Willow's mom finds out she has a tumor so as soon as she calls her husband he comes rushing and when there going to the place there is an accident and the two people Willow loved the most had just died.Willow's mom had found out she couldn't have a baby so they adopted Willow.Willow takes a test and he gets every question right so they send him to a counselor named Dell Duke.Willow meets to kids but one day as Dell is driving Willow home they both see that there are polices in front of Willow's house.They called Dell over and Willow heard that the people he loved the most had just died.He meets Mai a girl and Pattie the mom.Mai wants Pattie to take care of Willow but they live in the back of a nail salon.They go to live at Dell's place but take over and Dell has to sleep with somebody he doesn't even know across the hallway.Willow has many adventures running away and meeting new people.But will his life just keep getting sadder and sadder?Please read this book it is amazing.
Counting by 7s
By Holly Goldberg Sloan
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 3 - 8 | X | 5.6 | 62677 |
In the tradition of Out of My Mind, Wonder, and Mockingbird, this is an intensely moving middle grade novel about being an outsider, coping with loss, and discovering the true meaning of family.
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. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. 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.
"In achingly beautiful prose, Holly Goldberg Sloan has written a delightful tale of transformation that's a celebration of life in all its wondrous, hilarious and confounding glory. Counting by 7s is a triumph."--Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette
"Holly Goldberg Sloan writes about belonging in a way I've never quite seen in any other book. This is a gorgeous, funny, and heartwarming novel that I'll never forget."--John Corey Whaley, author of Where Things Come Back
"Willow Chance subtly drew me into her head and her life, so much so that I was holding my breath for her by the end. Holly Goldberg Sloan has created distinct characters who will stay with you long after you finish the book."--Sharon Creech, Newbery Award-winning author of Walk Two Moons
Book Reviews (145)
This book is about a genius girl who doesn't really understand feelings or jokes or stuff like that. Her parents die, and she stays with her new friend that is two years older that her. She stays with her friend's family for a couple months, living in her counselor's apartment. She makes a very well planned garden, which sort of helps her recover from the shock of her parents dieing. Pattie (Mai's mom), Mai, Quang-ha (Mai's brother), Dell Duke ( willows counselor), and a taxi driver that thinks Willow is his angel, step in and take custody of her forever when they find out she is going to a foster care home. This is one of my 5 favorite books. It is very well detailed and it makes you feel what Willow is feeling. If you are a bookworm, read this book!
This is a book about a girl who is a genius and has to go to a counselor because she supposedly cheated. But she didn't, she just decided to pay attention. She keeps the counselor a secret from her parents. While she is there, she meets her best friend who is 2 years older than her. One day, she goes to the counselor's office and he drives her back to her house and they find police officers by it. What she didn't know was that her mom was going to a dermatoligist appointment and that they had found a tumor. Her parents were on their way to get it removed when they got hit by a car and died. They were going to tell her when it was all over, but they never got the chance to. Her best friend's mom takes custody over her until the social service people find a place for her to go to foster care. They live in a garage, and the social service people come for a check...but not there. They convinced the counselor, Dell Duke, to let them use his apartment. When the social service people come and tell her they have found a place for her, Peggy, her best friend's mom steps in and decides to take custody of her forever. While they were living in his apartment, they constructed a garden where an ugly rock used to be, and Willow draws very detailed plans for the garden, resulting in Dell Duke becoming building representative for his apartment building(you'll figure out why if you read it). Peggy decides she wants to buy the building and live in it. All in all, this is a wonderful story.
This book looks so good! Its about a girl genius who's parents died and she really wants to fit in with everyone else.
I loved this book...it was an interesting story about a Hmong family, a genius and a man trying to find his purpose in life. This strange combination of friends each has an impact on the other than none can imagine.