Don’t Count on Me
Claire Camden
298 pages
Lit Ideas
published September 19, 2025
About the book
What if you knew exactly how many more times you’d see someone again?
That’s Alma Pendle’s reality. Neon numbers float above everyone’s heads, counting down her remaining encounters with them. Friends. Strangers. Even family.
She thought it was normal until she told her best friend and wound up in the psych ward.
Now, her mum’s high as a kite, her beloved Nanke’s vanished without a word, and every man she ever meets is history before he even has a chance.
Alma doesn’t want to be special. She just wants to be normal.
But fate – or whatever’s behind the numbers – has other plans.
My Review
I fell in love with the premise. What if you knew how many more times you’d see someone. I’ll admit to not really thinking that through and as my parents are having health issues, working through what that meant at the beginning of the book really threw me for a loop. I state this since this might make my thoughts vary a lot from other readers. It gave me a lot of food for thought as I read it.
Weirdly where I thought the book was heading based on the premise and where it went surprised me. I expected more mystery or suspense about the numbers, but it turned out it was more thoughtful on how what that means and how would you live your life. If you’ve read The Measure, it reminded me a little of that. Would you want to know and how would you live your life if you knew? It delves into how this affects Alma’s life. As we meet her at the beginning of the book, she is institutionalized for telling someone she can see these numbers.
I think this is incredibly thought provoking and why I compared it to The Measure. But I didn’t really connect with Alma. I desperately wanted to know more about the numbers and all the intricacies about them, but I didn’t care as much as I could for Alma. With that further step, I would be shouting about this from the rooftops and telling everyone to drop what they are reading and pick it up. I couldn’t figure out a way to write that without sounding harsh, because I really did like this read. It’s one of the more unique premises of books I’ve read this year and I loved how it got my brain engaged. I had so many thoughts about how and why as I went along.
It would be a great book club choice with lots of avenues for discussion and maybe even a better buddy read choice where you discuss as you read. It’s definitely a conversation starter.
This will stay with me for a while.
About the Author
It’s no good just asking the big “what if?” questions.
It’s time to answer them instead.
After a decade of editing other people’s words, Claire Camden turned her hand to crafting her own stories. Drawing upon her background in languages (MA St Andrews, MA Bath), her interests in psychology and mental health, and the big ideas behind fiction, she set out to execute a high concept novel about how standing out can be the only way to fit in; something she’d know a lot about as a six-foot-tall woman!
Her books are set in London, where she lives with her husband, and feature a diverse cast that reflects the make up of the world’s melting pot. When she’s not working on her stories, she can often be found in a comfy chair, listening to a podcast and sipping black coffee. For behind-the-scenes bonus content and author news, visit ClaireCamden.com
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Giveaway
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Zoe-Lee O'Farrell
Thank you so much for your support and for your review! x