Holly Goldberg Sloan

Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.

Counting by 7s

Fourteen-year-old homeschooled genius Willow Chance convinces her adoptive parents to let her attend high school to observe people her own age, and soon she has connected with a group of eccentrics who stand by her when tragedy strikes.

Counting by sevens

Sarah Sammis

i liked it!!! my students didnt but i really enjoyed the writing style and the way the characters all come together 

samiha

Melissa Palmer

Book #98 Read in 2014
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I loved this book, though it was not without it's emotionally heartbreaking parts. Willow is a bit different...intelligent, set in her routines, not very socially adept. Her parents, who adopted her, are loving, caring and work with Willow's glitches. Then Willow's world is turned upside down when her parents are killed in a car accident. While Child Services are searching for a foster home for Willow, she begins a very unlikely new family of sorts....full of people with their own glitches. 

The writing is superb and the characters are wonderfully unique. I loved Willow. There is enough humor, emotion and mystery (will she find a good home?) to keep readers engaged. I would recommend this to readers from middle school to high school to adults. Loved it!

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

melanie 

Jeannette Ordas

This was such a fun and delightful read. I was wholly charmed by the characters, how they connect and transform. 4.5 stars.

Izza

Dramatik bir öykü içinden kalbe dokunan bir kesit sunduğu için kitabı çok sevdim.

Hazal Özlem

Cindy Lieberman

Quirky characters abound in this sad yet hopeful novel about a 12 year-old genius who has to find her way after her parents are killed in a car accident. This is a middle-school book (i.e. no sex) that's more entertaining and better written than most of today's YA novels. Reminds me of Marisha Pessl's also quite enjoyable "Special Topics in Calamity Physics."

Stefanie Sugia

"I'm about to start a new school.
I'm an only child.
I'm adopted.
And I'm different.
As in strange.
But I know it and that takes the edge off. At least for me."I picked this book up at random when I didn't know what to read next—just because I think the book cover looked cute 😂. I have absolutely no idea what this book will be about and just dived right into it. It turned out to be a really adorable story that warms my heart from start to finish ♥️. Reading this book is a bittersweet experience because there are a lot of heartbreaking moments but at the same time there are also comforting moments that makes everything worthwhile. For the most part, this book is about overcoming loss and grief; but there are also a lot of thought-provoking parts about self-discovery and life in general."It's possible that all labels are curses. Unless they are on cleaning products.
Because in my opinion it's not really a great idea to see people as one thing.
Every person has lots of ingredients to make them into what is always a one-of-a-kind creation.
We are all imperfect genetic stews."The story is mostly written from the perspective of the main character: Willow Chance, a 12-year-old genius. I think the author did a really good job on portraying Willow's character and we (as the readers) have the luxury to explore what she's thinking and feeling throughout all the situations because Willow is not very outspoken. Right from the start, I instantly fell in love with Willow's character. I just love reading her thoughts as she goes through her journey of overcoming grief. The ways she thinks about life is admirable and I learnt a lot from Willow's character. I especially love her because Willow also loves to read and there's a part where she said: books = comfort. I can totally relate to that 👏😂. I think anyone who reads this book will also fell in love with Willow's character ♥️.

Throughout this book, Willow befriends her school counselor, Dell Duke, along with her newly acquired friends, Mai and Quang-ha Nguyen. Mai and Quang-ha are siblings who came from a Vietnamese family, and they're taken care of by their mother: Pattie. After Willow lost her parents, these people are the ones who are there for her despite all the difficulties and struggles. They are always ready to go the extra mile for Willow, which makes all these characters so genuine and lovable. I especially love Quang-ha's character because he seems a bit cold at the start but his character gradually changes towards the end. And I'm also glad to see Dell Duke's life changed as well for the better after his encounter with Willow and the Nguyen family."Right now I'm the sunflower.
Temporary, but attaching myself to the ground underneath me.
The garden is challenging me, as always, to see my own situation.
My court hearing is next month.
I'll be ready. I'm not sure for what exactly.
But maybe that's what being ready really means."Reading this book really warms my heart in a bittersweet way. There are a lot of setbacks experienced by the characters, but they managed to go through it all and regain their happiness. I love seeing the connections that are formed between all the characters and how Willow impacted the lives of those around her. This is a middle-grade story that successfully made me smile, made me tear up a little, and made my heart full of various emotions. I'm definitely looking forward to Holly Goldberg Sloan's next work because I really enjoyed her writing in this one 😊.
  "Pattie says that nothing is for certain. That is the truest statement I've ever heard."


Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2018/0...

Amanda Kordeliski

** spoiler alert **
           I loved the characters in this book. I loved Willow and understood her agony and the way she worked through her pain. I thought this was a beautiful book--until the end. 

There are three things that keep this from being a 5 star book. 

1. Willow's parents tried for 7 years to get pregnant before they adopted her. It is difficult for me to grasp that they had no life insurance, no plan, no thought at all as to what would happen to their child if tragedy should strike. If there wasn't anyone close enough to Willow's family to step up and take care of her, who was taking care of her estate? Even with this flaw, Counting by 7s could have still been a 5 star book (or at least 4.5)

2. Her taxi driver friend has all his problems solved by winning $20,000 at a grocery store. Seriously? Much too convenient and I felt it was almost lazy writing to hand what he wanted to him so easily.

3. But the last straw was the ending. What made the story so beautiful was that Mai's family took Willow in--even though they were struggling and living in squalor and it was clearly a hardship--they were good, hard working people who truly wanted to do the right thing for a child that had just had her entire world destroyed. Then in the last few pages we find out the mother is secretly wealthy and has enough cash to purchase an entire apartment building? In California? One of the most expensive real estate markets in the country? 

I feel it is dangerously close to child neglect to have your children living in a garage with no running water and very little in the way of heat, air or sleeping conditions. To do so while secretly sitting on a giant pile of cash is appalling. Handing these characters a great deal of money at the end of the book felt like a sucker punch. I suddenly felt like I didn't really know these characters at all.

I loved these characters and would read more about them if the author continued to write about their stories. I will recommend this book to my students because I think they will love the characters and I think middle school students are much more likely to overlook the gift wrapped ending and just love the characters for who they are. In the end, I was just so disappointed that everyone's problems were easily solved by big piles of cash.

This is a very powerful book in many ways. All of the characters, as different as they are, have something that lets us connect with them. This book reminds us, that no matter how different we are, we all share something that unites us and that is being human. It shows us that all forms of categorisation don't matter if we see ourselves as individuals as well as one species.
I am sure that I will come back to this book and its lessons.

Nadine 

Absolutely delightful. This book manages to tick all the boxes, minorities, diversity, death, relationships AND it's still a pleasure to read AND (what parents appreciate) a stunning lack of profanity and teenage sex. It does what it does without an ounce of pretentiousness or irritation. Now to try it on my tweens.

Lisa Collins

3.5 stars


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I’m going to be completely honest right now; the first thing to draw me to Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan wasn’t the story or the author or anything like that. It was the amazing cover. I don’t know why that’s important. The cover kind of has nothing to do with the book at all, but I wanted to say it.

I’m having a hard time trying to get my thoughts together, so here comes a bullet point review!

 Things I Liked: 
 The story was super cute and very interesting. I feel like it would have been so easy for the author to take the tone in another direction, but even in the less happy parts there was still a feeling of hope. 


 Willow Chance was a very quirky character. A twelve year old genius, Willow was always spewing out facts and thinking in very logical, analytical, but not boring ways. I loved that she didn’t deny herself the chance to be upset, but at the same time she knew she had to keep going. Her intelligence told her the world went on, but her youth and general humanity balanced it out to a mix of moving on and standing still/grieving. (Did any of that make sense or was I just talking again?) 


 I adored watching this cute, dysfunctional, amazing mixed-and-matched family form. I loved watching the characters get to know and love each other. By the end of the book I about died over how close they had all gotten. And the moments when they realized they loved each other? *sniff* I need a tissue. 

 

 Things I Didn't Like: 

 Dell Duke. I almost quit this novel near the beginning because I truly disliked a character named Dell Duke. I mean… I find characters I don’t like all. the. time. But generally I can find at least one redeeming quality about them. I had trouble finding anything I liked about Dell. Luckily I stayed on board, because the more I read the less I hated him. But still… he was something to get used to. (He did grow a lot throughout the story, though. I’ll give him that.) 


 I loved how witty and smart Willow was, but sometimes I was rolling my eyes at her. There were some things she was so ignorant or naïve about and it left me feeling unsure about her character. I know she’s something of an “outcast” because she’s intellectually advanced, but she talked/thought like a robot on more than one occasion. I mean, it was like she had no idea about people or culture. She’s a human… she would have known some of these things simply because she’s alive. Right? (I guess you have to read it to know what I mean.) 


 I don’t know if it’s just me… but I feel like this book was a taaad stereotypical. Asians with a nail salon, a deadbeat who likes comic books, a white couple adopting a black baby, et cetera…. I know there are people I just described to a T. I’m well aware… but I also just described some stereotypes. I’m not a stereotype/cliché stickler by any means, but I feel like there were just so many in this book. Maybe my noticing all that says more about me than anything, but I don’t know. Even Willow being smart but culturally ignorant is something of a stereotype. Bleh. 

 
 

As you can see, I have a lot of feelings. At the end of the day, good and bad combined, Counting by 7s is a book I would recommend. It’s marketed as middle grade, but I feel like it’s a little bit older. I don’t read much middle grade, though, so it’s totally possible I’m underestimating younger people. (I don’t mean to, I swear!)

A little sad, a little funny, a little heartwarming… I don’t have anything witty to say. (oops) This one is worth a read.

Jeni Enjaian

What an absolutely beautiful book! 

I picked this book off the shelf in my classroom library, knowing nothing about it. I simply wanted a book to read while my students engaged in independent reading. Wow. Sloan created a delightful main character, an oddball, misfit, strange little girl who worms her way into the hearts of everyone she meets. I did not even mind that everything felt a bit deus ex machina. Everything fit. Sloan did not mask Willow's absolute devastation. Everything the people dealt with felt real and believable.

I highly recommend this book.

Nadia Leontescu

Danggggggg, this book felt so different from like ALL of the other books I've read. The third person POV was super cool, and I liked how it showed different sides of a lot of the characters and what they were thinking. Sloan really gave such good descriptions and details. It was hard not to put yourself in the place of the characters, which were also developed quite well, and the dynamics between each one was thoroughly thought out. The emotion felt genuine, and it was unique because not everyone deals with grief and loss and hurt in the same cliche way. This is another thing I really liked about this novel, it didn't feel cliche AT ALL. The story was so creative and unique, it had a foundation that is written about a lot, but the way Sloan just created the storyline was something I haven't read before. I highly, highly recommend this book to pretty much anyone. 
Also, there was pretty good diversity in the book, and it wasn't basic.

Megan Rose

** spoiler alert **
           “Connectedness. One thing leads to another. Often in unexpected ways.”

Willow’s story is a poignant reminder of loss, but as I was finishing this book, I felt encouraged and hopeful. All of the characters in Counting by 7’s are so human and all grew in their own ways throughout. This shows the power of connection with others and is an especially powerful reminder in 2020.

Victoria Simansjah

A lighthearted novel that captivates the young yet complex emotions of 12-year old, Willow. Beautifully written and heartfelt.

Paula Plaza Ponte 

Bianca

In the tradition of Out of My Mind, Wonder, and Mockingbird, this is an intensely moving middle grade novel about being an outsider, coping with loss, and discovering the true meaning of family. Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life . . . until now. Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read. “Holly Goldberg Sloan writes about belonging in a way I’ve never quite seen in any other book. This is a gorgeous, funny, and heartwarming novel that I’ll never forget.”—John Corey Whaley, author of Where Things Come Back "Willow Chance subtly drew me into her head and her life, so much so that I was holding my breath for her by the end. Holly Goldberg Sloan has created distinct characters who will stay with you long after you finish the book."—Sharon Creech, Newbery Award-winning author of Walk Two Moons "In achingly beautiful prose, Holly Goldberg Sloan has written a delightful tale of transformation that’s a celebration of life in all its wondrous, hilarious and confounding glory. Counting by 7s is a triumph."—Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Jessica Gardner

Ro Grayson

In the tradition of WONDER and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD this award-winning New York Times bestseller is an intensely moving, lyrically-written novel. COUNTING BY 7S tells the story of Willow Chance, a twelve-year-old genius who is obsessed with diagnosing medical conditions and finds comfort in counting by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn't kept her from leading a quietly happy life . . . until now. Suddenly Willow's world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.

Counting by 7s

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