I absolutely adore this book! It was fun, well written, and the relationship between Zenn and Eva was pure bliss. It was a fast read, but mostly because I just couldn't put it down. This is not a typical genre for me either, but I was drawn to the math geek meets artist angle. I was also drawn to the fact that eva was the math geek, not Zenn given his name and everything.

I really like Eva, she was smart and witty and has an interesting talent. It would be really hard to see people's emotions and issues whenever you touch them. This really shapes Eva's character especially at the beginning of the story. As her relationship with Zenn grows, it becomes less of an issue. Although the summary says she is instantly drawn to Zenn, I think it is more that she finds him attractive, but the emotions she gets off his jacket makes her very wary of him. So there is a little insta-love in this book, but they really do work through the beginnings of a relationship, getting to know each other and such before the attraction grows into love.

I loved Zenn, he is definitely my kind of guy. Funny, artistic and doesn't really care what others think about him. He is so kind and gentle with Eva, especially when he finds out about her ability. He is also wonderful when it comes to their shared history, and how he wants to make things right. I think it would have been interesting to see some of the story from his point of view, but I also liked that he is something a mystery too. Hearing his side of the story might have given away the shared history too soon to the reader, so ok, I'm good.

So a great read, especially if you are looking for a smart, fun romance with a slight paranormal twist and a dark shared history between the characters.

I honestly didn't expect this book to be my cup of tea. I haven't read paranormal romance in a while. But it was really sweet, with its dialogue and the characters who delivered it. While might have been predictable at times, I was still invested in the story and what was going on in Eva's life. I'll admit, at first, the backstory was kind of confusing. But as the story progressed, and more was revealed, Eva's backstory became clear. I actually liked how that was laid out more than if there was just a lot of exposition at the beginning. Although there were a few things that needed explaining by the end of the novel...

While I did enjoy reading Eva's POV altogether, sometimes I wish I could get someone else's perspective. She can be really unintentionally judgy at times, which rubbed me the wrong way. It might be because she distances herself from people, so she never really gets to know them, but an idea of them. It was still a bit jarring at times to read about all these stereotypes about teenagers, girls and guys. But I notice that while Eva does live by these stereotypes, it doesn't mean that other characters have to adhere by them as well. Which is a relief, I might add! The secondary characters aren't just background noise in Eva's story, but actually bring their own issues to the table and become more fleshed out because of it.

As for Eva and Zenn's romance, even I did have my own qualms about it, I did enjoy reading how they met to every little development in their relationship. I thought they were a really good fit for each other! It's just that the ending doesn't address my main problem with their relationship, so I'm not as keen on it as I would have been otherwise...

So, that's my take on Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant. If you're searching for a nice and fluffy read, then look no further!

I really loved Eva. I loved her voice and the story telling. I liked how Eva's nerdy-ness (after the first chapter) was embedded in the story and not brought up every four seconds. I like that she didn’t immediately tell us Libby’s name was actually Elizabeth and that each of the quadruplet’s therefore had an E name. The story telling was so natural. A few times she felt out of character, but then she's a teenager and teenagers [read: humans] don't exactly make levelheaded personality based decisions every second, especially if they are going through something like Eva was.

In one of the texting conversations between Eva and Charlotte, Charlotte sent the question mark in a second text. That is so realistic and that's the sort of thing that makes me want to give a book five thousand stars. That's what I'm saying, that even though the story itself might not have been realistic the writing was.

It’s always easier to accept crazy soap opera plot lines when the characters themselves, and therefore the author, understand the craziness. There is a line to this, but Brant didn't cross it.

I have a protective nature towards religion--even if it's not mine--and I hate stories about religious leaders’ rebellious children who disagree with the lifestyle/religion. But somehow…Wendy Brant did this tastefully. Even though it doesn’t sound like something you could possibly do tastefully. I think it was because she didn't make Eva's dad uppity or self righteous.

The epilogue was perfect, even if the last chapter wrapped up a bit too quickly.

But...you knew there would be a but.

I absolutely hate the I-can't-have-a-relationship-because-of-this-reason-but-wait-I-actually-can trope. The exception. Plus...no one seemed to think this ability is that weird. I mean, there's synesthesia but it's not really comparable. And no reason was given in Zenn Diagram. I always seem to get past this and love the story anyway [read: Shatter Me] but it annoys me. So much. So much that I didn't even really describe this complaint very well.

The beginning was a little slow and the end was a little rushed. The side characters and even Zenn were a little cliché, excepting Josh who I thought was interesting. We had the, again, cliché protagonist who isn't like the other girls and isn't interested in the same things. There were lots of stereotypical minor characters that helped support this.

Well, my thoughts on this book are all over the place, so I'll end with this calligraphy worthy quote:
“I like the library.”
“Obviously.”
“I do. I like it better than I like most people.”

In the sea of contemporary novels with cute protagonists, an adorable love story and the “I’m not like the other girls” kind of trope, I have to say that Zenn’s Diagram kind of stood out, and as I’m writing this, I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because it’s the kind of book that will make you smile, care for the characters and bring a lot of emotions, or just maybe it was really, really a sweet book that you can think about fondly once you’re done with it. Maybe a little bit of both.

A CONTEMPORARY WITH A TWIST
💭

With a math genius and a guy apparently not so good in maths needing some tutoring, you can see right from the start where this story is going. Except that Zenn Diagram is more, way more than just about maths and a love story, thanks to the little twist added in Eva, the main character. This is not a spoiler since it’s revealed in the synopsis: when touching people’s things, objects that belong to them, clothes, calculators, anything, really, she can see them. Feel their emotions, the weight of their secrets, and with just one touch, she can know way more about strangers than she’d ever wish to. So I guess you could call this a lovely contemporary with a kind of weird, but very interesting twist, taking Eva from the maths nerd to a character that has way more to reveal.

REALISTIC CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS
💭

As often, especially in books like that where the characters take a huge lot of place because no one is on a race off to fight the evil, characters matter a lot. If, at the beginning, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to connect and enjoy the main character, Eva, she quickly grew on me, because she felt really human, really teenager, and really true to herself from beginning to end. She had her own insecurities, she confronted a lot her parents’ needs and her own, she always thought about her future and her dreams and confronted them to reality, which made me relate to her a lot. Zenn was also one character I enjoyed, even if he did seem a bit too “perfect” to be true, at times, he was really a sweet character fighting off for what he really wanted, and there was more to him that what you think at first, which was interesting.
Something I loved about both of them were the opposite dynamics they had in their lives, from a big family on Eva’s side to just his mom on Zenn’s side, from the Maths genius to the Art guy. Opposites attract here for sure, but also I found that they completed each other very nicely in this story. However, two things slightly bothered me in this love story: first of all, it kind of felt like love at first side on Eva’s side, since we only get her point of view, and I found her becoming very quickly infatuated with Zenn. Second of all, well…the story was built on a lot of mis-communication, which quickly could become kind of annoying -however, I guess sometimes life is made of mis-communication just as well, so that didn’t feel too far off from the truth.

ORIGINALITY & PLOT TWISTS
💭

Zenn Diagram really stood out for two things here, for me: the original idea of Eva’s “talent” (which would be, in that case, more of a curse than a talent? I guess, not being able to touch anyone without being fried by their own feelings and trouble is kind of a curse?) ; and a little something called a plot twist at the middle of the book. I’m not going to reveal here, and if I’m being completely honest, as I read on, I found myself almost guessing it. I didn’t know what it was, but I had a slight theory about something like this actually happening, so I guess it didn’t shock me that much and the unpredictability of this was a bit, well, that didn’t work. That being said, I wasn’t bothered by it at all: this addition, complication in the whole story and characters relationship was very, very interesting, and I loved reading about how the heck they were supposed to try and figure this out – part of this ended up in me wanting to read the whole half end of the book in one go.

OVERALL

Zenn Diagram was a contemporary full of surprises. I didn’t have many expectations when I started this and I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the story and the characters that much. If you are into sweet contemporary stories with a little twist of something different, then I would 100% recommend this.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book was so heartwarmingly adorable. And somehow made me nostalgic for high school calculus. This book had so much humor and pure teen drama of high school with the added complications of sometimes knowing a little too much about your classmates. I flew right through it. Eva and Zenn are a dynamic duo who keeps a smile on your face for the entire story.

Things I Liked:
-Aglos & Fractals. Being able to ‘read’ people’s emotions by touching their things could leave the average person immobile, but Eva has channeled her abilities into helping tutor her classmates in math. By touching their calculators, she can understand what they’re struggling with and the best ways to help them. She calls these smaller, more focused glimpses algos, or algorithms. While the more personal and layered glimpses are fractals - a repeating pattern that may become clear over time. Not only was the fractal imagery used beautiful, but the fact that Eva used her abilities to tutor her classmates in math was fantastic and instantly made me like her.

-Eva. Eva was SO FUNNY. She is smart and feisty and frustrated and lonely. She is a fully developed character. She reacts with humor in awkward situations because she doesn’t really have much social interaction experience. It doesn’t come across as disingenuous or quirky look-at-me, it’s really honest and pure. She’s jealous when Charlotte gets a boyfriend not only because she’s afraid of losing her, but because Charlotte is able to actually be in a relationship and do something as simple as hold a boy’s hand. She gets a crush on a boy and starts to get all fluttery and gets to actually hope that she might not have to be alone. She can be judgemental and nosey - two characteristics aided by her fractal reads - but she knows that she can be hasty and impulsive and she want to work on that. She doesn’t want to make snap decisions on glimpses of information, because she knows she can misread or misjudge a person, like Josh, but recognizes that they have their strengths too.

-Eva & Zenn. Their relationship was so adorable. They meet in tutoring and Eva gets a gnarly fractal from Zenn’s jacket, but nothing from his books. They develop a easy and humorous banter that is natural and effortless. We see then interact more and more, trading barbs and getting to know each other. We see their relationship grow and become more and I couldn’t stop smiling. They care about each other and want the best for each other. I loved seeing they be honest with each other and support each other - both with college and scholarship worries, Zenn’s art and Eva with her hectic family and her gift. The ending left me giddy!!!

-Intimacy. I like that Eva talked about not really having any experience with physical intimacy because of her readings. It’s something that she has missed out on, and that she hasn’t felt comfortable with. She is not ashamed of it, or shamed by her parents for it either and I thought that was great. It also helped to create a really great conversation about consent and physical contact.

Things I Didn't Like:
-“Not Like Most Girls.” This phrase was used a too many times in this book, especially in the character introductions. We repeatedly have Eva talk about how she (and even Charlotte) are “not like most girl.” They aren’t obsessed with makeup or shoes or boys or starbucks. They aren’t popular and are in the band; they’re different. Eva judges Charlotte a little when she starts using makeup and crushing hard on Josh. One scene felt particularly slut-shaming. <spoiler>When talking about her younger taking bribes in their potty training, she hopes they don’t turn into slutty girls “who give it away to any cute boy who buys them dinner”</spoiler>. Fortunately, most of these scenes occurred in the first 50 pages or so and we don’t really see any similar behavior again.

This book was so humorous and fun. It made me nostalgic for math. MATH. It was such a joy to follow Eva as she begins to learn more about herself and develop relationships she never expected to have. It was so light and engaging while still allowing the characters to feel complex emotions and question their place in the world and what they’re doing. This was just a solid story that was a perfect spring read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press publishing for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! What can I say? Wendy Brant is a very talented author. Her writing style is quick and easy to follow yet has the depth, description, and sincerity that immediately made me fall head over heals in love with Zenn and Eva. I could not put down the book. It was addicting in all the right ways.

When a book is good, but it takes a while to read it, I think, "okay, this is a good book"..... BUT.... when a book is great and I cannot put it down, lose track of time, and stay up all night reading, I KNOW the book is Great.... Zenn Diagram is definitely in the Great category.

At the very beginning, I thought that this book would turn into a fantasy of sorts.... After all, Eva has this "condition" where she cannot touch anything or anyone. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the story was going to remain in the "real" world. I suspected that a special connection would present itself between Zenn and Eva from the very beginning, but I was completely surprised by what that connection ended up being (no spoilers, sorry!).... I loved the surprises in the story and the unexpected reveals. I loved Zenn's and Eva's relationship and the way their characters were developed into real upright young people with good values - regardless of their circumstances. The story's message is clear - we are each responsible for our actions and our futures - we cannot hold anyone else accountable for our own fortunes, that is our responsibility alone.

I highly recommend this book for mature YA audiences due to some adult situations. I also highly recommend this book to everyone who is older who enjoys YA stories. I am 44 and I loved reading this story. Beautifully done - I hope there is a sequel.

Happy Reading!

Zenn Diagram was a super adorable contemporary and I really enjoyed it!

Eva Walker is a math genius and has the unique ability to read someone's emotions with one touch. Of course, knowing everyone's deepest feelings makes it difficult for Eva to get close to anyone. Because of this, Eva is isolated from everyone but her family and her best friend. One day, Eva meets a new student named Zenn whom she discovers she can touch without having visions. Soon Eva discovers the history that ties them together which threatens to tear them apart.

Eva was absolutely delightful and I loved her as a character. She has such a great sense of humor and I really enjoyed her math jokes. Also, the way she views the visions is very interesting, how she's tied it to her love of math. Her relationship with her family is absolutely amazing and wonderful to see (her siblings in particular are extremely adorable). Zenn is incredibly charming and such a sweet guy. The chemistry between Zenn and Eva is wonderful. The banter is on point and they have an amazing connection right from the start. I also really enjoyed Zenn's interactions with Eva's family.

The author did a good job covering some difficult topics in this book. The book never got too heavy, but the author didn't brush the issues aside either. I also found it really interesting how she tied together Zenn and Eva's pasts. I wasn't sure how she'd connect them based on "the history that links them" from the blurb, but it certainly was an interesting twist.

Overall, Zenn Diagram was an incredibly sweet contemporary with a unique element with Eva's visions. I definitely recommend the book to anyone looking for a quick contemporary read with a twist. I will definitely check out this author's future books.

4 out of 5 stars

Isn't that a cute cover? This is a unique take on YA contemporary. I was completely taken with the main characters and thought the author did a fantastic job on turning a strange premise into a riveting read. While there isn't what I call instalove in this book, it is pretty close to it. While original in design, it does feature quite a few of your classic YA romance tropes that both draw you in and infuriate you. I would definitely add this to your TBR if you are looking to pick up something a little more light hearted and sweet.

I thought this book was well-written, and there was a lot of humour in the writing style. Although I'm not really into maths so the specific jokes weren't entirely my cup of tea, I do appreciate nerd humour and bad puns and the fact that these played a big part in the friendship-relationship between Eva and Zenn in this book, because most of my most meaningful friendships are full of bad puns too.

However, I think I would have liked this book more if I could relate to it a bit more, which would have required me to be either straight or American or both. While I've read many books that I couldn't relate to on a personal level and enjoyed them, with contemporaries I think there needs to be some kind of shared, universal experience to draw me in, and this didn't have that.

So, straight, or at least interested in relationships and sex of some kind: because it's very romance focused and a lot of it revolves around Eva's frustration with not being able to touch people due to the visions ('fractals') she sees when she does. As someone who is asexual and aromantic and generally not a tactile person except with like four people in the entire world, I found this difficult to relate to, and I'll never be able to make sense of decisions people make based on romantic feelings because I don't understand romantic feelings full stop. I am bad at romance okay? Which made that aspect of the book hard to relate to, and that was a big part of the book.

My reaction when people start making out in a church: " *rolls eyes* #str8ppl". Like, why. Why do that. CONTROL YOURSELVES AND YOUR HORMONES PLEASE IT'S NOT THAT BIG A DEAL. I will never understand kissing.

As for why it might have worked for me if I was American, well, that's because the other big aspect of the book, or one of them, was college applications and scholarships and trying to figure out how on earth you'll afford the horrendously high fees. And I'm British, so while our tuition is higher than it used to be and my rent is horrible, thanks to Student Finance England and our much more sensible system, I will never be in the position of trying to find hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay for my education, nor am I dependent on winning scholarships to be able to go to uni. If there's one thing that makes me grateful for the UK's system, it's reading YA fiction where characters can't afford college because the US is broken.

SO, as you can see, there were a couple of major aspects of the book that were so far outside my experience as a British non-mathsy person not interested in relationships, and that made it difficult to get fully invested. I wanted the characters to succeed, sure, but I didn't have the personal connection I'd have had with a book I could relate to on a more personal level.

(There's also loads of complicated family backstory stuff which, given my very conventional and normal family, I *also* could not relate to, but I think that was not meant to be as universal an experience as the whole 'first boyfriend and also college' part of the book.)

One other problem with the book was that Eva was occasionally somewhat slut-shamey in her narration. Especially near the beginning. She made quite a few offhand comments about other girls, and referred to her baby sisters' potty training (which involved bribes) in the context of them growing up to be girls who would "give it away" for any guy who bought them dinner -- which seemed both entirely unnecessary and inappropriate in the situation, and also totally slut-shaming. I wasn't very impressed with that. I felt she got over a bit by the end of the book though, and was more accepting of the people around her; if she'd kept it up I probably wouldn't have liked her at all.

Anyway. On the whole, this was well-written, with quite a lot of humour, but it was just a wee bit too far outside my own experiences and interests to fully engage me on a personal level.

This is my review from Goodreads, and will be cross-posted to my blog once I'm no longer on hiatus (probably some time in April depending on my health).

Where can I start or how do I describe, this book was incredible. So intense!! And to think it’s the debut novel for Wendy Brant!

As you might have read from the blurb, Eva has this “power” that allows her to look into people’s emotions simply by touching them or their things.

"I get these glimpses into people – the insecurities and struggles that make them who they are – but only a bit at a time.."

She and her parents do not understand why and how she gets to see those visions – she calls them as fractals. After years of trying to understand its cause, she has given up therapy and decides that she will restrain herself from touching people and will invent the cure for it herself by getting into neuroscience research.

Thus continues her life, with only one best friend and cute quadruplet siblings and helps her parents with them. As she is extremely good in math, she volunteers to tutor the jocks in her school and saves them from failing the subject, thereby ensuring they can stay in their teams. When she has to tutor Zenn Bennett, she mistakenly touches his army jacket and gets a hell load of dark visions and is intrigued what sort of fractals they are.

They run into each other often and Eva finds herself attracted to him. Zenn is an incredible artist and Eva finds some of his work similar to the visions that she gets. So why is she getting fractals from his jacket and not from him. How is he able to put those fractals into art. What is this connection that keeps pulling them towards each other and how the truth affects their lives is what follows later.

I loved the writing style and the idea of the fractals. Initially i was not able to connect with Eva because she comes out as a egotistical geek who thinks “C” grades are so much beneath her. But once the story gets moving, I could see how much her character evolves into a selfless person. Zenn… well he is tall, dark and handsome and is full of dark secrets that haunt him and responsibilities that overbear him. Another notable character is Eva’s mom. The fractals she gets from her mother was confusing but later we are told the reason for it and I get it. But that cannot justify her behavior in the latter part of the book.

Eva and Zenn’s chemistry …<3 Its magical, intense and beautiful. Eva’s longing to have a normal human life, to touch and feel, to comfort, to hug is all beautifully explained and which is why when there is a threat to her relationship with him, she needs to act on it and becomes a rebel, sort of 🙂

This book is definitely a must read 🙂 Its easily a 5/5 for me.

~4.6/5~

This book made me so emotional, I was on the verge of tears toward the end. The epilogue was so satisfying as well. Zenn and Eva are great characters, each imperfect in their own incredible way, and Zenn Diagram just touched me in ways that I couldn’t possibly put into words. I wouldn’t be able to do my feelings justice anyway. I could literally read and reread this book over and over again without getting tired of it; it’s that amazing(not to mention the puns). The writing’s simple, and Wendy Brant conveys her ideas through very nicely.

While I may or may not be in love with the fractal and math genius concept, not to mention the way the author described the former(*swoons*), the book does have some iffy moments, like how the main characters don't really have a realistic relationship. Things work, and nothing seems to bother them. They don't have relationship issues because of disagreements, which I guess could be credited to their abnormal relationship history-wise. It's not a huge deal, but it irked me for whatever reason.

Zenn's your typical broodingly deep and dark love interest, and it's cliché at its finest. Eva reminds me of myself a little, not because of her math-obsession or magical fractal stuff, but because she sort of takes the backstage in life while simultaneously suffering from a bit of a hero complex. They both have their share of complexity with a good dose of backstory.

One thing that kind of bothered me was the fast-pacedness of their relationship, physically at least. There wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with it, it’s just that for a girl who avoided using her sense of touch, Eva got over it fairly quickly. But what are teen fiction books without a hint of unrealistiness? I’m currently struggling to get over my post-book haze that I may or may not be going into shock, so excuse me while I mentally freak out again.

This book was a very cute teen fiction novel with a nice supernatural-ish aspect. Personally, I adored it.

Many many thank yous to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read this brilliant gem.

More romance-y than I usually go for but an interesting premise (main character reads the emotional well-being of others through contact with their belongings or skin) and an interesting plot as well. I would read more from this author for sure!

Firstly, great cover, it really drew my eye when I was looking through books. Loved the book, it was a bit different than what I expected but I enjoyed the story, and there was great character development

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

From the very first chapter, I knew I was going to have a major problem with this book. A problem that persisted throughout and made me seriously dislike the main character, Eva.

With the very first paragraph, we are introduced to Eva and her unique ability. With just touching a person or an object of said person, Eva can see into their lives, knowing things she would never have known otherwise.

This makes Eva very special indeed. It is not, however, what makes Eva go on and on about how she’s #not-like-other-girls.

Honestly, few words bother me more out of the mouth of women than, ‘I am not like other girls’. By saying things like that you are implying that there is something wrong with ‘other girls’. You are saying that if the world has blessed you with big breasts and you happen to like make up you are now an ‘other’. That you are entirely generic, with no personality, no hopes, and dreams. So, of course, our humble, ‘down to earth’ main character, cannot possibly be like those other bimbos. Right?

Not even our snowflake’s best friend Charlotte, who is described as beautiful and statuesque, is described as never being able to be popular because guys only want the loud, big breasted cheerleaders. You know, because all guys (except our heroic love interest, of course) are all painfully generic and are all into the same thing. Right? That certainly is what books like this say to me. And there are a lot of books like this.

Seriosuly, why do authors keep thinking that we will relate to people like this? I am a total nerd. The kind that owns every X-Men movie on DVD/BluRay and has watched every X-Men cartoon out there. The kind goes to comic book stores and randomly spews out facts about any and every subject you can think of. When I was a child my mother bought me an animal encyclopedia, which I read from start to finish because I wanted to know about all the creatures inside. I’m the kind of person who can spend an entire day in bed, reading. The kind that considers a fun outing to be going to the zoo or museum. And yet, I like makeup. I have an unhealthy love of purses and shoes. I love wearing pretty dresses and bows in my hair, and having fun and doing things with friends, and you know, being a normal human being.

I’m sick of the plain main character who insist of proclaiming to the world that she is not like ‘other girls’ simply because she likes ‘nerdy things’.

Another thing that bothered me was Eva’s inconsistency. She is someone who shows very little emotion. Which is fine, a character doesn’t need to be overly emotional. I am not an emotional person. But, she doesn’t seem to care much about her family, or only friend Charlotte, which is not cool. But then Zenn comes about and she’s in love? In a very insta-love fashion, to make it worse. No. Just no.

So, why three stars instead of two? I don’t know. I am feeling generous I guess. I so desperately needed a good book to read that I guess I just had to love this a little more.

That said, the book did have some pros. It was a cute, fast read (all the aforementioned things aside). It was a fun contemporary if you want zero diversity (then again most contemporaries don’t, like seriously, not even one POC to say one random, unimportant line in the background), are into insta-love, and generic characters. I liked it, though. Despite the problems, I was entertained. Somehow.

The idea was cool. I love that fact that Eva unapologetically loved math. I love that she had such a cool ability. Sadly, when I look back at the books I read this year, this is not going to be one that stands out. I am not going to remember the setting, the characters, or the romance. This will get lost in my memory, as there was nothing memorable about it.

This was everything I love in a contemporary: cute, adorable, funny, sweet, light-hearted and heart-warming. All of the characters were so likeable and the story was wonderfully thought out. I found myself rooting for Zenn and Eva and they were so adorable together. That, my friend, is a new OTP formed. The writing style was perfect, the story flowed so well, and I read it in an hour because I couldn't stop reading about the pair. Loved it and would highly recommend to anyone who needs a cute, adorable but wonderfully written contemporary novel.

The eBook for Zenn Diagram is 222 pages so it was a very quick read for me; I finished it in a day. It's a super-cute contemporary that has its quirks and an underlying secret that will leave you shocked.

Eva Walker is a seventeen-year-old math genius. And if that doesn’t do wonders for her popularity, there’s another thing that makes it even worse: when she touches another person or anything that belongs to them — from clothes to textbooks to cell phones — she sees a vision of their emotions. She can read a person’s fears and anxieties, their secrets and loves … and what they have yet to learn about calculus. This is helpful for her work as a math tutor, but it means she can never get close to people. Eva avoids touching anyone and everyone. People think it’s because she’s a clean freak — with the emphasis on freak — but it’s all she can do to protect herself from other people’s issues.

Then one day a new student walks into Eva’s life. His jacket gives off so much emotional trauma that she falls to the floor. Eva is instantly drawn to Zenn, and her feelings only grow when she realizes that she can touch Zenn’s skin without having visions.

Ok, so first I'm going to start off by sharing with you some sentences from this book that I thought to be problematic. This is just my opinion, so if anyone feels differently about any of the, I would love for you to leave a comment or drop me an email with your thoughts. Ok so here goes:

- "Once in a while a vision will start like an algo and then go all Jekyll and Hyde on me."

So from studying Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at university, I gathered that the book was about Jekyll who had a split personality and Hyde was the side to himself that was dangerous in society and was demonised. I'm not sure that used split personality disorder as a passive joke is funny...



- "How a C is good enough for anyone, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand. But somehow he will be satisfied by his own mediocrity"

How is getting a 'C' grade bad? Just because she is a maths genius, doesn't mean everyone is dumb because they're not at college level straight away... I got a B in maths; does that make me mediocre? No.



- "occasional coat of mascara when I’m feeling nutty. I mean, I’m not Amish, after all."

Is she calling Amish people crazy? If so, I really really don't think that's funny.



- "Which makes me think I might consider bearing his children immediately."

We're 41 pages in... You shouldn't be thinking about bearing anyone's children at this point...



- "The car slows politely. Then it slows more, pulling up next to me. My stomach drops and I wonder if anyone will hear me scream when the rapist yanks me into his car."

Yeah, because being kidnapped and raped is hilarious



- "I mean, I am a quarter Asian, after all.” (When Zenn is talking about himself being an honour-role child)

The "I'm-asian-therefore-i'm-clever" trope is getting really old...


- "What the hell did he do? Murder a few people? Run a drug ring? Sexually abuse some kid?"

Again, I didn't realise that murder or sexual abuse was something that you could just make a flippant comment about...



Am I being too critical? I don't know... Please let me know what you think... But when I was reading them, they really shouted out to me that they were wrong.

Anyway! On with the review! Apart from those 7 sentences above, this was a really cute, fast-paced, brilliant read. I was so caught up in the romance and the back story of it all. I did feel a little bit cliche when *minor spoilers* Eva didn't get any fractals when she touched Zenn and yet again, Zenn was the 'troubled', 'mysterious' teenager, but those things can easily be looked past. I thought Zenn was such an interesting character and I especially loved that he was really interested in art.

Eva was relatable. I felt for her when Charlotte ditched her for her new friends and a guy because I know how it feels when your good friend just suddenly finds a new friend and you constantly feel like the third wheel, so you just remove yourself from the situation. Some people have reviewed this and said that Eva was stupid for being angry at Charlotte when she got new friends but I disagree. Eva wasn't angry because Charlotte made new friends, she was angry because Charlotte completely and utterly DITCHED Eva for her new friends that she had only known for like... 5 seconds. That hurts. A lot.





"The university websites are wonderful, all the text written in an informal, laid-back voice that makes you fall in love with them. They say things like, If you are admitted to *insert school name here*, we will make sure that you can afford to come to *school name* and We will help meet every single cent of your family’s demonstrated need. Um, yeah. Right. Maybe if I sell my soul. How can they possibly promise that?"

- Wendy Brant, Zenn Diagram



I also enjoyed that Eva was a super maths geek! It was awesome to see two main characters passionate about something, and something that made them want to go to college. I loved Eva's family as well! I thought that - even though they were secondary characters - they were thought out really well and you felt like you knew their characters really well (almost like getting a fractal!)

Speaking of fractals... What an interesting concept! I've heard about getting visions, but seeing colours is really interesting - it's almost like seeing a person's aura. I'm also very intrigued as to what caused Eva to get these fractals... Is it what she thinks it is? (I'm not going to say because of major spoilers!), or is it something completely different? I don't know... What do you think?

Overall, even though this book had its moments - as aforementioned - that just didn't sit right with me, this book was a brilliant read. It captured my attention from the very first page and threw me into the world of Eva and Zenn.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 4th April

I liked this book. The writing was good and the concept original.
Since, back in high school, I used to love math and was really good at it, I really liked its place in the book.
I also liked the characters.
The "fractals" were well explained and I enjoyed how they were used.
However, a few things upset me.
Most of all, those quotes :
"I guess my indifference to my appearance is unusual. Most women could make a full-time job of trying to be prettier, and sadly beauty is the one thing that we, as a gender, work at the hardest."

"I just hope it doesn't mean they'll grow up to be slutty girls who give it away to any cute boy who buy them dinner."

I underlined more while reading but I think you get my drift. As a woman, this hurts me. It actually hurt to write it in this review. This, to me, is sexist.
Finally, at the end, I was disappointed by the fact that the last conflict is so easily resolved. Moreover, we never understand why Zenn is special.

So overall, I really enjoyed this story but it was far from perfect..

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.

Pros: I loved Eva's passion for math and her unapologetic geekiness. I loved that she marched to her own beat and didn't care what other people think. I also liked the supporting characters, especially Eva's entire family (the E's!!!) and her friends.

And thank you so much for not dragging the reveal on and on. In a lot of books, when the MC realizes the truth about their situation, they keep it from their significant other for chapters, and there's just pages of misinformation, tension, and hard feelings. I'm glad that's not what happened in this book. SO GLAD.

I also liked the reveal quite a bit. I wasn't expecting that at all.

Cons: I had problems with Eva's ideas of selfishness and sacrifice. I got that it was tied into her Christianity, but she kept saying that she didn't believe a lot of what was preached, and it didn't seem like an organic choice for her.

Also, the "you suffered more than me" arguments with Zenn were frequent and unnecessary. I got uncomfortable every time Eva downplayed her parents' deaths and her injuries. Can you really quantify suffering? I think they both suffered, and trauma isn't a contest. But that's just me.

Overall the book was readable and well written, and I look forward to see what Brant writes next.

Wow. Just wow. I loved this book. I work with teens - and, have 3 of my own - and this book captures the very teen essence right down to the snark and sass. Zenn and Ev have a beautiful, yet haunting, relationship full of twists and turns and surprises. I devoured the book in one sitting. I couldn't stop reading it to see what happens next. I love how each character is well-rounded and has their own story to share with the reader. The story is told through Ev's point of view, but we get a strong sense of everyone she encounters because of her special gift - the ability to read people when she touches them. What seems like a curse at face value, turns out to be a gift that leads her down a path she least expected. Zenn has a lot of going on in his life and yet, his burdens don't make him jaded and hard thanks to his relationship with Ev. I finished the book and am still thinking about it so much, I had to post my review right away! I will definitely recommend this book to my students, buy it for my children, and suggest it to my teen book club. Love, love, loved it. Truly.

I really liked this book at first. We've got an intelligent, thoughtful protagonist who genuinely cares about her family. She has barriers to happiness but a clear plan for overcoming them. She meets Zenn who has a dark and brooding vibe. So of course it's obvious that they're going to fall in love. That's standard teen romance. I could deal with that predictability given the otherwise strong plot and the novelty of the concept. But I feel like Brant let us down in some key ways.
1) Secondary characters are almost entirely without depth
2)The final plot elements are all over the place. Give your romantic leads separate hurts, their own barriers to happiness. OR make them inexorably linked. Don't try to do both. Don't try to mix up guilt, poverty, psychic ability, judgement, self sacrifice. When you try to do all of that it tends to become a mess.