Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

What is life like when you think on a different plane than anyone else your age, focusing on the small details around you while compiling them all into a larger picture of the world? You can count by 7's.

This is Willow Chance's world until her parents are killed in a car crash and she's left in the care of five very different people who try to make her life manageable. However, they all have challenges of their own to overcome, which makes them all the more interesting. There's a guidance counselor lacking in self-esteem, an industrious Vietnamese family living in poverty, and a taxi driver who dreams of going to college. One of the side plots involves Willow's penchant for gardening which highlights the personalities of the leading characters based on their approaches to the planting process.

Sloan has delivered a unique story that will delight and inspire middle school readers.

~Lynette