by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Amazon Description:
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn't kept her from leading a quietly happy life...until now.
Suddenly Willow's world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. this extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.
My Thoughts:
Counting by 7s is inspiring, insightful, and in a category all its own. While the theme of the novel is probably dealing with grief, there are also issues of family, diversity, and perseverance that make this middle grade book a must-read! The character development and voice of the main character, are off the chart. Counting by 7s is one of those special middle grade novels that I would highly recommend to readers from the ages of eight to eighty.
To learn more about the multi-talented author, Holly Goldberg Sloan, click here: http://hollygoldbergsloan.com/aboutholly.html
