Counting By 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

Willow Chance is different. She's interested in things the average 12 year old isn’t interested in. Nearly everything fascinates her. But some things—like plants and medial conditions—fascinates her more than others. 

Her zeal for learning turns into a burden when she learns the hard way—that life can be extremely unfair. 

A story about a girl who loses everything dear to her but gains people who make her feel like she would do anything to hold onto them. 

No Way!

I can’t believe the author wasn’t going to go all the way through with this book! If you own the book, their should be a Q/A section in the back. I highly recommend reading it afterwards. I usually don't read the mumbo jumbo after the story. But I was really curious about the inspiration behind the book. 

Diversity/Characters

I don’t really know where to begin. I just know that as soon as I read the first page, I was hooked. I fell in love with Willow and all the characters. I love that the POV follows everyone and I enjoyed the diversity among the characters. We have an out of shape, boring, stuck-in-a-middle-crisis white guy; A Vietnamese family consisting of a mother who takes charge and doesn't take any crap from anyone with a teenage daughter who’s a mini version of her and a passive-aggressive teenage son who can’t stand Willow’s intrusion. Also a latino taxi driver! 

I also love love love that Willow is an INTELLIGENT and INQUISITIVE young BLACK girl. Now, she might be Indian or some other race of color. Black is just my guess. However, she IS a minority. 

This detail in the book is so important. I rarely come across a YA book with racial diversity. Especially when it comes to the protagonist of the story. This was refreshing.

Brilliant, Heartfelt, Funny

Seeing the world through Willow’s eyes was thrilling. I enjoyed all the information and facts about plants and conditions. Willow also made correlations to all these things compared to humans. She was learning about people through her own means. 

We get to see this bright, young thriving girl descend into darkness and slowly be brought back to the light with nurturing from a few unexpected sources. Willow’s comeback is moving and inspiring. But it’s not just about Willow. Naturally, everyone in her life are facing the ups and downs as well. We don’t just get to see Willow rise from the ashes; we get to see everyone rise and cope with this ordeal in their own way.

I laughed so many times while reading this. The humor was light, raw and real. It flowed so well. I think the funniest moments were with Dell and Quang-ha. 

Hands-Down

This is most definitely going down as one of my favorite books for 2018. I hold it very dear to my heart. I personally love anything that has gifted children involved in it. This book is a MUST have. 

Favorite Lines

• “And just being there is ninety-nine percent of what matters when your world falls apart.” 
• “For someone grieveng, moving forward is the challenge. Because after extreme loss, you want to go back.”
• “Plants (like people) thrive when there is balance.” 
• “When you care about people, it takes the spotlight off your own drama.” 
• “I have given in. But that’s different from giving up.”