A Girl Named Digit (Digit, #1)

Apr 16, 2012 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Farrah Higgins has a unique mind - she is a math genius and can instantly see mathematical patterns. For most of high school she has hidden this gift completely from her friends who have no idea she tops the charts in test scores. Farrah works hard to keep her gift under wraps. But one day while watching TV, she sees a pattern of numbers that repeats three weeks in a row and Farrah's mind clicks into overdrive, solving a puzzle that is terrifying and important. When she finally convinces the FBI...more

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May 10, 2013 Katy rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. also posted at: http://ablightedone.wordpress.com/201...

I think this book might appeal to some people, but I’m surprised I finished it. I could tell it would be a bit silly from the description and I read it anyway so I have nobody to blame but myself.

In this book, the main character Farrah has a “gift” that enables her to “take seemingly random data and identify the pattern within it” (chapter 2). She’s a math freak and it has good and bad effects on her life. She’s good at math, she can put pu...more also posted at: http://ablightedone.wordpress.com/201...

I think this book might appeal to some people, but I’m surprised I finished it. I could tell it would be a bit silly from the description and I read it anyway so I have nobody to blame but myself.

In this book, the main character Farrah has a “gift” that enables her to “take seemingly random data and identify the pattern within it” (chapter 2). She’s a math freak and it has good and bad effects on her life. She’s good at math, she can put puzzles together, and she can utilize statistics. She also has a difficult time focusing when there are patterns around and other kids think she’s weird. Her ability gave earned her the nickname Digit, which she isn’t a fan of. Instead of drawing any attention to her skills, she practices a blend in tactic where she’s agreeable and boring. She adapts to high school and fakes friendship with the Fab Four.

But one day while watching TV with friends, she notices a seemingly random piece of code. Her brain won’t let her ignore and instead immediately starts deciphering it. She knows it is important. She tells her dad and they go to the FBI but are ignored. Then she goes to the television studio and things get dicey: she is followed. The FBI becomes involved and a crazy ride begins.

Warning: spoilers below.

Digit meets John Bennett, a young FBI agent. He was the FBI agent that ignored her but is later forced to work with her. Instead of keeping her with other smart people in the FBI at an office, John fake kidnaps her to a safe house. With approval from his superiors, and the knowledge of her parents, a twenty-something year old FBI agent was allowed to take a seventeen year old into an abandoned warehouse alone. All alone. I don’t claim to be an expert on the FBI and I know that what I see on TV isn’t completely reliable, but I seriously hope that no agent is ever allowed to be alone with a teenage girl. And on top of that, nobody even searches her for her phone. She’s 17 and they just take her word that she doesn’t have it with her. These are the people in charge of her safety and fighting terrorists.

My biggest issue was how uncomfortable the situation between Farrah/Digit and John made me. I know books don’t have to be realistic, and the age difference isn’t even that big, but the idea of a teenage girl being alone with a male agent didn’t sit well with me. Digit thought an older guy was hot, which is understandable. She was seventeen, a month away from eighteen and a few months away from college. But the fact that she’s allowed to go from California to New York alone with an agent should have tipped everyone off that all was not well. It’s not even just the fact that it shouldn’t be allowed, but the whole situation and interaction between them just prompted one “Ugh, really?” after another.

There were other issues with the book: Digit is kind of annoying and self-centered, she’s naive and immature, she’s supposed to be a smart girl but she comes off as a moron. All of her introspection is long and drawn out, and her “Oops, I spoke what I was thinking out loud” habit was so obnoxious. The whole terrorist situation was pretty unbelievable and ridiculous.

I could tell by the description that this book would be kind of cheesy, but I thought maybe it had a fun, light story and romance. I was disappointed. I didn’t like any of the characters and was annoyed and uncomfortable the whole time. I think a younger group might enjoy it, but I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable recommending it to younger readers. I’m sure a lot of people can look past the issues I had and simply enjoy the silly romance, but this book wasn’t for me.(less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Alexus Marshall rated it 3 of 5 stars

Annabel Monaghan's book, A Girl Named Digit, follows the fast changing life of high school student, Farrah "Digit" Higgins. Due to her geeky past at her old school, she was nicknamed Digit. But now she wants to lose this haunting persona as she finds her way at her new school Santa Monica High. As every senior wants, she wants this year to be her year! That includes having a sweet romance with gorgeous FBI agent. This all gets put on hold when Farrah cracks a terrorist group's number sequence wi...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Laura Hannaway rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a wonderful book! The characters were warm and engaging, the mystery kept me guessing and the plot was brilliant.

The two main strands of the book were the romance between Digit and John and the terrorist plot.

The main characters idiosyncrasies were beautifully handled - they could have come across as an idiot savants, but instead she was a teenager with an unusual gift who's trying to fit in like anybody else and he was a young man who hade used his talent for languages to carve out a rewa...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young adult girls

If you enjoy brilliant girls as heroines, you'll like this story of a 17-year-old who has been hiding her gift under a bushel. She has an uncanny ability to discern mathematical patterns, do complicated math problems, and break codes. This leads her to discover a terrorist's coded message embedded on a TV show being aired. When she tries to find out if it's her imagination, she is followed by a man who works at the TV station, so she heads for the FBI building. The surveillance footage of the ma...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Tirta rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book

Fresh, funny, and fun.

This story is about a girl named Farrah Higgins and her journey finding the troublemaker(s) behind a bombing accident in NY. Let me tell you before, Farrah is actually is a 16 yo girl (going 17), a math genius with super SAT score, but she's trying to cover all of it so she can blend in high school.
And then someday she caught some codes on TV and figured out that it was actually the codes used by a group of enviromental terrorist. The Digit is out.

Oh and she's not alone. In...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Farrah Higgins isn’t just good with numbers—in fact, her math skills are off the charts. No wonder she’s been nicknamed Digit and is going to MIT in the fall. But as much as Farrah takes pride in her math genius, sometimes she’d just rather be Farrah, the ordinary high school senior. When she transfers to a new high school, she finally has that chance—that is, until she inadvertently cracks the communication code for a terrorist group. Now Farrah is faking her own kidnapping with the help of the...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Jennie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-july

I got this book out for three reasons: 1) I like books about people with quirks like that, especially math ones; 2) I like thrillers, especially ones that are out of the norm; and 3) my family is full of SAMOHI alumni and future students (my sister starts in the fall, my brother will next fall, and my sister will in...eight years, okay, but still).

This book...didn't really live up to any of my reasons for reading it in the first place. Sure, "Digit" had a cool math ability, but besides it being...more I got this book out for three reasons: 1) I like books about people with quirks like that, especially math ones; 2) I like thrillers, especially ones that are out of the norm; and 3) my family is full of SAMOHI alumni and future students (my sister starts in the fall, my brother will next fall, and my sister will in...eight years, okay, but still).

This book...didn't really live up to any of my reasons for reading it in the first place. Sure, "Digit" had a cool math ability, but besides it being useful on, like, two occasions, it was treated more as a "woe is me, I'm ~weird~" thing and less of a "hey, being a math geek is cool, look at my ability that is actually helpful". The thriller plot was...mediocre. The ~twist~ wasn't that much of a twist, and to be honest, there wasn't much mystery at all. The plot of the book was more about a romance between Farrah and the young FBI agent on the run than anything else. There was no suspense, there was no thrill to the book. And three, while SAMO is mentioned, she really could have gone to any other school in the US, because man. Talk about cliches. I don't know why she set it at SAMO, except...well, I have no idea. It's got a good reputation, I guess, but with family members in SMMUSD, including a mother who works currently in the district and used to volunteer at SAMO on a regular basis, and having went there myself and talking to my brother who went there and everything, it's pretty much unrecognizable, because it's not like that. Plus, it's a public school, and SMMUSD doesn't take new permit students older than 7th grade, it's notoriously hard to get a permit (because it isn't based on grades but basically first come-first served), AND as far as I can tell, Farrah's family did not live in Santa Monica. And really, hiding your ability at SAMO is pointless, because while there are a few cliques, I was one of those weird, gifted kids and I had lots of friends, who were just like me. SAMO (and SMMUSD) is known for its music program (my family has been involved in said program for, oh, forty years now) and it's a pretty dang welcoming place for kids who are ~different~, and kids there go on to great schools. Seriously, MIT isn't that big of a deal there, nor is being the child of an actress or a math professor (I went to school with kids like that, so do/did my siblings). For someone who grew up in LA (but clearly doesn't live there anymore), you'd think the author would be a bit more realistic about stuff like that.

This book...I just, I wanted, and I was pretty excited when I got it out of the library, but it was nothing like I expected or wanted. Actually, I think I'm going to go watch Numb3rs now, because even though I've never watched it before, it sounds like the type of plot I was looking for in this book and didn't get.

That said, I didn't dislike the book -- I didn't care about the book. I try to reserve 1 star reviews for books I really hated/threw against the wall kind of thing, so therefore the two star review.(less)

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Jul 11, 2012 Amalie Howard rated it 5 of 5 stars

"I knew very little about John (besides the exact outline of his jaw and the way it framed his mouth like rigid parentheses around a soft word that is too delicious to be spoken aloud)."

This teen spy thriller with its clever, beautiful writing is a breath of fresh air in a sea of same old, same old.

Farrah "Digit" Higgins is no ordinary teenage girl. She sees patterns in random numbers, aces the Math SATs and has an IQ that you would need the Fibonacci sequence to figure out. But despite her ex...more "I knew very little about John (besides the exact outline of his jaw and the way it framed his mouth like rigid parentheses around a soft word that is too delicious to be spoken aloud)."

This teen spy thriller with its clever, beautiful writing is a breath of fresh air in a sea of same old, same old.

Farrah "Digit" Higgins is no ordinary teenage girl. She sees patterns in random numbers, aces the Math SATs and has an IQ that you would need the Fibonacci sequence to figure out. But despite her extraordinary mathematical talents, all she wants is to be normal and blend in. With life on autopilot and auto-response ("cool, me too!"), things are manageable, predictable … and normal. But everything changes when she discovers a mysterious code on television that is part of an eco-terrorist plot, and suddenly becomes a target. Sucked into a violent underworld of terrorism and on the run with no one but an attractive young FBI agent on her side, Digit must use her gift to save hundreds of innocent lives. But while embracing her “true Self” is a no-brainer, putting her heart on the line may turn out to be the most dangerous choice of all.

Smartly written, A GIRL NAMED DIGIT is a fun, fast-paced read that will keep you turning the pages until the very last bumper sticker. Digit is an admirable but down-to-earth heroine, like the superhero next door or the best friend with the secret crime-fighting alter ego. The combination of teenage awkwardness and intellectual brilliance in this character just works. Your heart will soar at her first kiss, dive at her near death experiences, and tremble at the threat of discovery. Monaghan’s writing is deliciously complex without being overly so, and her quirky turns of phrase as well as Digit's sarcastic but intelligent voice keep the narrative fresh. A lively mix of thrills, romance, action and humor, A GIRL NAMED DIGIT is definitely one to add to your beach bag this summer.

See this review and my interview with Annabel Monaghan in The Loop NY: http://theloopny.com/blog/local-lit-a...(less)

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Jul 10, 2012 Melisande rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Je tiens tout d’abord à remercier les éditions La Martinière Jeunesse de m’avoir permis de lire ce livre. Je dois avouer que je ne le connaissais pas du tout, mais la 4e de couverture m’ayant intrigué, j’ai décidé de tenter voir ce que ça donnait et je dois dire que je ne regrette pas du tout. C’est vraiment une histoire intéressante (bien que déjà vu par certains aspects et aussi évident dans sa fin) néanmoins ça reste très sympathique à lire et il y a tout de même son lot de surprises.

Je ne fe...more Je tiens tout d’abord à remercier les éditions La Martinière Jeunesse de m’avoir permis de lire ce livre. Je dois avouer que je ne le connaissais pas du tout, mais la 4e de couverture m’ayant intrigué, j’ai décidé de tenter voir ce que ça donnait et je dois dire que je ne regrette pas du tout. C’est vraiment une histoire intéressante (bien que déjà vu par certains aspects et aussi évident dans sa fin) néanmoins ça reste très sympathique à lire et il y a tout de même son lot de surprises.

Je ne ferai pas de résumé de l’histoire puisque la 4e de couverture ci-dessus (reprise sur Amazon) est suffisamment explicite pour savoir de quoi ça parle sans pour autant dévoiler toute l’intrigue et l’intérêt de ce livre. Donc je ne m’attarderai pas dessus, et parlerai directement du livre et de mon ressenti.

C’est une petite histoire mignonne qui m’a permis de vivre une folle aventure, sans prise de tête. Ça n’est pas l’histoire du siècle, mais j’ai pris beaucoup de plaisir à la suivre et à découvrir Farah, alias Digit. J’avais besoin de ce type d’histoire, quelque chose de relativement tranquille, tout en ayant plein d’action, donc ce livre est venu à point nommé, c’était ce à quoi je m’attendais en voulant le lire.

Dès les premières pages le ton est donné, c’est quelque peu désinvolte, tout en étant en retenu avec une certaine maturité. Et au fur et à mesure des pages on apprend à mieux connaître Digit, ses « souffrances », sa manière de penser, ses réactions, ses raisonnements (je ne suis pas du tout experte en maths alors je dois avouer que par moment elle m’a perdu, mais ce qui est rassurant c’est que c’est le cas pour les autres personnes de son entourage, ça remonte le moral, d’une certaine manière). Et c’est vraiment agréable à lire. La voix que l’auteur a donnée à Digit est vraiment bien et ça nous plonge directement dans cette histoire.

Les premières pages nous mettent en condition puisqu’en effet on découvre son « enlèvement » et avant de voir comment tout ça à commencer (voir la 4e de couverture). L’action commence ainsi dès les premières pages, on est happé dedans et tant que tout n’est pas fini, on a la sensation d’être pris dans une spirale sans fin. On se demande parfois si tout va finir par prendre un cours normal parce que tout s’enchaine tellement. Il y a pas mal d’actions, de rebondissements, de surprises et de révélations, que l’on ne peut pas s’ennuyer un seul instant. Même dans les « moments de pause » (j’ai un passage précis en tête mais je ne peux pas en parler pour ne pas spoiler) mais même là, on apprend des choses et l’on découvre un peu plus les personnages. Donc c’était vraiment agréable de voir comment l’action et la « pause » permet de faire avancer le récit et de mieux entrevoir tout ce qui se passe.
Après ça n’a rien d’innovant en soi, déjà cette histoire de code cachée où l’enfant prodige va avoir des soucis etc. ça m’a fait directement penser au film avec Bruce Willis : Code Mercury, où un enfant autiste va découvrir un code secret, et il va ainsi représenter une menace. Donc dans le fond, Nom de code Digit n’a rien d’exceptionnelle, ça a déjà été vu, mais ça ne m’a pas empêché d’apprécier ce livre. Je l’ai pris tel quel, sans me poser de questions et c’était très rafraichissant et intéressant. Après l’auteur met sa touche personnelle de sorte que ça soit plaisant à lire et à suivre, sans que ce soit un copier-coller dudit film. C’est un livre sans prise de tête avec une histoire intéressante avec plein de rebondissements, de quoi passer un très bon moment.

Digit est vraiment hors norme, fille surdouée des maths capables de « calculer plus vite que son ombre » (j’avoue je ne l’ai pas inventé, ça a été dit dans l’histoire, mais bon ça aurait été facile à trouver). Cette particularité lui a valu beaucoup de souci, rejet de la part des autres élèves puisqu’elle est très intelligente et on voit que cela l’a fait souffrir d’une certaine manière, du coup elle tente de tout faire pour passer inaperçu, même si pour cela elle doit cacher sa vraie nature et être une fille qu’elle n’est pas. Sans compter les nombreux autres soucis qu’elle rencontre (ça fait rire mais à mon avis, ça doit être un vrai enfer quand on est confronté à ce genre de choses…). Digit se cherche d’une certaine manière et à travers cette histoire on va voir une vraie évolution qui fait plaisir à voir, même si parfois les coups durs arrivent (c’est la vie quoi !).

Le duo avec John, l’agent du FBI est vraiment extra. Le « couple » fonctionne à merveilles et j’ai adoré voir leur échange. Ça peut paraître un peu gros à certains moments etc. dès le départ on voit comment ça va se terminer, c’est le genre d’histoire qui s’y prête, pas vraiment de surprises de ce côté-là, mais franchement, ça n’est pas le plus important. Le tout c’est de voir comment le duo marche, comment ça évolue, et c’est ce qui compte même si le résultat est connu depuis le départ.

Nom de code Digit est un livre très sympathique, j’ai vraiment pris beaucoup de plaisir à le lire. Ça n’est pas innovant en soi, mais ça n’est pas grave parce que ce n’est pas ce que je recherchais spécialement mais ça a un côté rafraichissant avec son lot de surprises et de rebondissements. C’était le type de lecture que je recherchais à ce moment-là et je n’ai pas du tout été déçue, bien au contraire. Une petite lecture tranquille mais qui ne nous laisse aucun répit. Une lecture que je conseille !
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May 22, 2012 Wandering Librarians rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fiction, middle-grade, romance, realistic-fiction, ya

Farrah is a math genius, but no one knows it but her family. She's got a perfect score on her math SATs and is already in to MIT, but Farrah doesn't let anyone else know about "Digit" and just tries to quietly fit in. That all changes when Farrah figures out the numerical code of a group of environmental terrorist. Now Farrah has to let Digit out as she helps the FBI figure out more coded messages and requires FBI protection from the terrorists who are after her. Lucky for her, John is cute, you...more Farrah is a math genius, but no one knows it but her family. She's got a perfect score on her math SATs and is already in to MIT, but Farrah doesn't let anyone else know about "Digit" and just tries to quietly fit in. That all changes when Farrah figures out the numerical code of a group of environmental terrorist. Now Farrah has to let Digit out as she helps the FBI figure out more coded messages and requires FBI protection from the terrorists who are after her. Lucky for her, John is cute, young and smart...

The ARC I have of this book is called Digit She's Got Your Number. That was not an especially good title, so I understand the desire for a change. However, I don't think A Girl named Digit is any better. Possibly worse. Also, I reject this cover. Why is there a girl jumping in the air? Why is she telling me to shush? And most of all, why is she wearing a tank top with a peace sign when it explicitly says in the book Digit wears a "uniform" of jeans, cowboy boots, and the same tee shirt in different colors every day? Stupid generic-looking book covers. Was Houghton Mifflin Harcourt concerned that if they in any way indicated it was about a smart girl who was good at math no one would ever buy it? Although, if they had decided to go that route, it probably would have been a picture of a girl who looked exactly the same, only wearing a short plaid skirt, an oxford shirt and big over sized classes. Because that's the only way smart is acceptable.

Despite the cover rant, I quite enjoyed this book. Digit was a relatable and realistic character. Being incredibly smart in a particular area caused her a lot of ridicule in middle school, which is why after moving and starting a new school she decided to hide her true self. Not only is she dealing with how her peers see her, Digit's gift is not easy to deal with. While she's incredibly talented at math, it's hard for her to turn her brain off, becoming obsessive about seeing patterns everywhere and needing everything to be perfect. She had to learn strategies to deal with it, which is another reason she worries about letting Digit to the surface. She's worried she might lose control.

After years of hiding her skills, it's wonderful for Digit to be able to find a useful use for being good at math. While it's certainly scary being on the run from people who have no qualms about killing her, for the first time Digit feels her talent is useful and appreciated. She also meets someone who truly appreciated her as she is, John, the FBI agent who's looking after her. Of course they fall in love and drama ensues, but it was a nice story.

I thought it was a nice touch at the end when Digit comes back after her adventures and all her friends know about her math abilities and they totally accept it. Digit actually learns things about her friends she didn't know before either, and appreciates them more because of it.

This was a fast read with romance and adventure. Power to smart girls who are good at transitionally male dominated areas! You can be smart and people will still love and appreciate you! Don't dumb yourself down!

A Girl Named Digit comes out June 5, 2012.(less)

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Mar 15, 2012 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, finished, owned-and-still-own

Annabelle Monaghan, A Girl Named Digit (Houghton Mifflin, 2012)

Full disclosure: this book was provided to me free of charge by Amazon Vine.

If you ever wanted a stark example of how small changes made by professionals can help a book, pick yourself up (assuming you can find one on Ebay or the like) an ARC of the book now known as A Girl Named Digit. Which isn't the most eye-catching title in the world, I know, but it towers over the title on the ARC: Digit: She's Got Your Number. Oh, good lord. T...more Annabelle Monaghan, A Girl Named Digit (Houghton Mifflin, 2012)

Full disclosure: this book was provided to me free of charge by Amazon Vine.

If you ever wanted a stark example of how small changes made by professionals can help a book, pick yourself up (assuming you can find one on Ebay or the like) an ARC of the book now known as A Girl Named Digit. Which isn't the most eye-catching title in the world, I know, but it towers over the title on the ARC: Digit: She's Got Your Number. Oh, good lord. That's vanity-publishing-level title, right there. That one simple change will probably at least triple this book's readership. Which in my estimation is a good thing—a very good thing indeed. I picked this up, I have to admit, because from the product description I expected it to be an easy, fluffy read—teen chick-lit, Jennifer Weiner meets Spy Kids. And the book in no way disappoints on that front; it's just as fluffy and easy-reading as I expected it to be, but Monaghan goes way above and beyond the call of genre fiction in a number of respects.

The Digit of the title is a high-school-aged math prodigy who has been keeping her light under a bushel in order to fit in with the crowd. It's working; she's part of the popular-girls clique, to the delight of her method-actress mother and the chagrin of her UCLA-math-professor father. She's not really all that interested in the latest heavy-teen-drama TV shows, but watches them in order to be able to discuss them over the cafeteria table with her pals. And that's how she notices, three weeks in a row, a series of numbers that flashes at the beginning of one of them that, when decoded, results in a cryptic message. She soon discovers what it means in the most tragic way possible, and as a result finds herself being chased by a murderous TV station employee right into the arms of a young, hunky FBI agent. (There's an undertone of sexuality in their relationship that is both entirely realistic and potentially bothersome to those people who believe pedophilia laws are there to stop couples where one person is one day over the age of consent and the other person is one day under. But then, if you're that person, please just stop reading my reviews altogether until you've reconnected with reality, thanks.) This leads to... well, it's a fluffy spy novel. You know what it leads to.

Yeah, plotwise it's exactly what I thought I was getting, and I have no problems with that whatsoever. If it really were as fluffy as it seems, I'd still be sitting here telling you I recommend it, whether you're a thirteen-year-old girl or a forty-year-old guy, because it's quick, it's easy, and it's a lot of fun. But Monaghan has a great deal more under the hood than that. Both Digit and John (the hunky FBI agent) are very well-drawn characters who react intelligently to the world around them. Well, most of the time. And I can't get into the rest of the time without major spoilers, but since it's the crux of what I liked about the book, I'll have to dance around it. Even though Monaghan's setup for the novel's climax is utterly transparent and the denouement is as predictable as they come, by the time all this hits, you should be emotionally invested enough in these characters to actually care (and be kind of stunned by... that one's... utter stupidity despite the setup being so transparent even the characters can see it coming! which is actually kind of awesome, in a meta sort of way), because despite this being a book of less than two hundred pages, Monaghan has spent enough time building her characters' personalities that you can be that emotionally invested in them. Those TV shows Digit watches could take a few lessons from Monaghan.

The downside to all this is the the brevity of the novel coupled with Monaghan's taking the time to build characters that well is that the plot suffers occasionally. Points to Monaghan for having an ecoterrorist bad guy and not having them come off as misguided heroes (or just outright heroes), but the bad guys are just kind of nameless, faceless killers lurking in the shadows; we never get a bad guy we can really hate. Still, I wrote this off as it being a “cozy” (there are cozy mysteries, why can't there be cozy spy thrillers?) rather than it being a structural defect; your mileage may vary. One way or the other, though, I'm a big fan of this one, and I highly recommend it. ****
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Mar 15, 2012 Monie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Seventeen year old Farrah "Digit" Higgins has a secret. She's a super math genius but when she moved, she decided that she was going to make a fresh start at her new high school and hide her gift to become one of the popular girls. While hanging with her friends watching a mind-numbing teen show, Farrah noticed something. For the past 3 weeks she's watched a number sequence pop up during the show's opening credits and when she gets to thinking about it she realizes that the show is being used as...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Kavanand rated it 4 of 5 stars

Teenager Farah Higgins is a math genius. She can look at any random set of numbers and see patterns. After having a rough time in middle school (she became known as Digit, because of what her classmates saw as her freakish abilities), she's stayed under the radar in high school, hiding her amazing math abilities. Life is going along swimmingly until the day she realizes that the random series of numbers showing up onscreen in her favorite TV show are actually a coded message about a major terror...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan follows Farrah a math wiz who finds herself tangled up with the FBI after cracking a code that detected a terrorist attack. Farrah has never been normal. She's not just a math wiz but has a compulsion to order everything in her life. After having a hard time with bullies in middle school she decides to hide who she is in High School. She lives an unhappy life, lying to everyone and herself about who she is until the unthinkable happens. After cracking a cod...more A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan follows Farrah a math wiz who finds herself tangled up with the FBI after cracking a code that detected a terrorist attack. Farrah has never been normal. She's not just a math wiz but has a compulsion to order everything in her life. After having a hard time with bullies in middle school she decides to hide who she is in High School. She lives an unhappy life, lying to everyone and herself about who she is until the unthinkable happens. After cracking a code of numbers that appear on television a plane is bombed at the local airport and she realizes that she could have prevented it. She goes to the FBI and finds herself running from the terrorists while trying to crack the code to prevent another bombing and dealing with her attraction to her young FBI handler.

I loved this book. It was cute and funny and I loved Farrah learning to come to terms with the intelligence that she had always hidden before. It reminded me a lot of Meg Cabot's Vanished series (which is also awesome, go read those if you haven't already) in tone. A cool and interesting mystery and a special ability combined with a sexy older (but not too much older) love interest. I tore through this book and hope that there are more Digit books in the future.

Appropriateness: At the beginning of the book we are introduced to the life that Farrah isn't happy with which includes going to parties and drinking (but she does not get drunk) and making out with guys (which she describes as unappealing). The FBI agent/love interest is older than her (she is seventeen and he is 21) and the age (minor/adult) difference between the two is mentioned frequently as a major obstacle. There is no sex and the physical nature of their relationship is limited to kissing although the two do spend the night in the same room (and on the same couch) while they are on the run. I would recommend this book for teens 13+ and encourage parents to use it as a starting point to discuss being yourself and also to discuss statutory rape and the reason that teen/adult relationships are not appropriate and illegal and why exactly it was so important for John that they wait on their relationship until Farrah turned eighteen.

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Jan 08, 2013 Lucinda rated it 5 of 5 stars

*Spoilers*

A spectacular young-adult read that is exciting, full of dynamic intensity and which will have you glued to the pages!

I am SO impressed by this delightful story that captured my attention instantly, as I was drawn into the most compelling, fascinating plot. Character-driven and cleverly crafted this inspired, original read is contemporary and fresh; like nothing I have encountered before. Full of wit, humor and laugh-out-loud moments this book is certainly entertaining, and makes for...more *Spoilers*

A spectacular young-adult read that is exciting, full of dynamic intensity and which will have you glued to the pages!

I am SO impressed by this delightful story that captured my attention instantly, as I was drawn into the most compelling, fascinating plot. Character-driven and cleverly crafted this inspired, original read is contemporary and fresh; like nothing I have encountered before. Full of wit, humor and laugh-out-loud moments this book is certainly entertaining, and makes for a light read that is idea for holiday reading. The catchy chapter titles are so cliché, with the author really projecting the teenage perspective perfectly as you are able to connect with and relate to this teen read. Exceeding and surpassing all expectations this brilliant book unexpectedly overwhelmed me, as I fell in love with the deep romance that grew as the intensity and dramatic narrative heightened.

Farah Higgins (aka. Digit) is a ‘mathlete’ who see’s the world from a most atypical viewpoint as her obsession with numbers, solving equations and maintaining perfect numeric balance is astute (to the point of eccentric). At seventeen she is now preparing to leave her old life behind her and soon enroll at MIT, where she can start a fresh and embrace her gift of intelligence. She certainly makes a ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’ cool and is someone who adds such flair, individuality and vibrancy to this intriguing story. Her collection of bumper stickers is a clear expression of who she is, although this sadly is all hidden away when she is at Santa Monica High School trying to ‘fit-in’ and be as inconspicuous and as unremarkable as possible. Her friends Veronica, Kat, Trish and Olive seem perfectly unspectacular as too does Drew Bailey, the School ‘pin-up’ boy without a brain and who is no more than an empty shell. Her seemly normal, dull life suddenly turns upside down in an instant, when she observes a strangely conspicuous number sequence during a TV show…

All of a sudden Digit is thrown into a world of terrorism, perilous danger and dramatic car chases as an organization called ‘Jonas Furnis’ are onto her. Her father (who actually works for the CIA) assumes that she is just, quote ‘stressed-out socially and bored academically’ whilst a hot, young FBI agent thinks that her theory is farfetched. However Digit is not one of those girls who lets things pass, for all too soon she is in the middle of a car chase and about to be killed by terrorists. Thrown together by fate, John Bennett (no, not from Jane Austen) and Digit must hide-out together for a week in an abandoned wherehouse with only each other as company and soon lack of sleep, no shower and zero contact from the outside world takes it toll as their friendship grows…(Ron and Hermione moment). This thrilling, rollercoaster of a ride is full of twists and turns as they try to uncover the truth behind a bombing, finding the answers within transcripts that concerns something on such a far greater scale than either of them expected…

John and Digit’s relationship was so ‘real’ as I was willing them to be together whilst absorbed in this intense, dramatic action/ adventure. This cute, teen read is just brilliant and which is something that I would highly recommend to those readers who love classics and are looking for a younger version of Mr. Darcy! Full of shocking unexpected moments and electric tension you will be sat on the edge of your seat throughout – as when you think you know what is going to happen, you are then proved to be wrong by something totally unforeseen!!

WOW, this really is a brilliant read. Some of my favorite quotes below –

“I quit. I’ve fallen in love and if I don’t find out where this is going then I will regret it for the rest of my life”

“Terror-fighting, high-heel-wearing, code-breaking badass girl!”

“…in a nerdy-wasen’t-cute-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie-but-was-super-hot-by-the-end-sort-of-way.”
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Aug 14, 2012 Chrissy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook

A GIRL NAMED DIGIT is the story of an obsessive-compulsive math whiz whose special expertise in numbers helps her accidentally uncover a terrorist plot, all while she's trying to blend in like a normal teen and indulge in a normal, sappy teenage television show. It takes her a few times to get the FBI to take her seriously, but soon Digit is swept away with a handsome FBI officer who keeps her in secluded, minimal conditions while his team works to crack the terrorist ring and arrest the guilty...more A GIRL NAMED DIGIT is the story of an obsessive-compulsive math whiz whose special expertise in numbers helps her accidentally uncover a terrorist plot, all while she's trying to blend in like a normal teen and indulge in a normal, sappy teenage television show. It takes her a few times to get the FBI to take her seriously, but soon Digit is swept away with a handsome FBI officer who keeps her in secluded, minimal conditions while his team works to crack the terrorist ring and arrest the guilty parties. Of course, Digit is not content to wait behind the scene, so she inches her way into the center of the action. Can a teenage girl really keep her hormones in check around the hottest FBI officer around town, all while hiding from terrorists and solving an international crime?

Now, normally I'm not a huge sucker for mysteries, but the teen chick-lit spin made this story much more cute, fun, and quirky than I expected. I really identified with the protagonist, who was continually trying to balance the desire to be "normal" with the reality that her mind was constantly, obsessively fixated on numbers -- and exceptionally efficient at patterns and calculations that everyone around her seemed to easily miss. She acknowledges that although her "special powers" have benefits that can easily get her far in life (like early acceptance to MIT, for example), they come with anxieties and peculiarities that make daily tasks often seem impossible (which she demonstrates in the events she pulls out the cell phone just to fixate on the photograph of the tree -- in attempts to slow down her mind and temporarily soothe the obsessive compulsion that requires her to always seek patterns). It was refreshing and realistic to see both sides of Digit's eccentricities throughout the novel.

While I would definitely recommend this story to those who are fans of chick-lit mysteries for the young crowd, I would undoubtedly warn with the initial assertion that the story *is* entirely implausible and unrealistic. So, don't pick up A GIRL NAMED DIGIT expecting to read about things that would really happen. Instead, pick this up for a fun, girly read with a Spy Kids feel. With the appropriate expectations, I doubt you'll be disappointed!(less)

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Jun 21, 2012 Mitch rated it 2 of 5 stars

Digit may be a smart girl, but this book was just so full of stupid I think I've lost more than a few brain cells. I mean, I totally understand the appeal of A Girl Named Digit, it's sort of cute, definitely corny, cheesy, incredibly shallow, so bad it's good, one of those instant train wrecks that you just can't look away from ... heck I'd even call it a definite guilty pleasure. But in the end, after that last page, you just realize, it's not a great book.

Digit, for one, even though she's so s...more Digit may be a smart girl, but this book was just so full of stupid I think I've lost more than a few brain cells. I mean, I totally understand the appeal of A Girl Named Digit, it's sort of cute, definitely corny, cheesy, incredibly shallow, so bad it's good, one of those instant train wrecks that you just can't look away from ... heck I'd even call it a definite guilty pleasure. But in the end, after that last page, you just realize, it's not a great book.

Digit, for one, even though she's so smart, she's more cute than interesting. Everything from crying in order to get what she wants (unfortunately from experience, yes it really works) to those lame yet kinda funny bumper sticks. It's almost like she's an airhead who gets the occasional mathematical epiphany or two - down to the long paragraphs where she just talks on and on about herself - not that I minded, but it just sort of adds to that overall impression. And everyone else, from her really not that well developed friends to her little brother who gets maybe two paragraphs of a somewhat cute storyline to her parents to the love interest, it's all so incredibly shallow.

And the storyline, likewise, it's just so incredibly shallow. I know terrorists are pretty hard to get right in a dramedy, they're a serious subject unless you make them over the top incompetent, but they didn't feel quite right here. Monaghan tries a little too hard to balance the serious and the camp, and the most serious, solemn scenes near the beginning ended up feeling really awkward. And later on, there are some fairly good actions scenes, but they didn't balance out the fluff that well, leading to more awkwardness like a dead body in the middle of Digit's living room (don't ask) or the really vague way the terrorists are 'dealt with' in the end. Awkward, and kind of silly too. And the final two chapters after what should've been the climax, more awkward romantic tension.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with this book if you want a hour or two of brainless entertainment. Maybe crack a smile or two here or there. It's even better if you're looking for something really corny to occupy your time. But beyond that, there's really nothing here, just some light fluff.(less)

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Oct 26, 2012 Joy (joyous reads) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cant-put-these-down, favourites

Seventeen year old Math wiz solved a terrorist code while watching a teen soap opera. Priceless. Whoever says those shows dull the mind of our young ‘uns must’ve been trippin’.

Farrah Higgins took painstaking means to live a normal existence at school. Born a Math genius and referred to as ‘Digit’ all through her young life, she worked very hard at changing that status when she started High School. She wanted to blend in and not to be treated like a freak show who knew the Fibonacci code better...more Seventeen year old Math wiz solved a terrorist code while watching a teen soap opera. Priceless. Whoever says those shows dull the mind of our young ‘uns must’ve been trippin’.

Farrah Higgins took painstaking means to live a normal existence at school. Born a Math genius and referred to as ‘Digit’ all through her young life, she worked very hard at changing that status when she started High School. She wanted to blend in and not to be treated like a freak show who knew the Fibonacci code better than most of her teachers. She dumbed herself down and made herself into a drone that followed everything the popular kids do at school. Things are looking up, er, normal. But when she stumbled upon a series of numbers while watching a teen TV show, the brainiac in her couldn’t be stopped. Then, the unfathomable happened at almost the same time when she broke the code: a terrorist blew herself up at JFK airport killing a number of people.

There are a lot more things that happened after that; best of all is the introduction of young FBI agent in the person of John Bennet. They also found themselves on the run from an extreme eco terrorist group and uncovering a traitor in the bureau. This book was all kinds of win. Starring a quirky teen whose freaky Math skills can be attributed to her OC tendencies, and the equally freaky nerdy Princeton graduate FBI agent. Digit will have you in fits of giggles and holding on in utter suspense.

I think it’s a daunting task to deliver a convincing character that’s supposed to be a genius. The writer has to actually prove that yes, she is indeed a freak of nature. I think that Monaghan was pretty successful in that she introduced simple Math theorems (simple according to the people who are carrying card members of Mensa, anyway) and expanded on them. Admittedly, this was the initial draw for me. I was interested in how the author will present all the ways that Digit is a genius. I expected to be confused when formulae were introduced and if you’re really patient or don’t mind reading and re-reading them, you’ll probably bound to get it.

I also love the sweet romantic involvement between characters. John Bennett is a twenty three year-old ambitious man who fast tracked himself into getting a two and a half-year college education. Their banters are funny and sweet and sometimes corny but they’re not manufactured or forced by a long shot. Because their intelligence is off the charts, their social lives are stunted. And you can tell how socially inept they are but that’s what made them even more likable.
The author wasn’t stingy with her novel. In so little words, she spun a believable plot and well evolved characters. She even managed to give the antagonists some layers by showing us why they were the way they were. This book is packing heat and surprising since it clocked at only 192 pages!

Fun, fresh, ingenuous; A Girl Named Digit is a lovely bundle of smart but idiosyncratic characters, good but light suspense with an aww-inducing romance to boot. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this book in Goodreads. Definitely, one of my faves this year.
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Oct 14, 2012 Annie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Digit is a seventeen-year-old math genius going under cover, pretending to be a normal high school girl in order to have friends and presumably a fairly normal adolescent existence. This disguise might work, if not make her happy, until notices a series of strange codes at the beginning of the vapid TV show her friends like watching every week. Since she's a genius and all, she figures out that these numbers are a secret message signaling a terrorist attack at JFK airport. She gets scooped up by...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Jessi (Reading in the Corner) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-debuts

Preliminary review: Digit: She's Got Your Number is a fun contemporary mystery! When Digit moves to a new high school, she attempts to leave behind "Digit" and just be Farrah. That is until watching tv with her perfect friends, she notices odd numbers flasshing on the screen--numbers that lead her straight into a much bigger affair that she intended. As she gets swept up into the investigation, she has to let Digit take over to solve the case.

This book is just as much about Farrah learning to ac...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Nick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Read more of my reviews at Nick's Book Blog

A Girl Named Digit was one of my "Waiting On Wednesday" a few weeks ago. What initially attracted me to read the book was the cutesy cover and the interesting premise. Going into the book, I was expecting a light summery read and that's exactly what I got !

Farrah a.k.a Digit, is a Math prodigy. She is so obsessed with Math that she cannot help but find patterns in numbers wherever she goes. One afternoon when watching a TV show along with her friends, s...more
Read more of my reviews at Nick's Book Blog

A Girl Named Digit was one of my "Waiting On Wednesday" a few weeks ago. What initially attracted me to read the book was the cutesy cover and the interesting premise. Going into the book, I was expecting a light summery read and that's exactly what I got !

Farrah a.k.a Digit, is a Math prodigy. She is so obsessed with Math that she cannot help but find patterns in numbers wherever she goes. One afternoon when watching a TV show along with her friends, she notices a group of numbers appear on the screen and vanish. For the next 3 weeks, she notices it other sets of numbers. Soon after that, a terrorist group bomb the JFK airport and Digit realizes that the numbers she came across on the TV are somehow connected to the bombing. Along with her dad, she goes to inform the FBI, who don't take her seriously. Eventually, she decides to investigate the case herself, but when she finds her herself in the midst of danger, the FBI decide to fake her kidnapping and Digit finds herself with hot FBI hiding from the world.

Farrah was a very likable character. She was not only smart and brainy, she also had a very bubbly personality. You can't help but like her because she oozes happiness. What I liked most about her was how observant she was and she was the kind of character who thought about the consequences before taking any kind of decision. Her inner monologue was so hilarious at times that I found myself laughing uncontrollably. John Bennett, the hot FBI agent who was responsible of taking care of Farrah during her fake kidnapping,had a flirtatious personality. Constantly teasing Digit, he was a pretty swoon-worthy guy. I thought he was very adorable! There was a romance between Farrah and John, but it took them some time to give in to their respective crushes because after all, Farrah was still a minor. They made a cute couple though and I didn't have a huge problem with the 3/4 years age gap that existed between them. Farrah and John understood each other because in a way they were in a very similar situation. The plot of the book is without any doubt, very silly, but it was one that you could read if you're looking for something light and fluffy. There were numerous hilarious moments throughout the story, but while reading I kept thinking how unbelievable it all was. Nevertheless, I did find myself enjoying the book because it was what I expected and it was quite entertaining.

At around 180 pages, A Girl Named Digit was definitely a short read, but it was also a fun read perfect for reading during a summer day. With its pleasant characters and cute romance, A Girl Named Digit will delight you!(less)

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May 16, 2013 Ali Derick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ali Derick
May 10, 2013

Annabel Monaghan’s adventurous novel, A Girl Named Digit is a fantastic, mysterious love story about a teenage girl uncoding terrorist plans for the FBI. This book is interesting from start to finish and so compelling that it was hard to put down.

The story is focused around a teenage girl named Farrah Higgins and an agent from the FBI named John Bennet. These two characters end up in some major problems and rely on each other to survive. From being chased by terrorists to...more Ali Derick
May 10, 2013

Annabel Monaghan’s adventurous novel, A Girl Named Digit is a fantastic, mysterious love story about a teenage girl uncoding terrorist plans for the FBI. This book is interesting from start to finish and so compelling that it was hard to put down.

The story is focused around a teenage girl named Farrah Higgins and an agent from the FBI named John Bennet. These two characters end up in some major problems and rely on each other to survive. From being chased by terrorists to falling in love this book can appeal to all readers.

This exciting story exists because of Farrah’s special talent. She can arrange numbers and find patterns in ordinary things that normal humans wouldn’t see. In middle school kids started to figure out her talent and make fun of her. This is where she got the nickname “Digit”. This talent allows her to go on extreme adventures and save the United States from future terrorist attacks.

Not only is this book packed with adventure, but this story also shares Farrah’s emotional and dedicated relationship with John, an FBI agent that tackles the journey with Farrah. The two of them try to be professional and stay focused on tracking the terrorists but fate brings them together and they fall in love. Their relationship is extremely difficult and both of them end up having to make big decisions that affect their love and the rest of their lives.

When I was reading A Girl Named Digit, Annabel Monaghan made me feel as if I was on a roller coaster! She put so many twists and turns into the story that I wasn’t expecting. She always keeps the reader on their toes anxious to find out the end. Monaghan mixes all kinds of feelings into her work. At some parts of the story I was scared and excited and at other times I felt surprised or depressed. All this work by the author created a phenomenal plot.

This book should be read by all young adults! There are several reasons why this book keeps teens intrigued. One of these reasons is the setting. A Girl Named Digit takes place in two major cities, New York and Los Angeles; Two incredible destinations that all teens dream of going to. The story begins in Los Angeles where Digit lives with her family. The terrorist fighting and taxi car chasing takes place in New York City.

It’s not just the cities that make the setting interesting its the places Farrah and John stay. The two of them end up in some insane dwellings. One night John and Farrah break into a school and spend the night there. Another night John takes Farrah to his parents underground house in the middle of Times Square! Most of the time Farrah sleeps in a forgotten warehouse to stay protected by the FBI. On top of having an amazing plot this book goes places that I have never even dreamt of.

A Girl Named Digit carries a message that is shown through the entire book. By reading this book I learned that it is important to follow your heart and trust your instincts. Farrah is a great role model for these two phrases. She trusted her instincts when escaping from the killer and she followed her heart when she let John know that she loved him. Both of these decisions made amazing life changing effects. John trusted his instincts when he saved Farrah from the taxi driver and followed his heart when deciding to ignore the job offer. Even though these were difficult decisions he trusted himself and made the right choice.

Anyone can learn crucial life lessons from reading this book. I highly recommend this book to all people that enjoy hidden love stories, adventure, and a few great laughs.
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Jul 23, 2012 Nicholette rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Girls who like action/romance

Recommended to Nicholette by: magazine

Shelves: favorites, romance, life, crime-mystery, fave-couples, funny, has-violence, high-school

Okay so I liked how this book was fast-moving (in my opinion) and it included a girl who wasn't very self confident. It is a good story about how you should appreciate your talents becuase it makes it canbe very useful. In Digit's case, she helped stop a terrorist plot and got the man in the process.

The one thing that did annoy me is that John took longer than I thought to come back to Digit/Farrah. I was dissapointed when he took the job and left her, but glad that he came back (like I knew he...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Zippazap rated it 5 of 5 stars

Farrah Higgins is much smarter than she seems. She fits in with the Fab Four (her friends that she seems to have nothing in common with, but they don't seem to care) and has a rep as the "party girl". But really, she is Digit. Because her brain can crack codes, and work with numbers in ways even the government can't.

It's been her secret for awhile, and frankly, she'd like it to be. She's had to learn how to stay in control in school, because any imperfections or non-Fibonacci sequences can send...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Alyssa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, chick-lit, mystery, romance, young-adult

Farrah has been trying to keep a low profile at high school, where she pretends to be someone she is not by conforming to the norm. This allows her to fit in with the popular crowd. What Farrah is really hiding is that she is a math genius, capable of deciphering codes and seeing patterns regular human beings are seemingly incapable of. Her SAT math scores are through the roof, and she's scheduled to attend MIT after her last year of high school. Her status as a math whiz earned her the nickname...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Tabitha Olson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: recent-reviews

A funny story. Digit has great voice and a great way of dealing with the smart side of herself. She hides in plain sight, but in the process she closes herself off from others and doesn't really get to know them. For someone so smart, there are a whole lot of things she misses. I loved that about her. Then, she meets John, someone who understands how it feels to hide your personality because it seems easier than dealing with the consequences of being yourself. She begins to wake up, so to speak,...more

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May 12, 2013 Zunaira Ghazal rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 18, 2012 LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 3-star, read-2012, format-print, acquired-arc

I found a good chunk of this book to be highly addictive, even as I realized it was basically wtf reading for teens. I loved the early descriptions of Farrah as a girl who could be completely derailed by a bunch of randomly-placed tiles or sequins that aren't arranged in predictable patterns. I liked that all the terrorist stuff started with a bunch of numbers unobtrusively placed in the opening credits of a popular TV show – the eco-terrorists love Fibonacci numbers!

Unfortunately, I felt things...more I found a good chunk of this book to be highly addictive, even as I realized it was basically wtf reading for teens. I loved the early descriptions of Farrah as a girl who could be completely derailed by a bunch of randomly-placed tiles or sequins that aren't arranged in predictable patterns. I liked that all the terrorist stuff started with a bunch of numbers unobtrusively placed in the opening credits of a popular TV show – the eco-terrorists love Fibonacci numbers!

Unfortunately, I felt things slowed down a bit as soon as Farrah ended up in FBI custody. When I originally picked this book up, I was hoping for lots of math-related deductions that only Farrah could help out with. Instead, for a long period of time just about anybody could have been helping the FBI. John was the one doing most of the skilled work, busily translating a bunch of transcripts into English. All Farrah did was read through them along with him and act out certain scenes with him in order to relieve their boredom.

When they located a bag full of papers with numbers on them, I figured the math stuff would be coming back. Again, not so much. Farrah and John spent some time running from the bad guys, Farrah lusted after John, John acted like he wasn't interested...until they escaped to John's parents' hidden home. It was off both the FBI and CIA's radar, and, what with all the privacy, John started to cave a bit (no sex, just kissing), and suddenly Farrah and John became a gooey happy couple. John's parents were mildly disapproving, until they saw how happy he was. I'm pretty sure Farrah's parents showed even less disapproval than John's.

Farrah is 17, soon to be 18. I think Farrah guessed John's age to be 21, so the age difference isn't that great. However, there were a few things that bothered me about their relationship. One, the entire relationship sprouted up while they were both in danger. They were in close proximity, and they landed in several adrenaline-pumping situations. I wasn't entirely convinced that their relationship could survive in normal, everyday life. Two, while their ages may have been similar, their maturity levels weren't. John seemed much more mature to me than Farrah did. One scene that still sticks with me is a party Farrah went to. She spotted a guy who was passed out and dumped head-first into a garbage can. He was there because he refused to let a popular student copy his geology report, so the popular guy made him do beer bongs until he passed out. This same popular student was the one Farrah was about to let kiss her, so that she would fit in with all the other girls who thought he was hot.

I understand that Farrah wanted to be seen as normal, but she could have been a normal girl who didn't hang with the kind of people who did things like that. The book was written in the first person from Farrah's perspective, so, if she had even thought about going to check on the passed out guy, it would have been in the text. All she did was look for movement and then head off with the jerk who did it all in the first place. I liked Farrah's voice, and I liked the “Digit” side of her, the side that wouldn't get her invited to parties or let her hang with the popular crowd. I really didn't like the things she did in order to fit in, though, and I wonder if John would have liked her so much if he had known her prior to her visit to the FBI.

One thing he did know, though, was that Farrah sometimes did stupid things even though she was told not to, even though she was in a situation where she, as the inexperienced one currently in danger, should have listened to the FBI agent charged with protecting her. When she was explicitly asked if she had a cell phone, she remembered that she had one on her, and she chose to keep it with her anyway, without telling anyone, because she didn't want to be without the photo that could help her snap out of a math-related freak-out (couldn't she had asked someone to bring her other photos of trees?). Even I know that it's possible to use a cell phone to track someone, and I found what she did to be boneheaded, especially considering that all she ever did was check for text messages from one of her friends. Which, I want to point out, was not the original purpose for which she kept her cell phone.

As addictive as some parts of this book were, overall it wasn't really what I was hoping for. Farrah's math skills were only used maybe a couple times in the book. At other times, she seemed fairly ordinary, aside from her ability to quickly do calculations in her head. Despite everything she said about having difficulty being around things that weren't in regular patterns, she didn't seem to have any difficulties at all with this during the story.

As far as the FBI and eco-terrorist stuff went, that seemed a bit lackluster and oddly-paced. After an exciting beginning, during which Farrah was on the run from a terrorist who realized she'd seen and probably cracked his code, things got a little boring as Farrah and John were closed up together. Then they spent some time on the run again (because Farrah made herself cry in order to get John to take her with him – yet another thing that made me feel she wasn't mature enough for John), and then things slowed down again when John and Farrah hid out at John's parents' place. The big twist near the end wasn't all that shocking to me, because I figured out that person's involvement with the terrorists long before everyone else, after coming across an enormous clue early on.

This book had potential, and it was still an exciting read a good chunk of the time. I just wish Farrah had had more of a chance to use her math abilities, and I wish she had spent a little less time thinking about how hot John was.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)(less)

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Jun 19, 2012 Henrietta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Before I read this book, I thought this would be a fun, hilarious read with a bit of adventure, a bit of romance. Turned out I was delightfully surprised…

Farrah Higgins is a Math genius. She was being nicknamed as Digit by her classmates in middle school. When she moved to a different school district, she thought she’d start fresh by hiding her geeky side so that she could blend in and have a ‘normal’ school life. While watching TV with her high school friends, Farrah discovered a number sequenc...more Before I read this book, I thought this would be a fun, hilarious read with a bit of adventure, a bit of romance. Turned out I was delightfully surprised…

Farrah Higgins is a Math genius. She was being nicknamed as Digit by her classmates in middle school. When she moved to a different school district, she thought she’d start fresh by hiding her geeky side so that she could blend in and have a ‘normal’ school life. While watching TV with her high school friends, Farrah discovered a number sequence that led her to believe that she had found clues to decode what terrorists were using to communicate target locations for attack. Her investigation put her in danger and at the same time, made her question if she had been doing the right thing to hide her genius in front of her high school friends.

Farrah is a likeable character. She thinks fast, rambles a lot and learns as she ventures into new territory of her social life. It’s interesting to watch her go through her choices as she determines when and where it’s okay for her to be who she is and when and in front of whom she believes she must hide her true self in order to blend in.

The danger of being threatened by terrorists shocked Farrah and helped her realize how focusing her energy to be mediocre was such a waste of her time, talent and effort. Using her talent, Farrah not only helped the government to halt terrorists’ attack but also learned that putting her genius into good use could bring her so much more than just being recognized as a geeky person.

I can totally relate to Farrah’s struggle of her identity. I know I have made choices in the past to hopefully fit into groups that I thought I had to belong and made the assumption that the pretense to blend in would make life easier when in truth all the hard efforts were weighing me down, making me feel miserable, trapped and unhappy. So, I was really glad that Monaghan wrote this remarkable story to illustrate how a girl must find her way to be herself when her conscience would not rest till she helped out in the best way possible to put a stop to what’s threatening to the society at large. I found myself pondering on what I would do if I were Farrah and then giggled, cheered and laughed when I read how she was rambling about what she was doing with her smart (and sometimes, not-so-smart) choices.

What surprised me the most was how much I resonated with the vulnerability of emotions that Farrah experienced as she opened herself to admit love and be loved. I was actually crying for her when she came to learn about the decision that John the FBI agent made. I totally didn’t expect that I would be shedding tears for something that I thought would be funny, amusing and a little hilarious!

A Girl Named Digit is brilliant and entertaining, with a nice touch of familial relationship that would bring more than just a smile on your face. If you’re looking for a YA contemporary read that is fast paced and a little suspenseful, this one is for you.

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A Girl Named Digit (Digit #1)

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