THE HUMMING OF NUMBERS

In 10th-century Ireland, a young novice with an unusual talent finds his cloistered world turned upside-down when he and a bewitching girl encounter Viking raiders. Seventeen-year-old Aiden is eager to take his monastic vows so he can learn to copy scriptures and illuminate manuscripts. He has the unique power to discern the “numbers humming from people and things,” which sets him apart from everyone. When he meets Lana, illegitimate daughter of the local lord, she hums the number 11, the highest human number Aiden has ever encountered. Immediately attracted to Lana—who has powers of her own—he fears she will be his undoing. The two are unexpectedly drawn together after marauding Vikings attack the village and abbey, killing, burning and pillaging. Suddenly on their own, Aiden and Lana devise a desperate plan to rescue the remaining villagers by using their magical gifts. Although improbable, the plot proves exciting even if Aiden and Lana are all-too-obviously destined for one another. Teen love in Dark Ages Ireland. (Fiction. 12 & up)