1.75k reviews for:

Din 7 în 7

Holly Goldberg Sloan

4.08 AVERAGE

thomasmannia's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jessk4's review against another edition

3.5

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

llinthelibrary's review against another edition

4.0

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This is a beautiful, heartbreaking but also very optimistic story of a 12 year old genius who loses both parents in a tragic accident and must pick up the pieces of her life with the help of some unique characters. I thought the symbolism in this story was beautiful and I really enjoyed the characters.

k_pressley16's review against another edition

5.0

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“Connectedness. One thing leads to another. Often in unexpected ways.”

elsiebrady's review against another edition

4.0

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I related to this book through my gardener son. I enjoyed how a community of "odd balls" came together--"it takes a village to raise a child."

leesuh's review against another edition

3.0

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3.5 stars


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I’m going to be completely honest right now; the first thing to draw me to Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan wasn’t the story or the author or anything like that. It was the amazing cover. I don’t know why that’s important. The cover kind of has nothing to do with the book at all, but I wanted to say it.

I’m having a hard time trying to get my thoughts together, so here comes a bullet point review!

Things I Liked:

The story was super cute and very interesting. I feel like it would have been so easy for the author to take the tone in another direction, but even in the less happy parts there was still a feeling of hope.

Willow Chance was a very quirky character. A twelve year old genius, Willow was always spewing out facts and thinking in very logical, analytical, but not boring ways. I loved that she didn’t deny herself the chance to be upset, but at the same time she knew she had to keep going. Her intelligence told her the world went on, but her youth and general humanity balanced it out to a mix of moving on and standing still/grieving. (Did any of that make sense or was I just talking again?)

I adored watching this cute, dysfunctional, amazing mixed-and-matched family form. I loved watching the characters get to know and love each other. By the end of the book I about died over how close they had all gotten. And the moments when they realized they loved each other? *sniff* I need a tissue.

 

Things I Didn't Like:

Dell Duke. I almost quit this novel near the beginning because I truly disliked a character named Dell Duke. I mean… I find characters I don’t like all. the. time. But generally I can find at least one redeeming quality about them. I had trouble finding anything I liked about Dell. Luckily I stayed on board, because the more I read the less I hated him. But still… he was something to get used to. (He did grow a lot throughout the story, though. I’ll give him that.)

I loved how witty and smart Willow was, but sometimes I was rolling my eyes at her. There were some things she was so ignorant or naïve about and it left me feeling unsure about her character. I know she’s something of an “outcast” because she’s intellectually advanced, but she talked/thought like a robot on more than one occasion. I mean, it was like she had no idea about people or culture. She’s a human… she would have known some of these things simply because she’s alive. Right? (I guess you have to read it to know what I mean.)

I don’t know if it’s just me… but I feel like this book was a taaad stereotypical. Asians with a nail salon, a deadbeat who likes comic books, a white couple adopting a black baby, et cetera…. I know there are people I just described to a T. I’m well aware… but I also just described some stereotypes. I’m not a stereotype/cliché stickler by any means, but I feel like there were just so many in this book. Maybe my noticing all that says more about me than anything, but I don’t know. Even Willow being smart but culturally ignorant is something of a stereotype. Bleh.

 
 

As you can see, I have a lot of feelings. At the end of the day, good and bad combined, Counting by 7s is a book I would recommend. It’s marketed as middle grade, but I feel like it’s a little bit older. I don’t read much middle grade, though, so it’s totally possible I’m underestimating younger people. (I don’t mean to, I swear!)

A little sad, a little funny, a little heartwarming… I don’t have anything witty to say. (oops) This one is worth a read.

aprater's review against another edition

4.0

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I love the way this book took such a small timeframe to develop such complex characters. The story was engaging and thought provoking in development of a child living outside the natural box of society's expectations. I was so into the story I was a little disappoointed at the hanging ending.

crwof's review against another edition

5.0

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Didn't really know what to expect when I started reading this aloud as a bedtime story. The main character is written really well, the whole story is written really well - reminds me I must look and see if there are any more books from this author. Most definitely a good read.

trybngr8tv007's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

juliepjones's review against another edition

4.0

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A nice mix of
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
and
Pollyanna
This story will restore your hope in the good that’s in all of us.