Zenn Diagram Review – Buddy Read with Charlotte @ charannelise

Synopsis from Kids Can Press:

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, a handsome and soulful artist who also has a troubled home life, and her feelings only grow when she realizes that she can touch Zenn’s skin without having visions. But when she discovers the history that links them, the truth threatens to tear the two apart.

Zenn Diagram, Wendy Brant’s sparkling debut novel, offers an irresistible combination of math and romance, with just a hint of the paranormal. Readers will swoon over Zenn and connect instantly with Eva, the most fully drawn prodigy in teen fiction today.

About: Zenn Diagram is a young adult fiction novel written by Wendy Brant. It was published on 4/4/17 by Kids Can Press, 328 pages. The genres are young adult, romance, contemporary, and paranormal. This book is intended for readers ages 14 to 18, grades 9 to 12. According to Kids Can Press’ website, it is “the largest Canadian-owned children’s publisher in the world – recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2013.” The Toronto-based publisher has variety of books for all readers, from picture books to non-fiction, graphic novels, young adult, and more. Please see below for more information about the author.

Buddy Reads Q&A with Charlotte @ charannelise

Charlotte’s Questions and Our Answers:

Who was your favourite character?

Charlotte: 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!

Jasmine: 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.

Did you enjoy the relationship between Eva and Zenn?

Charlotte: 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!

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

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

Charlotte: 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.

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

My Questions and Our Answers:

What do you like most about this book?

Jasmine: 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.

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

Do you like the ending?

Jasmine: Yes! I loved it! And I cried!

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

Do you like the math aspects in this book?

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

Charlotte: 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.

My Experience: I started reading Zenn Diagram on 4/28/17 and finished it on 5/6/17. I’m fortunate to have read this book with the wonderful and amazing blogger, Charlotte @ charlotteannelise! Please click on the link to head on over to her blog to read her thoughts on this book! This book is truly an excellent read! If time were not limited, I would have devour this book in one day! I love how the story comes together so perfectly. I love the humor and the cuteness of first love. I love characters with a talent and I love how humble they are with it. The surprise twist was most unexpected and I completely adored it!

In this book, readers will follow the point of view of Eva, a math genius with a quirk. She avoids touching people and things and that means no handshakes, hugs, and keeping her hands to herself. The quirk is to conceal her ability to see into people’s deepest and darkest secrets by a touch of her hands. It’s a bit complicated. She’s very good at math and therefore, does math tutoring after school. From there, she met Zenn, a mysterious good looking guy with beautiful eyelashes and weather hands. Eva has distance herself from boys all through seventeen years of her life, but Zenn caught her attention and somehow makes her think the bubbles of loneliness she created for herself is not so ideal after all.

The math talks and the paranormal of fractal visions are an interesting addition to the story. I enjoyed the supporting characters with her best friend Charlotte and her quadruplets siblings. I really like Zenn and his story. I love the introduction to diversity in this book and that Zenn is a quarter Vietnamese. It’s cool that this story locates in Wisconsin because I used to live there. Most of all, I love how the characters has talents but are not show offs. I love Zenn’s strong beliefs in not wanting to accept free hand outs and works hard to survive on his own. I totally love it that despite struggles and selfless acts, good deeds comes in tenfold. This book is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it to each and everyone!

Pro: surprise twist, innocent first love, friendship, family, education, romance, talents, diversity, epilogue

Con: none

I rate it 5 stars!

Grab yourself a copy here: Kids Can Press Website or Buy here for free shipping: Book Depository

About the Author:

At age ten, Wendy Brant wrote her first book, My Mysterious Double, the story of a girl and an imposter pretending to be her. Years later, after graduating with a degree in journalism from Northwestern University and completing the Publishing Institute at the University of Denver, Wendy wrote adult fiction (albeit unpublished) while working as an HR manager and being a mom. But when she started reading the same YA books as her kids, her attention and passion shifted. Now she likes to write about isolated teenagers who somehow find a way to connect with others, and she’s also a sucker for a little romance.

Wendy lives in the Chicago area in the best neighborhood in America (as crowned by Good Morning America in 2010) with her husband, teenage daughter and son, and guinea pigs Mac and Tosh. (Photo obtained from the author’s Twitter account and info obtained from Edelweiss).

More Information about Kids Can Press

Website: http://www.kidscanpress.com | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidsCanBooks | Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidscanpress

***Many thanks to Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine