Counting by 7s

By: Holly Goldberg Sloan

Willow Chance is a 12 year old genius!  She is obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions.  One day while Willow was waiting to meet her counselor, she met a Vietnamese girl named Mai, and she also met Mai's brother Quang-ha.  Willow and Mai started to become friends, Willow even learned Vietnamese so that she could speak to her new friend in her language.  After a day of counseling, Willow's counselor, Dell, drove her and Mai home, when they reached Willow's home, there were police cars everywhere that an accident happened and that both of her parents were dead.  And that, is where Willow Chances story begins.

I would recommend this book to 12 year old and up.  This book is beautifully written and has such a great story!  And, this book helps you appreciate your family and parents so much more. I loved this book so much, it is now one of my most favorite books that I have read.  And I don't think that you would be disappointed after reading this.

Willow was just a brave girl.  Even though she lost both of her parents she stayed positive and kept moving forward.  Willow was so grateful when her new friend that she hasn't even know that long took her in and fed and cared for her.  Willow also had great ideas.  She didn't like the way the the "garden" in the Garden of Glenwoods apartment complex looked.  So decided to get permission from the bank so that she could turn it into a real beautiful garden. 

"When you care about other people, it takes the spotlight off your own drama."  After Willow's parents died, she was having a rocky start.  Then, she started helping people with their problems and started thinking less about herself.  She later realized that was a huge help in her life and that if made things easier on her.