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.
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68 of 74 people found the following review helpful.
Richie's Picks: Counting by 7s
By N. S.
Meet twelve year-old black, bespectacled, self-aware genius and gardener Willow Chase, who is obsessed with the number 7; obsessed with studying and observing medical conditions, and obsessed with plants. Not long into the story, Willow is suddenly thrown out of the Garden when her white adoptive parents die in a horrific car accident.Leading up to the accident, Willow has, herself, been following a collision course that begins with being referred by her school principal to a counselor named Dell Duke, this being the result of the principal's determination that Willow has cheated on a State standardized test. (She completed the test in 17 minutes and was the only student in the State to answer every question correctly, which might provide a clue as to why she hasn't been at all engaged with middle school, other than as a silent observer of bizarre behaviors.)Counselor Dell Duke (who categorizes the students he works with as THE STRANGE, MISFITS, ODDBALLS, and LONE WOLVES), quickly learns that he needs a whole new category for this young woman. And in the wake of Willow's second loss of parents in her short life (having already been adopted the first time), it will be counselor Dell Duke; plus one of the other students he works with named Nguyen Quang-ha; plus Quang-ha's sister Nguyen Thi Mai; plus Quang-ha and Mai's mother Pattie; plus a taxi driver named Jairo Hernandez; who will affect and be affected by this amazing girl.COUNTING BY 7s reminds me of BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE because of the way that Willow is saved from going to the pound (being thrown into The System) by unlikely heroine Pattie Nguyen (Quang-ha and Mai's mother), the Vietnamese immigrant proprietress of a nail salon. Like India Opal Buloni's decision in the moment to lie about the stray dog and claim ownership, Pattie lies about her relationship to Willow, who she's just met, and this sets the stage for a profound and moving story in which a whole group of idiosyncratic characters are brought together, find family and community, and have their lives enriched and changed forever by this amazing genius of a girl."I pulled my wheeled luggage to the cab door and leaned in through the open window as I said: 'I would like the number of your taxi license and to see proof of your compliance with brake and headlight adjustment requirements.'"The driver's name was Jairo Hernandez, and he had been driving for Mexicano Taxi for seven years."I particularly love how taxi driver Jairo Hernandez virtually hits the lottery again and again for having randomly and so fortunately encountered Willow on that first taxi ride.(And I love how what comes around goes around.)COUNTING BY 7s also makes me think of Natalie Merchant singing of people struggling and fighting for the simple pleasures in their lives. This is a tale of at-risk kids and at-risk adults, and it makes it that much sweeter to see what comes to them all because of Willow Chase.One final note: The cover of COUNTING BY 7s, in which a bright red fish is seen swimming again a large school of nondescript fish, is notable, engaging, and perfect for what is contained in these 384 pages that had me swimming right along with Willow from beginning to end.A big-time middle school read.
65 of 71 people found the following review helpful.had to read it all
By Donna Smith
So well written. Good for middle grades,YA and even adults. Not morose or disturbing, no boyfriend-girlfriend stuff, not fast paced action, no bad language, just good thought provoking reading.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful.Loved it -- heartfelt, not depressing
By Jennifer Donovan
When you read a brief description about a book which essentially labels the 12-year-old protagonist Willow as a genius misfit and an orphan (twice over), one has to assume that it's a sad, sad book.But it's not. It's a quirky, uplifting, heartwarming book that is -- yes -- about misfits (several more enter the cast of characters) and loneliness and loss, but also about taking chances, healing, starting over, and learning to connect.When Willow's parents are both killed in an accident, her life becomes entangled with her school guidance counselor Dell Duke, an underachieving sad person himself, and the Nguyen family. She only met Mai and Quang-Ha a few weeks before when she was early for her session and Quang-Ha was late in his, but she felt a connection with the slightly-older Mai, who began to take charge of them all, even Dell Duke. Since they are with her when she is notified of the news, they sort of claim squatter's rights to her.I laughed out loud several times at Sloan's observations about human nature, whether they were conveyed through Willow's POV or Quang-Ha's or Dell's. My heart also warmed at the kindness and care.Is it super-realistic? Maybe not. The portrayal of Willow's grief might be a bit off, but honestly I think it was pretty right on. The other elements, such as the way the foster system takes care of Willow might not be so realistic, but that is one of the things I love about middle grade fiction. People seem to hold books like this that tackle "issues" to a higher standard of realism, but I think that the slightly less realistic and more "fairy tale" approach is what make me love books (and movies) that deal with heavier topics.Adults have taken to reading middle grade and young adult books about wizards and vampires and teenagers put in an arena to fight to the death. I wish that more adults would read books such as this one. I loved it.
