Counting by 7s

Counting by 7s, Holly Goldberg Sloan

This is the third book my son and I have read in the last eighteen months which focuses on kids that are bit different. The others were Wonder and Out of my mind.

This is the story of Willow, a 12 year old genius who is obsessed with the details of medical conditions and the growth of plants, and who reverts to counting by 7s to cope with stressful situations. She was adopted as a baby by loving parents but in the opening scenes, her parents are both killed in a car accident. For Willow, whose life is centred around them devoid of any friends or family, her world falls apart.

She is taken on reluctantly by a school counsellor and more so, by a new found friend, a Vietnamese girl along with her mum & brother. Willow starts to see that life just might go on. When they all go to extraordinary lengths to care for her, she finds herself able to adapt and change in ways previously unknown.

I read it in one sitting (2-3 hours) and while still think that Wonder and Out of my mind were better and covered situations with more depth and insight; this is still an excellent book for young readers. My son (11) really enjoyed it and kept telling me to read it, and I’m glad I did. He preferred it to Out of my mind, finding it funnier and also liked the way that it had people helping one another who weren’t family.

The books my son now reads cover some very mature topics and I enjoy reading them alongside him and being able to talk about them. I am actually enjoying youth fiction more than adult fiction these days. More kids book review coming in following weeks...