Counting by Sevens- Erin Abreo

In the book Counting by Seven’s I believe they want its readers to talk about being a unique individual and being able to truly feel comfortable being themselves. I also think this book provides a setting for individuals who have been through similar situations such as loosing a parent, to relate to the text more. It also provides a text that can get children who haven’t experienced something tragic like this to understand what someone who has been through this might feel like. The book clearly prompts some good discussions about creating or finding your identity and being able to have a support system in life. I was able to connect to the fact that this book talked about a student who was going through a rough time in middle school. I personally was a very shy person while growing up so when she is experiencing some of those reserved moments I could really relate. This helped me feel more of a connection to the text and make it easier to read in the end.

In the book Counting by Seven’s it seems to assume that every child has been through a period in their life when they are going through that awkward stage of trying to truly find your own identity. I think this is definitely true in most children and even most adults’ lives today. Although this is put in a specific state of loosing a parent/parents, the overall theme of finding your self can relate to many children’s lives. There were parts of the book I didn’t agree with like when it seems to want to group children into groups of “who’s who”. I think every person is unique and grouping people into bubbles is the worst thing we can start to do. I believe this text mirrors the overall hardships of the middle school reality. Everyone is growing through changes and whether it is relating to bullying or having a family value system or once again creating your own identity, this book can really help a student maneuver through this period in their life by seeing how the main character did it.

I personally can’t think of a specific book title that would directly relate to Counting by Seven’s, but I do know there are several out there that cover this same topic of a child going through life and encountering some type of major speed bumps and obstacle s along the way. This book definitely shows how having a support system while going through tough times can really help out and how you might have to go through some stuff to get there but as long as you stay positive there’s always a light at the end of those hard times in life. Overall this book seems to fit under the category of realist rather than fantasy because of all of the real life events that could actually occur to any one of your students. It seems to create somewhat of a guide for a student to help cope with an event like this happening to them. Also it could serve to help others understand what it might feel like to actually go through an event such as the one in the book.