Back of Book:
Farrah “Digit” Higgins has left her geek self behind in another school district so she can blend in with the popular crowd at Santa Monica High and actually enjoy her senior year. But when Farrah, the daughter of a UCLA math professor, unknowingly cracks a terrorist group's number sequence, her laid-back senior year gets a lot more interesting. Soon she is personally investigating the case, on the run from terrorists, and faking her own kidnapping—all while trying to convince a young, hot FBI agent to take her seriously.
Book Number: One
Genre: Young Adult | Mystery | Romance
Review: 🌟🌟
A corny romance disguised as a mystery thriller between a high school brainiac and an "attractive" FBI agent.
Farrah "Digit" spends the majority of her time pretending that she's normal by doing basic high schooler activities such as going to parties, watching romance shows with her friends, and hanging out with her clique. Then one day, she finds herself caught up in an investigation, hunted by terrorists, and accompanied by the hottest man that she's ever met: John the undercover agent. As she proves her worth to the FBI and the case, can she also convince John that she's worth taking a risk on romantically?
This book was very cringe in so many different ways. My number one pet peeve had to be how thirsty Digit is throughout the book. She comments on how attractive literally every man she meets is (except for the dude she dubs "Creepy"). And as soon as she meets John she's all, "Can necks be attractive?" "Maybe he'll accidentally touch my arm," "Do you think he'll kiss me?" Ah! This attitude drove me literally insane. I'm sure there are people who think like this, but I find it to be fake, awkward, and frankly a tad crazy. Some of Digit's thoughts were really unhinged and there is no way anyone would actually think some of them in real life.
John was also such a meh character. He was chivalrous, I guess, but I don't even really have any other words to describe this guy. He doesn't seem like he would make the best FBI agent, yet obviously that was one of his main roles in the story. I'm not convinced that someone in his position would actually reciprocate Digit's feelings, but for the sake of the book, I knew it was going to happen by page three.
The plot itself was also not the most convincing either. The things that Digit deciphers seem a bit out there for someone who has no training and is just "good with numbers." Also, the fact that the terrorist group wanted to kill her so insistently was also a tad weird due to the fact that she had very little evidence she could have used against the group. But I guess they thought "better be safe than sorry." The way the dots connect are at once very predictable yet feel relatively sporadic. I can by no means say that this was a well-crafted mystery or that the book ever had me wondering what would happen next.
Another thing that really bothered me about this one is the chapter titles. They were honestly the most humorous part of the book, yet they had very little connection to what was actually happening in the story. I must admit though, short chapters definitely saved this book. If it was long winded, I would have completely hated every second of this book. Due to its length, it was at least tolerable, despite the corny, bizarre, weirdness that was the entire story.
Overall, I don't even know what "A Girl Named Digit" really is. It is first and foremost a corny romance that had elements of a mystery thriller in it. Predictably, the romance and the mystery both fell flat to me, so this book completely missed its mark in my opinion. I had very low expectations going into this one, and I feel that they were fulfilled just as I expected them to be. I think I'm still going to pick up book two, even though I care very little about Digit and John as characters. I have this habit of completing things, and since my library owns the sequel too, I might as well stick with it.
Back of Book:
Digit and John are back for a second book and in way over their heads.
To say eighteen-year-old Farrah Higgins—or Digit—is good at math is a laughable understatement. She’s been cracking codes since childhood, and is finally at home with “her people” at MIT in Cambridge. Her talents are so off the charts that her laptop is under surveillance by both the CIA and an ecoterrorist named Jonas Furnis. So when she thoughtlessly hacks into the Department of Defense’s database, she lands in serious hot water inside and outside the law. Readers will be sad to turn the last page of this suspenseful, sassy, super smart thriller, the sequel to A Girl Named Digit.
Book Number: Two (Last Book)
Genre: Young Adult | Mystery | Romance
Review: 🌟🌟
Digit and John are back for another "romance" filled adventure on the run from crazy eco-terrorists.
Somehow, this book managed to be worse than the first one. We spent so much time in book one getting Digit and John together as a couple, and then they break up at the beginning of this one (*sighs in frustration*). I don't even care about their relationship, but I can't believe it was torn apart after all those thirsty thoughts that she had about him in book one.
Sadly, Digit was even more boy crazy in this one. As soon as she gets to college, she can't stop drooling over this guy named Bass. And she also has a weird fixation on Professor Halsey, who is like eighty years old. I am concerned for this girl's sanity. Every time John or Bass does anything to another individual, Digit is oddly possessive over them. I was really hoping she would pick a guy at some point, but alas, we go the entire book with Digit thirsting after the both of them with no tangible results in sight.
The plot of this one is somehow even crazier than it was in book one. The eco-terrorist group that tried to kill her seven months ago are back, and this time, they want to kidnap her. In the end, I understand why they want her for their own spoils, but man, this gang is super disorganized and really bad at kidnapping and keeping their prisoner's held hostage.
Overall, "Double Digit" was some more cringe than "A Girl Named Digit." I am very relieved that there are only two books in the series and that I no longer have to deal with this crazy thirsty women and her unfaithful ways. I hope that she has learned from her errors and that she doesn't repeat the stupidity of her ways. But knowing Digit, she will eternally be lusting after anyone that identifies as male and using her "gift" to hack into things that she needed only to wait a couple of days for.