A review by edelstein
Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

dark hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

It has been years since I found myself so enraptured in a book that I read it in a single setting. This book, which I happened to stumble across through a comment of TikTok of all places, has been one of the most engaging, heart-wrenching, and hopeful stories that I've read about loss. All of the characters grow and change in believable ways in reaction to the plot, yet retain their original charm that we were introduced to. The only flaw of this book comes at the ending, where a plot point is resolved out of nowhere due to a character

hiding that they had access to a large fortune in saving despite making them and their kids live out of a garage for the majority of the book

, but this does not detract from the strong characters and themes throughout the rest of the novel.