Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Product Details
Web ID: 1809559Fantastic Book!
Counting by 7s, written by Holly Goldberg Sloan, is one of the best books I have ever read. It tells an emotional story about a girl who learns to stay close to what friends she has. At the beginning of the book, the main character, Willow Chance, who is a genius, has a “perfect life.” She is so happy with her adopted parents and her two hobbies, plants and medical conditions. When something stresses her out or she is bored, she counts by 7s to calm herself down or to distract herself from whatever is happening. One day, when Willow comes home from her counseling, she finds tragic news waiting for her. Throughout the book, she learns many different life lessons and meets a few good people that help her through her tough times. Ever since her tragic news, Willow has not been able to count by 7s and because of this she had given up her love of plants and stopped researching medical conditions. This book is amazing and I feel like it would be good for ages 12 and up. I would highly recommend this book to all my friends and family and you should read it too.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Counting by 7s
I read Counting by 7s recently and I definitely do not regret it. Counting by 7s is about 12 year old Willow and how she got over the death of her adoptive parents. It showed how she was able to start and become accustomed to her new life. My favorite part of the book was probably the fact that it was completely fictional, but while reading you still feel connected to the characters as if they were real people. The book was based on a scenario that could and probably has happened to people. I felt that the fact that the book was told in the first person perspective and included flashbacks to prior events was very helpful in making you feel what the characters were feeling. The way that this book was written made you feel as if you were a part of the characters' story and are experiencing it with them. I enjoyed how you felt like you were navigating the grief of Willow's parents death with her. Willow was an especially gifted child and was accused of cheating after she got a perfect score on a test. After this event she gets sent to counseling which leads her to meet her best friend. Willow eventually ends up living with them and their family after her parents death. I feel that even though the majority of children of Willow's age do not experience the death of both parents, this book can still be relatable to many children her age. To some, being gifted may seem like something that has zero downsides, but this book helps to teach that even something that may seem amazing can have its flaws. Even though the book starts with the main character being accused of cheating on a test, it eventually shows how something that seemed bad eventually led to Willow finding her best friend and, after the tragedy of her parents death, led her to being able to live with them and their family instead of having to find a home with complete strangers. I feel that even though the majority of people do not go through this kind of situation, the message it expresses can help to bring hope to people going through bad situations. To wrap things up, I feel that this would be a great book for people around Willow's age because even though at first it may not seem like the most relatable situation, the message it gives can inspire many people.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great book!
The novel, “Counting by 7s,” by Holly Goldberg Sloan is a captivating novel that mainly takes the perspective from a young girl named Willow Chance. Sloan teaches us about overcoming grief and finding happiness through the challenges Willow faces. Even though this novel is purely fiction, it holds many life lessons and situations that are believable. After reading this novel, I understand that anyone can go through grief, which comes in many forms. Willow Chance struggles to get along with people since she’s so different. You may ask how is she so different? Well, Willow is pretty much a 12-year-old gifted genius, and that’s not saying enough, but people don’t seem to see that. What they see is a weirdo who “cheats.” On top of all this, she loses her parents, which are her only family. Throughout the book, Willow tries to move on from the grief. She changed after her parent's death and she wants to go back to her old lifestyle and personality, however, she comes across many bumps in the road that she used to think was smooth. First, where would she go? Also, who is going to take care of her? Holly Goldberg Sloan introduces Mai and her family: a small, Vietnamese group consisting of Mai, her brother Quang-Ha, and her mother Pattie. Sloan also introduces Dell Duke, a school counselor, and Jairo, a taxi driver, to Willow. This strange group grows closer in the book and turns to be important people in Willow’s life. They help her get through tough times and help her change back. Willow isn’t the only one who changes in the book, however, for she changes the perspective of everyone else too, or at least everyone that matters to her. Sloan puts in many interesting features in her novel. Sometimes, words are purposely larger, or sometimes she puts lots of numbers, but not all features were necessarily visual. Sloan uses a lot of imagery and poetry throughout her books too. This contributes to the story and helps the reader visualize what goes on inside Willow’s head. Sloan also changes perspectives sometimes, from one character to another, or even from first person to third person. I enjoyed reading these switches since I was able to understand what was going on in each characters’ brain. Holly Goldberg Sloan states that she has lost several people close to her and her own children go to a gifted school. She also states to have several friends who were adopted or have adopted too. In conclusion, she states that her life and the events that take place in, “Counting by 7s,” are closely related. Therefore, the events in the book are believable and take place in reality often. This novel is a great educator of important life lessons like overcoming grief, moving on, and finding happiness. Willow Chance was able to get through the tough times and Holly Goldberg Sloan’s novel guides you to get through your tough times too. Overall, this was a great book that was very enjoyable to read. I have definitely learned a lot from this book and you should read it so you could too.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
great features
Counting by 7’s is one of my favorite books, and overall had a very well written storyline. This story follows Willow Chance, as she tries to navigate her life, and build new friendships and family with the recent loss of her parents. This story was not only captivating, but hilarious and heartfelt as well. The author did a really nice job with conveying Willow’s emotions and thoughts to the readers. This book was written by Holly Goldberg Sloan. She is not only an author, but a director and a screenwriter. Some of her work includes the movie,” The Big Green”, and the book “Short”. She had made a living from being a writer from the time she was in her early twenties. She created a story around a character that is very relatable and shares some of the same struggles that many people have. She does a very good job at providing a story that a reader is able to understand and relate to. One of the things I learned about Willow from the start of the book was that she was very smart. She was very fascinated with nature and she found solace in counting by 7’s. Even towards the end of the story, Willow still seems to find joy and comfort in nature. You can see Willow be able to overcome and push forward from the tragic loss of her parents, by surrounding herself with her newfound family. She continues to surround herself with nature. The main theme of this story was family. Willow lost her parents early on in the story and was left with no one. Throughout the story, you can see Willow open herself up to her new friends that she has made. She becomes close with very strong willed people like her friend Mai, who are able to help her overcome her grief. I was really able to see how Willow created a family and was able to surround herself with people who wanted the best for her. Even for the character Quang-Ha (Mai’s brother), you were able to see him adjust and begin to accept Willow as family even if he didn’t want to at first. One thing that I liked about the book was that the characters each had some of their own chapters. You were really able to see the story from their points of view and what they thought about the main character and the problems they faced. I could really learn more about the other characters through these chapters. Overall, I think that this book told a very heartfelt story and was very well written. This is a book directed towards younger audiences and would definitely be a great book to read.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com