Counting By 7s Book Report

Books are an essential part of the lives of all people, and a good book can change the way someone views the world. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan teaches a beautiful story about Willow Chance, a young girl who learns lessons about coping with grief, the importance of diversity, and the true meaning of family. Being adopted never stopped Willow from having a happy life, but when her adoptive parents die in a tragic car accident, her world turns upside down. She is labeled as “highly gifted” and is interested by almost everything, especially plants and human diseases. However, she learns from her differences and impacts the lives of many others throughout the course of the novel. Ms. Chance meets a girl named Mai Nguyen, who later brings

Willow Chance is very different than other kids her age. She is interested by many things and her story is full of ups and downs, making readers fall in love with her character. She is a lot smarter than the kids her age, and even adults. In fact, she is accused of cheating in her new school for getting a perfect score on a state assessment, finishing in just under 18 minutes. While her principal is interrogating her for supposedly cheating, she wants to say, “Your left elbow displays the fifth form of psoriasis–an erythrodermic condition characterized by intense redness in large patches” (37). However, since she had little experience in these situations, does not argue and allows the principal to punish her. This leads her to see a counselor named Dell Duke. At first, Dell seemed to be a very ignorant man who definitely is not fit for the job as a school counselor. He is uncompassionate and unsympathetic, lacking two of the most important values as a mentor. However, as he spends many days after school with Willow, he starts to change. He begins to lose weight, as suggested by Willow, and takes more responsibilities for his actions overall. When Willow meets Mai, she starts to live with her family. Pattie, Mai’s mother, owns a nail salon and is seemingly very poor. They live inside a garage with bad conditions, however, “They don’t

This novel received a 4.16 star rating with over thirty thousand ratings (GoodReads). Although this book is aimed towards the youth, adults will undoubtedly enjoy reading this fascinating narrative as well. In 2013, this paperback won the Amazon Best Book of the Year, showing its relevance to consumers of all different backgrounds, receiving 4.7 stars out of 5. Many people have enjoyed reading this book, proving that more will too. This novel was also a New York Times Bestseller, as well as A Kids’ Indie Next List Top Ten Book (Amazon). Several reviewers have shared their praises for this book on a multitude of platforms. Maria Semple’s recommendation of this book states that it is, “a delightful tale of transformation that’s a celebration of life in all its wondrous, hilarious and confounding glory” (Back Cover). Counting by 7s won and was nominated for many more awards proving that people will enjoy it and that it has left a mark on the