Reading Zenn Diagram Adds Up To A Fun Time

Well it was a really happy accident the day I picked this up. Exceptionally so- cos this is what I like to call a *happy book*

If you’re into contemporaries then this will surely fill you with contentment… and if you’re not then *fear not* there’s more to this book than your regular teen romance. With a magical realism twist, the book gives you that something extra you don’t normally get in this genre. I would have certainly enjoyed reading about an ability like hers- the ability to read people by touch- in a regular fantasy, so it was a pleasant surprise here. Though we don’t get a “yer a wizard Harry” moment where all the uncanny elements are explained away, there were satisfactory scattered hints as to why she has this power and I wasn’t left wondering why.

Personally though, what I enjoyed most about this book was how the themes here were so much bigger than what I would expect from a modest little book. Normally the subjects of epic tales, Zenn Diagram somehow managed to explore huge ideas like sacrifice and forgiveness as a slice of everyday heroism.

This was achieved by making characters you could actually root for. These weren’t “I say I’m nice so I’m nice” sorts of characters- no!- these actually proved their goodness with their actions. And not by grand acts of heroism- just small things- the things that matter.

What was great about them was that they weren’t reduced down to their sum of parts. Sure, they have central interests, like many YA characters, but this doesn’t make them boring. They are not simply a mathlete and an artist (kudos as well for actually coming up with something more than just a jock and a geek)- there is so much more to them than that. The details are what makes them interesting- I loved, for instance, how the main character’s power played into her love of maths and his artistic eye with the recurring image of fractals. (Also thank you for teaching me about fractals- I had a fun time looking up these images)

Part of their complexity comes down to how well their relationships are drawn with their families and each other. Nothing in this book is simple- you get a chaotic snapshot of their lives in a way that makes them very real. You have depth and backstories and more going on under the surface than meets the eye.

In short, you get a lot packed into this simple equation of boy meets girl. I never, for instance, would have expected the plot to go beyond that- because it so rarely does. Yet somehow this book actually managed to simultaneously surprise me with a plot twist *and* an ending that made me go awww. You can’t really ask for more than that.

Rating: 4/5 bananas

This book was so good and I couldn't put it down. I finished reading it in less than a day!

Eva has a supernatural power - when touching people or object with her hands, she can see "fractals" and understand a person's past and feelings. That is so cool, but at first I didn't really understand what fractals were. But then I thought of the lyrics from Let It Go (I used to be a huge fan of Frozen and memorized the words to all the songs) ...

My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around.


... and I got it. It's kind of complicated though, so I'm going to include a picture of "fractal art" below for your viewing pleasure.

[image]

I think about when we met and I asked him his name and he made that Venn diagram with his hands. I probably fell in love with him right on the spot. I think about how our circles once seemed to barely overlap. Two separate lives with a tiny sliver of math tutoring in common. But now it's like my whole circle and his whole circle are the same: our past, our present and maybe even our future.


The feels. THE. FEELS. I love Eva and Zenn. THEY ARE THE PERFECT COUPLE.

Zenn (<-- can we appreciate his name for a second? ZENN. ZENNNNN. IT SOUNDS SO GOOD.) creates art. Although the church van Eva's family owns sounds like a complete disaster (poorly painted clouds, a deep bible verse on the side), I feel thankful for its existence. If it didn't have to be repainted, Eva and Zenn may never have ended up together. So thank you church van for bringing together my OTP.

Eva is a math nerd. When she makes out with Zenn and he whispers things like "sine", "cosine" and "tangent" in her ear, she finds it HOT. She also watches VeggieTales with her siblings. AWESOMENESS: 256%

My mom fills the tub and strips the girls down while I put on a VeggieTales video for Ethan and Eli. I watch with them for a bit and Larry is singing one of his silly songs about a hairbrush when Essie waddles back into the room wrapped in a towel, her pink cheeks shining.


(That is my favorite VeggieTales song ever. I still remember the lyrics.)

Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh, where
Oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh
Where oh, where is my hairbrush?


Okay, so overall, this book was super awesome (wow, how many times have I used the word "awesome" in this review?) not to mention it has a super happy ending which I love. That's all folks *drops mic (less)

"Zenn Diagram" by Wendy Brant is a great nerdy, romantic, and slightly spooky read for both teens and adults who love YA books! Just like Goldilocks says, everything about this book is "just right." Readers can easily put themselves in Eva's shoes (who hasn't crushed on a cutie that you think won't like you back in a million years?) or worried about money at some point in their lives? Eva and Zenn, despite their sometimes extraordinary issues, come across as very real, ordinary teenagers just trying to do the best they can with the lives they've been given. A few plot points come across as a bit unbelievable, but fiction asks us to suspend our disbelief while we're in the book's world. I loved this book and hope you all will, too. 5/5 stars.

A contemporary romance with a bit of paranormal mixed in. I think what interested me most about this book was the fractals and Eva's genius, and of course the protagonist's name.
I found Eva very sharp, witty, and funny and her friendship with Charlotte is very sweet. The romance was fine and her love interest was sweet and funny. I don't really have anything to complain about other than the excessive language/profanity. 4 stars

Meet Eva (pronounced to rhyme(ish) with clever), a math nerdy HS senior who tutors other students. She has another talent: she can feel other people's pain when she touches them. This talent also allows her to get vibes from touching someone's well used calculator or favorite sweater. Enter Zenn, an artsy boy from a difficult background trying to improve his math with a tutor. The two immediately find a connection. The story begins as a sweet, (seemingly) opposites attract narrative. But then . . . there is a twist . . . a good one . . . that won't be spoiled by me! But, I'll just say, their burgeoning romance is threatened and challenged. Will they end up together? Will they get into the colleges they want? If they get in, can they afford to go? Read to find out. Highly recommended YA romance.

Loved the premise of this book and all the nerdy math talk. The bond between Zenn and Eva was cleverly crafted. I could have done without the level of physical intimacy between the two characters. I felt the secondary character story was left unfinished and the ending in general seemed a bit rushed.

Overall I thought this book was an alright, cute read. The pacing and the plot seemed off at times and I wasn't entirely invested in the characters. The romance seemed very insta-lovey.

OH. MY. GOD. Can I have Zenn please???

Now was this the sweetest book and the most amazing characters I have ever read about?!! Like Zenn is my dream boy I cannot even tell you how I am feeling about this. Wendy how did you know about this and created him?? HOWWWWW?!!

SPOILER FREE REVIEW 

Guys this book surprised me and definitely I was not expecting this. I thought it would be the usual teenage girl and boy fall in love and all that drama going on. THANKS THE I don't who should I be thanking but whoever or whatever that thing is THANK YOU FOR PROVEN ME WRONG!!!

Eva and her family are adorable, her sense of humour totally matched mine, her life totally is an exact copy of mine! And I don't know how to explain this to you but this book this exact book felt like it was written for me. Of course if we leave the fractals that Ev's seeing and the quadruplets of her brothers and sisters...

Sorry it got a little bit too personal, but I couldn't just ignore it!

Moving on...

We have as mentioned Eva she has an ''emotional attachment to calculators'' she is funny, geeky and has depth she feels 4 dimensional and she could actually be me or my BFF for what I know!!  I loved how she and Zenn meet and how their friendship unfolds and all the dynamics going on in the background with her family, her friend Char and her herself. I appreciated a lot the fact that throughout the whole book we talk about consent and respect for our next and the important messages it sends to the reader.

''Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.''

 The conversations are quirky and funny, the characters are complex and how can I say, truthful? They have real issues, real  worries and everything was like projected into my brain like film I literally could not put it down. of course I had to sleep so this was the only moment I did put the book down...

Even though the plot was a bit predictable it did not bother me at all, because everything fell into place beautifully without exaggerations nor pushed decisions. The characters took life on their own and made the decisions for themselves. Wendy's writing style is HONEY to my eyes (if this does not any sense to you, it does not to me either, but I felt like saying it ok? o.o)  It was beyond addictive and I would totally recommend this book to everyone!

Like READ.IT.NOW! I SAID NOW!!!

didn't love this one unfortunately. it was a bit slow in the beginning, though beautifully written in parts. i wasn't a fan of the 'I'm not like other girls' thing, i don't know why that annoys me but it does. didn't hate this book, it was cute, interesting and certainly unique.

Nothing stood out as either bad or good. It was interesting and fun but nothing more. It was a good idea for a story and I would probably read it again but it didn't wow me,.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book, but I am so happy I read it!

I think the most striking thing for me was the characters. I loved our main character, Eva, and how nerdy she was. I loved how realistic she was, especially with her far-fetched "ability". I think her hardship with her ability to see things when she touches people and their belongings was well-developed and handled really well! Seeing how it affected her relationships and her day-to day life was so interesting. Also, I loved Charlotte and her storyline!

Zenn... such a cutie and I loved how mature he was! I could see why Eva was swooning for him, and I loved that he wasn't a perfect guy but Eva liked that about him. I think my favorite part of the whole book was his interaction with Eva's siblings.

Side note, her family? Adorable! I loved hearing about her little sisters and seeing the difference between her parents and their faith and Eva and her more scientific brain.

In summary: I loved this book! Any qualms I had with it I'm chalking up to not being a high schooler anymore; if I were in high school, the very few tiny things I didn't love would have been more appropriate :)

I will be mentioning this book in a YouTube video on my channel Tuesday, August 12th and I will add the link to that video to this review when I've posted that video!

<b><i>"People tend to hide all their darkest secrets, and somehow still look fine on the outside. This is why I keep my hands to myself: because you can never tell what's beneath the surface."</i></b>

Eva Walker doesn't socialize much, and it's not because she's a spot-on candidate for the label "mathematical genius," or because she's relatively quiet. It's because every time she touches someone or their belongings, she gets unsettling visions --fracrals-- that reveal dark secrets and realities she'd feel better not knowing.

So when she ends up touching the jacket of Zenn Bennett-- the gorgeous boy she's tutoring-- and gets a violent, almost painful fractal, her interest is beyond piqued.

She has to know what's up with him-- and not just because he has amazing eyelashes.



The premise of this book hooked me from the start, and as soon as I started reading, Wendy's warm, friendly writing style had me in for the long haul.

<b>Pros:</b>

The writing style was lovely and all of the descriptions were amazing-- they were either so real that you could touch them, or so beautiful that you probably shouldn't. (Touching art is generally frowned upon.)

Every character was so well developed that reading this was like sitting in on Eva's life. Her family felt real, her friends felt real, Zenn and his parents felt real. It was amazing.

A smart, female main character.
I loved Eva. Her awkwardness, humor, and lack of extreme self-consciousness due to her intelligence were all so refreshing. This might be the first book I've ever read where there was a smart girl who wasn't apologetic for being smart. *pumps fists*

Zenn. He has to be the coolest. Yep. When he was first introduced, I wasn't too sure of him-- I was almost tempted to assume he was going to be a bad boy, but man, was I wrong! He was so sweet and personable to Eva and everyone, which I loved. I mean, how many contemporary romance books do you read where the male love interest is friendly and sweet to the girl without acting like he wants to get in her pants or having some kind of ulterior motive? (Not many.)

<b>Cons:</b>

Eva can be jealous, and snippy, and several other negative things, but let's face it-- those are very realistic reactions to watching everyone around you be able to live normal lives while you can't touch anything without suffering. I see so many people addressing this flaw in Eva without empathizing, and it's driving me nuts.

I got a little frustrated with Zenn and Eva toward the end. Come on, guys. Get it together.



This concludes my review. On the whole, it was a very good, quick read and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes math, cute contemporaries, or boys with amazing eyelashes.
Happy reading~!

This was one of those cute books with a surprisingly clear writing style and selection of words.

The protagonist stood out to me and I connected with her in a way I haven’t connected with a character in a long time. She was smart, but not to the cliché point of having no social skills. She was a Christian but also a regular teenager with emotions and made bad decisions. I love how the various themes in this book were not overly done for the sake of creating drama/gaining attention.
The friendships featured were not perfect, some fell flat while others were exciting and intriguing.


Allow me to expound:
Eva & Zenn: Exciting, intriguing and cute.
Eva & Charlotte: Tolerable, not too many girly squeals.
Charlotte & Josh: Flat, dull, almost too perfect. I didn’t get to experience who they were, instead I got told who they were (if that makes sense).
Eva & Family: Real

Overall, Zenn Diagram was well-written with a solid plot and likeable characters.

Imagine having the power to know everything about the person with just a single touch. Fun right. Well having the ability to know just about everything about someone is not so much fun as it seems for the Eva the protagonist in this book. She goes through life of longing to touch someone without instantly knowing their deepest secrets, joys, and fears in their lives.

This being scared of not touching any one or anything because of what she secrets she might find out about an individual she meets changes when she meets a tall, dark and handsome boy named Zenn. What starts as a friendships blooms into a beautiful romance that is haunted with a dark secret that is kept from them about their family's history. To Eva surprise when she first touches Zenn he does not seem to have any lingering fractals that will cause Eva not to have normal relationship with him. Which gives Eva hope that she might be able to have that touch with someone that she has always longed for ever since she discovered her gift.

Zenn a tall, dark and handsome boy who is an artist that works three jobs just to support his family and is the most sweetest guy that you will ever read about in a YA novel. He is so great with kids I loved the part where Eva went to the body shop with her mum and her siblings to see the progress with the church van and seeing Zenn interact with the kids is so adorable. Something about guys being good with kids pulls your heart strings. He's not like those guys that only want you for one thing and plays with your emotions. Whereas Zenn actually cares about how you're feeling and will try and fix the problem.

Sometimes in the book Eva did annoy a bit with the "I'm not your normal girl." mindset because she feels that just because she doesn't fit in or wears makeup that is not like normal girls in her high school that obsess over footwear, sex, boys, makeup and trying to be prettier. She almost seems like she is special in a way because she's more "I'm into calculators like most girls are into footwear." "Most women could make a full time job out of trying to be pretty." " I love math like most women love Starbucks." which the last quote is so me but instead of math I love books and music. But I understand why she feels the way she feels because throughout her whole life except her best friend Charlotte she has spent everyday avoiding peoples touch, body and/or objects that hold importance to people. This causes her to be defensive in a way because she may not experience what all her peers can experience in her high school years such as being in an relationship, having that closeness with people that everyone gets to have, being able to touch people without knowing their deepest darkest secrets, their joys and most importantly their fears the same way that they can without having fractals aka visions. This changes when she discovers that Zenn has no fractals when she touches him and she can finally experience the feeling of touching another person in a way that every one can with other people in their lives.

Overall. This book is an incredible read that is filled with amazing characters that anyone can relate to or have something in common with. I absolutely enjoyed my time reading this book even though in the beginning it took me a while to get into the book but once I did I couldn't put it down none the less i would highly highly recommend this novel to any who loves to read.

This book is definitely going on my favourites shelf for sure. I have never read anything by this author before but after this book I can't wait to read what she writes next.

this was just a really weird concept and I didn't enjoy it

3.9 - quick, enjoyable YA novel; intriguing main characters

This s a wonderfully fresh YA story! The characters are immediately like able and the premise is fresh. The heroine's unique talent and the pair's backstory are a combination that make for a page turner that is hard to put down.

I read only the first couple chapters of this title, partly because it is not available on Kindle so I have to make a special effort to read it on my computer. Although I've enjoyed many titles for children and teens, this one just didn't grab me. The main character is a female math whiz, which is great, but she never let you forget she was an oddball and proud of it. The first-person narration was not very entertaining, seemed more like an adult trying to imitate a teen and seemed to me a little stilted because of it. I don't think you should judge a whole story based on a chapter or two, but this one just didn't engage me, and I didn't have patience to let it develop.