I read Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. I thought that the book was great and was a very powerful story. The book had some sad moments and humorous ones to help make it an overall very good book. It was a very inspiring, and made you feel connected to the characters the whole way through. Willow was a very relatable character in many ways and all the characters were very unique.
At the start of the book you are introduced to Willow Chance, a 12 year old genius. The book begins at Fosters Freeze Ice Cream Parlour. Willow and her friends, Mai and Quang-Ha, are there with their counselor Dell Duke. When Willow arrives home there are policemen outside her house. They tell Dell Duke that there has been an accident. Without giving away too much of the book, I’ll say that Willow is taken into custody of the government. Throughout the book Willow has to try to adjust to her new life and learn how to cope with her loss. Along the way Willow makes many new friends, some that she would never have expected, and things happen that you never would suspect.
The author did an amazing job of making you feel connected with the characters and the story itself. Throughout the book I found myself feeling emotions that Willow felt. For instance when Willow experienced a huge change in her life that impacted her in a bad way, I was sad right along with her. The way Willow’s character was described was very easy to connect with and you could relate to some of the things she dealt with. I think that one of the things that makes a good book is if you can relate. If you can relate to the story I think that it keeps you more intrigued and keeps you reading. Holly Sloan, I feel, did a very good job of keeping you interested.
“Willows story is one of renewal, and her journey of rebuilding ties that untie as a family will stay in the readers hearts long after the last page.”-School Library Journal. Counting By 7s has lessons that you will carry with you even after you are done reading. Willow shows readers how you can overcome even the biggest hardships. At the end of the book Willow realizes that no matter what happens, life will go on. It tells us that not everything will always be fine, but even then you’ll get through it. The book is overall a very heartwarming story that will stay with you for a long time.
In conclusion, Counting By 7s was definitely worth my time to read. It was a very memorable book and I took away many lessons and good points from it. It was easy to connect to and was fun to read. From start to finish it kept you intrigued and made you want to continue reading. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read. I give it 5/5 turtles.

Puffin Books
New York, New York
9/16/14