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New novel from internationally bestselling author Ally Condie A tender and compelling contemporary story about facing grief and finding friendship. Hardcover | Kindle book
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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.Read more ›
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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.
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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.
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Counting by 7's is simply a beautiful story. It speaks from the heart with a raw level of emotion that was unexpected and seldom seen in middle grade fiction. Its life affirming message is masterfully delivered with prose that is well written and thought provoking. There are absolutely no mis-steps as the author paints a picture of a young girl destroyed by grief and rebuilt by love.
Willow Chance is a twelve year old genius. She is devoted to her garden, her parents, and quietly learning to manage the intricacies of middle school when both of her parents are killed in a car accident. Her life becomes chaos, and it's only through the efforts of an unlikely group of people that she discovers a future for herself. Willow is an astounding character that I won't soon forget. She touched my heart, and made this story a delight to read from start to finish.
Willow is surrounded by a group of unique people carefully crafted and nuanced. None of these characters are perfect or clichéd, and always manage to deliver surprises. They each come into Willow's life needing something, and their stories add to a narrative that becomes complex and increasingly inspirational as they are all effected by Willow's unique view of the world.
I could point to many instances in the plot that were contrived, when events relied just a bit too much on coincidence to be believable, and when things work out just a bit too easy. To do so would be to deny the slight touch of magic that seems to permeate these pages. This is a story that made me smile. It made me want to read it again the minute I finished it. I was sorry it was over. I wanted to be with Willow as she mulled over the life lessons to be learned from a plant.Read more ›
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