Book: Counting by 7s

Counting by 7s

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Length: 378 pages

Format: Hardback
Price: Checked out from my school library

How I heard about it: my awesome YAL conference

Basic Premise: Twelve-year-old Willow Chance is more than an odd name - she's an odd duck (which she would readily tell you).  An undisputed GENIUS, and a bit of a lone wolf, she loves anything to do with growing things and medical ailments.  She never quite found her niche at school, but when tragedy strikes her family, a strange little niche seems to find her.

My Take: 8 out of 10 (scale here)

I adored this book.  Willow is a force - a rigid, complex character who takes all things seriously and leaves all adults staring after her with their mouths hanging open.  I liked that particular quality about her.  I loved the writing style - it was quick, witty, and the perfect mix of both funny and thought-provoking.  The author told the bulk of the story through Willow's eyes in a first-person narrative, but she forayed into the minds of other characters with 3rd person, which was a bit confusing in the beginning.  The writer also often started a new paragraph rather than simply a new sentence, and while I can see how that might be irritating to another reader, 

I liked it.

It worked.  

It's definitely a good one for students.  It deals with feeling like an outcast, dealing with loss, the meshing of cultures, and learning how to be yourself.  It was an excellent read an one I'd like to get for my classroom.