counting by sevens by holly goldberg sloan

Then whilst at BEA, I saw the Middle Grade buzz panel which featured this book and it sounded wonderful. Why did I read this book: I’ve heard nothing but good things about Holly Goldberg Sloan’s debut I’ll Be There.

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publishers – from BEA Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life. Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. My bad.In the tradition of Out of My Mind, Wonder, and Mockingbird, this is an intensely moving middle grade novel about being an outsider, coping with loss, and discovering the true meaning of family. I guess the preponderance of one sentence rave reviews should have clued me in. I just thought I'd lay out some thoughts for people like me who are older adults, love YA, and are wondering whether to get this audiobook. I realize this book was not written for my age bracket, and I am a lone dissenter here. I did not feel anyone was developed well enough to hook me in or make me care about them. The counselor's behavior was far-fetched, and the friend's mom's behavior strained any credibility. I did not find the other characters interesting or at all believable. I did not find it particularly sad or funny or happy or anything else for that matter. In addition, she was not very likeable to me. She sounded like she attended medical school. Willow's intelligence stretched my credibility levels. No way was I convinced this was a 12 year old speaking. Some of my thoughts as to why I am quitting it after 4 hours are the following: While I love Robin Miles as a narrator, this story and character, Willow, needed a younger voice. I Guess I Am Just Too Old To Enjoy This Book!Īs an older adult who usually loves YA literature, I felt very surprised listening to this book, as I found myself enjoying it less and less as time went on.

Counting by sevens by holly goldberg sloan