a few issues that went unresolved, and I felt like the author could have extended the story to address these instead of relying on an epilogue to sew everything together.

All in all, 'Zenn' Diagram by Wendy Brant promises math, paranormal and romance, but this book covers more than just diagrams, special abilities and swoons—it also brings you lessons in art, science, spirituality and life.

DNF

Mini review:

I received this E-ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I had heard about this book through some friends' reviews. I decided to request it. Unfortunately I didn't like it.

I could not stand the MC. Her voice was annoying and she was so proud of herself. I have heard that she improves but I didn't care enough to see that.

I don't know whether I would recommend it. It's up to you.

Can we just agree that the Mathematical references in this book were just the bomb?

I got this from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, and my take is that it's a cute love story between Eva and Zenn, because when Math and Art collide you're bound to solve some mysteries.

What a cute, new YA romance with a little magical twist! Let me also say that I almost didn't read this because I am NOT a math person at ALL, but don't let that discourage you from reading this book! Its still great!!

Eva is a senior in high school living with her aunt and uncle (whom she calls Mom and Dad, because she was orphaned as an infant) and the 4 E's (her quad cousin/siblings). Gearing up to go to college, Eva is completing her applications and searching for scholarships and logging tutoring hours to put on her list of extracurriculars. But Eva is also special--one touch of a person or object and she can see its "fractal," telling her the person's emotions in one giant rush.

I really liked that this book had great characters--a fun best girlfriend, Charlotte, who we see stray to the world of popularity and then come back to the math savvy Eva. Zenn, who is a new kid in school, is full of secrets and surprises, who actually is a hard worker and who is an all-around great character. Both Eva's and Zenn's family (what we saw and found out about of them) were well-built. And Eva herself was an interesting and unique character!

This is a great great YA novel. To be a math geek is ok, to have (adoptive) parents who care, and close friends. A touch of the supernatural, a lot about relationships and forgiveness. It's the book this week I couldn't put down.

I was so annoyed with the main character's BS about not being like other girls, and seemingly mocking them, that i couldn't finish the book. Bummed. but that is my most hated trope!

Unfortunately cannot review this one due to not being able to access the file.

* I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Very sweet contemporary YA! Eva is a math genius who gets fractals when she touches anybody so avoids contact with people, even though this makes her come off as odd in her high school. While tutoring a new boy she is interested in, Zenn, she realizes she can touch him. Zenn was a great love interest for Eva, very likeable. I loved how they became friends quickly but slowly interested in each other.

I liked reading about Eva's backstory and I'm always a fan of books involving big families!! I did not predict the twist but thought it was great!

Would definitely recommend this as a great, clean YA novel, very enjoyable!!

This one really surprised me! I knew from the blurb that I'd enjoy this but I didn't know that I would enjoy this as much as I did. I really loved this one! I love the special "gift" Eva has...it was so different from anything I have read before AND then ZENN! He is wonderful. And the TWIST! Normally, I see the twists coming but I really didn't expect this one. Loved this book!

Love a good Love story! Sad that they couldn't be together.

First off, I would like to thank Kids Can Press for the ARC I received. I had gotten an E-ARC off of NetGalley but it was messed up and Kids Can Press offered to send me an ARC so I could still read it and give a honest review of it which was so nice of them. All thoughts on this book are my own.

I really loved the concept of this book, although admittedly the fact that Eva couldn’t touch anybody without getting a vision until Zenn comes along and he is the exception to this was kind of a cliché. Its something we see both in Twilight and in Shatter Me. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing just that it was a little predictable.

Now a couple of things I really liked about this book. I really liked how much it related to math, while I’m not the biggest fan of math it was just nerdy enough to work. I love how both Eva and Zenn relate to “fractals”, what with her seeing them and him painting them. I also loved how Eva’s and Zenn’s stories where connected. It was honestly not a connection that I saw coming.

I didn’t like the concept of sacrificing everything as a romantic gesture to each other, especially since they just recently met. I understand that they both felt they were doing it for the right reasons but still it threw me off.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

I went into this book with low expectations but this book definitely exceeded it. There were definitely ups and downs but the characters grew on me and in the end, I loved it!

Eva gets fractals when she touches anybody, due to this she maintains her distance from everybody until she meets Zenn. He is the only person she can touch. They are both different and a lot alike. The two starts to grow closer not knowing the secret that ties them together. When the truth gets revealed, it may shatter any hope of the possibility of a future they had hoped together.

The plot was refreshing and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Eva is different from everybody, whenever she touches anyone she gets a glimpse into their lives in the form of fractals. I didn't exactly know what exactly that was and I have to say, it definitely made this book more interesting. Due to the fractals, she gets major headaches sometimes among other things and because of that she mostly kept everybody at a distance. But I enjoyed the fact that she definitely used her fractals to her advantage as well, by learning where her student's problem lay in maths during her tutoring sessions. (Oh, how much I wish I was even a little bit good in maths like her...)

One of the things I didn't enjoy about this book was that nothing much practically happens in the first part of the book, we get to see the full of Zenn way later on. The second half of the book was way more interesting than the first half which made the first half a bit of a drag on.

Nonetheless, I pretty much loved the characters. Eva was definitely an interesting and Zenn was equally swoon-worthy. I loved how much they cared for each other and another thing which was refreshing was that they talked about the difficulties and problems that came into their way maturely. I kind of saw the plot twist coming which was a bummer. Anyway, their friendship developed slowly into something more which I absolutely loved and their chemistry was awesome! The ending was kind of cheesy but it left me satisfied.

Overall, Zenn Diagram was an enjoyable read. The plot was executed neatly and I fell in love with the characters. The romance between Zenn and Eva was absolutely amazing! The writing was smooth and easy to read though the pace was a little faster in the latter half of the book.

Recommend it?

Yes.

What more can I say than this?: I absolutely loved and adored Zenn Diagram! In fact, it has made its way into my #1 read of 2017 so far this year! I have been reading a lot of thriller and suspense books lately, so it was a welcome change of pace when I started Zenn Diagram which is YA (Young Adult).

Eva is a loner in school by choice. She has a unique ‘gift’ (or is it a curse?) She can touch someone or something and then gets these visions and fractals (a repeating pattern that becomes clearer over time.) She tutors fellow students in Math because through these visions she can see where students are having their difficulties by simply touching their calculator. She also learns issues and secrets that she may not want to know. Needless to say she avoids touching others at all costs…. Until she meets Zenn, a boy in school that she begins to tutor.

Zenn Diagram is Wendy Brant’s first novel and it is a brilliant debut! I did not want to put it down. The characters are fully developed and you can’t help but adore both Eva and Zenn. Eva is smart and feisty, yet also lonely and frustrated. You really see through her how it can be not being able to touch someone. Her ‘aversion to touching’ has made her classmates believe she is a ‘germaphobe’, which puts her in that category of one the ‘weird kids’ in school.

Zenn is a hardworking guy and also very adorable. At first Eva isn’t sure what to think of him when she accidentally touches his jacket and gets an unpleasant fractal. Over time the relationship grows and a romance progresses. They are delightful together! It is a sweet romance that you can’t help but eat up and want more of. The issue of how can a romance occur if you can’t touch the other person is brought up. A conversation with Eva and some friends takes place involving consent in regard to physical contact, which seems to be becoming a more mainstream topic now. In that conversation there is a great analogy involving tea. Even though I don’t drink tea, you won’t think of it in the same way again. You want things to work out as Eva and Zenn are perfect for each other at this stage in their lives.

Zenn Diagram is more than just a sweet teenage romance. There are things in both Eva and Zenn’s lives that are far from perfect. There are things we don’t know about both of them at first and then Wendy Brant goes and pulls a twist from out of nowhere that I would have never suspected! It was exceptional! From that reveal there is a change of direction with the novel. When the novel was over I wanted more.

This is a brilliant first novel and I look forward to what Wendy Brant will bring us next!

Zenn Diagram is very highly recommended!

**I received an e-arc through NetGalley and a physical arc from Kids Can Press. Thank you so much for my copies!


**Note to Parents: Zenn Diagram is filled with ‘teenagers being teenagers’ and we see all the teen angst that occurs with teen relationships. In addition to the intimacy issues addressed there is language, but I feel neither is worse than what teenagers hear at school or see on television. There is no teen drinking or drug use in Zenn Diagram. There is language throughout the novel and yes the F-word is used. If you are worried about that then please read (and love) this book before giving to your kids. On my arc copy it recommends the book for ages 14-18, which I would agree with.

A very accomplished debut novel for young adults. Twists and turns. Multidimensional characters. It all adds up to an engrossing read.

Eva's voice is perfectly realistic and the situations, even those that are more unusual, still feel normal and possible. A great choice for readers who want romance, but prefer it to be grounded.