Review: Counting by 7s

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I found this to be a very touching book. The main character is an extremely intelligent girl, probably in the profoundly gifted range. Because of her interests and oddities, she has never fit in, especially at school, but until her parents are both killed in a car crash, she was able to deal with the world on her own terms. After the accident, her world is completely destroyed. The odd assortment of characters that eventually come to her aid are fully realized and believable.

One of the most interesting of the lesser characters for me is the rather disgusting Del Duke. He is the ineffective counselor of both Willow and Guang Ha. (Since I only have the audio version, that is probably spelled wrong.) Del Duke's characterization is a fascinating depiction of failed mediocrity.

Willow herself seems to have some of the characteristics that I would associate with Asperger's syndrome. She is obsessed with certain things and has a very analytical way of dealing with other people. She is able to analyze everyone's behavior, but dealing with people doesn't come naturally to her. The book is a description of how she gradually comes back to a life with people who care for her - just as she is.

And a comment about the audio version of the book. I think the reader of the book, Robin Miles, does an excellent job with Willow's voice - probably a lot better than I could have done, if I had read it silently to myself. I wonder how much of my understanding of Willow (see previous paragraph) is colored by Ms. Miles' narration. I generally write my review of a book before I read other reviews (if possible) and will be interested to see what others thing about Willow.



View all my reviews