Reviews

Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

victoria_08's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

stephaniesteen73's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book! Willow Chance is one of the most memorable characters I've read. This story was sweet, touching and redemptive. Don't be fooled by its exterior as a quick "middle grade" read...there is so much depth in such a simple story. Can't wait to read more of Sloan's books!

allicatca's review against another edition

3.0

I'm debating between 2 and 3 stars. The writing style of this book bugged me SO MUCH.

All of the asides (some in parentheses). Annoying!

"... he has a new swagger in his step. I don't see anything anymore but I can't help but notice.".

I finished the book and I liked the overall story.
The fact that Willow enjoyed counting BY 7s and then stopped but still liked 7 as a number... it wasn't enough of a theme to warrant the title of the book, imho.

More than anything else, the switch between 1st person chapters and 3rd person chapters drove me crazy.

I wish the book could be reworked somehow.

sumayyaha's review against another edition

5.0

Rating - 4.5 Stars
____________________________________

I really loved the story overall and all the tiny bits and pieces.

The only thing I have to say about it is that sometimes there would be sentences that I wouldn't get, like I wasn't in on the joke that everyone else got. I feel like I was supposed to get what it meant but I didn't. Exhibit A: "I think Dell liked the word nasty." That was the entire sentence and even reading the sentence before it over again, I didn't understand it. But I moved past those small instances and looked at the bigger picture and it was heart-wrenchingly good.

ejnations's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

reader4evr's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Willow is definitely that odd but lovable character. I just felt like the story was a little out there and not really believable.

kng_writes's review against another edition

4.25

Super fast paced. Among the best middle grade YA books I’ve ever read. Even as an adult, I was wrapped all the way in. My only issue was with the audiobook narrators pronunciation of the last name “Nguyen” as Noo-Win. Come on. How did that make it through editing? 

bookph1le's review against another edition

5.0

Yep, I cried at the end. This is such a beautiful book about the way people relate with one another, about the basic human need for the company of other human beings. I loved all the characters, even though some were so severely flawed. This book was real in all the right ways, and is a fantastic example of the power of literature written for younger people.

mikelyn31's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

megan_stine's review

3.75

Cute middle grade story. Deals with death of parents. Main character seems to be on our the spectrum.  Wholesome but slow at times.