Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant Buddy Read Review with Jasmine @How Useful It Is

This review is a buddy read review with Jasmine @How Useful It Is! She is an amazing book blogger, so go give her blog some love. Also check out her review too!

Publication Date: 4 April 2017

Publisher: Kids Can Press

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 328

Rating: 

Questions

*I’m C and J is Jasmine!

1) What do you like most about this book?

J: I like how each character is being explored – strengths and weaknesses. I like how the negatives are pointed out but the positives can overcome the negatives. This goes with the main characters as well as supporting characters.

C: My favourite part was the fact that Zenn’s character was explored so well. His interesting backstory made me want to continue reading.

2) Do you like the ending?

J: Yes! I loved it! And I cried!

C: I loved it too! The ending was great and I especially loved the epilogue.

3) Do you like the math aspects in this book?

J: I love the numbers on the calculators to make a word! I don’t mind reading math in this book because it didn’t dominate the story.

C: The math aspects were so cool. Eva’s fractals related to her love of math, which I thought was very unique. I also enjoyed that she didn’t brag about being so smart in math; she was very humble about it.

4) Who was your favourite character?

J: I like Zenn. He’s an awesome person. I would love to have his point of view in every other chapter. I also love the E’s. They are a fun addition to the story.

C: My favourite character was definitely Eva. She had a very clear, strong voice throughout the novel and I could really relate to some of the problems she had. I also loved that she was so into math!

5) Did you enjoy the relationship between Eva and Zenn?

J: Yes! I love their humor. I enjoyed the romance in this book! I like the shyness and Eva’s reactions to feelings.

C: Yes, it was very sweet. Zenn was an interesting romantic interest and had a very powerful backstory. This made their relationship very touching. It was also cute how they met through tutoring, and Eva’s love of math brought them together!

6) Do you think the fractals (Eva’s visions) were an interesting addition to the story?

J: Yes. It actually goes well with the story somehow. I actually enjoy the paranormal in this contemporary book.

C: It was very creative to have the fractals included. At first I was slightly confused by them, but everything comes together in a fascinating way in the end.

My Review

Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant follows Eva, a high school student with a unique gift. She can see the different feelings of people through colourful visions by touching them, but it often makes her weak and dizzy. She doesn’t have many friends because of this, as it is difficult to be around people and avoid touching them. Along with her best friend Charlotte, she becomes friends with Zenn, an attractive boy she starts tutoring in math. However, she is surprised when, after the initial vision she got from touching his jacket, she can no longer be affected by his touch.

‘The more I touch someone, the more I can see and understand, and the more I think I can help. But that’s my mistake. I can’t help. You can’t fix people like you can solve a math problem.

Math genius. Freak of nature. Loner.’

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, as it was very cute and touching. I sped through it fairly quickly and thought that the main plot along with the subplots intertwined together really well.

The relationship between Zenn and Eva was intense yet cute and funny at times. Zenn was a cool character in the beginning and then turned vulnerable later on in the novel. His backstory was fascinating to read about and intrigued me, as did Eva’s.

The math references were especially creative. Although I’m not a math nerd, I still connected with how she was so into math and learning. Like I said earlier, her approach to her ability to be so good at math was with humility. This was shown through her college applications and how she knew that just being good at math didn’t make her necessarily deserve a scholarship. This, then, was a strong character strength of Eva’s.

The novel started out slow but moved along more quickly after the introduction of Eva’s fractals. I thought it would be an easy, light-hearted read but it definitely had some darker themes to it. I liked that about the book and it surprised me when I got to that part.

I was not particularly annoyed by anything Eva did either. More so other people, like Eva’s mother and Charlotte. I did not quite understand the rationale of something Eva’s mother forbade Eva in doing, but from her point of view I guess I sort of did. The quadruplet siblings of Eva’s was such a quirky and fun addition to the story and softened Eva’s character.

I really enjoyed this fun and touching read. I would recommend to those who like young adult and romance with a twist!

*Thank you to Kids Can Press for the advanced reader copy that I received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

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• Will you be reading Zenn Diagram?