Tatum V, Counting by 7’s
Jaurele-
I’m almost done with Counting by 7’s. Have you started yet? Because I feel like you’d love it. Willow is just trying to process what has just happened and with the help of her friends Mai, Pattie, and Dell I think she’s beginning to have feelings again. If you have started, who’s your favorite character? Sorry this is late I had more technical difficulties. I thought I posted something I almost swear I posted it but I can’t find it. Anyways I hope you are enjoying whatever book you are reading! Blog back soon!
– Tatum
2 Replies to “Tatum V, Counting by 7’s”
Hi Tatum!
I just finished Counting by 7s and you’re right – I loved it! I wrote a response to this earlier and it was lost when my internet connection went down. It has taken me a few days to get back to it and I’m sorry about that. (Needless to say I’m now saving this one as I go).
When an author can make me care about a character within a few pages I’m hooked. Holly Goldberg Sloan had me very invested in Willow right from the start. I was so sad when she lost her parents and I just had to know how she was going to get through it. I also instantly took to Mai when she decided, spur-of-the-moment, to take Willow under her wing on that terrible day. The same goes for Pattie. I think a person’s true colors come out in the face of tragedy and Willow is very lucky to have them both. It took longer for Quang-ha to grow on me but I realize that’s probably fitting because he was also the last to bond with Willow. Dell Duke is by far my favorite supportive character because of the transformation he goes through by the end of the novel. He’s so narrow-minded and flawed in the beginning but it’s fun to watch him slowly ditch the labels, for others and himself, and really begin to come out of his shell.
I love Sloan’s use of the garden as a metaphor throughout the story. Willow’s garden at her parent’s home is her sanctuary. Since she’s gifted it’s hard for her to connect with her peers and as she explains, “plants don’t talk back”. It, along with everything else, is ripped away from her the day of the accident. Willow’s grief turns her into a fallow field. For a long time she can’t even think about her old garden let alone consider growing anything elsewhere. Then she finally allows herself to plant some “temporary” sunflowers, which mirrors her own situation with the Nguyens. It breaks my heart when she runs into her old nursery pal Henry, who wants to know how she’s doing, and she later says to Dell, “I’m trying not to put down permanent roots. That’s probably what you should tell people like Henry”. I knew everything would work out when Henry later helps Willow plant trees and other permanent plants in the (no longer ironically named) Gardens of Glenwood.
I’m using this book to make my first artifact and I can’t wait to show you when I’m done!
Hi again! I’m so happy you read Counting by 7’s and once again we will have technical difficulties every once in a while, thanks for letting me know. Today we are just about to learn more about the artifact project and I’m very excited for this because I have very many ideas floating around in my head for what to do. And I also agree that Sloan really captured Willow’s garden in a way that made it more interesting then it seemed. She also did hook me from the beginning because she started from the present then she went to the past for the big build up to her parents death. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the book. I can’t wait to see your artifact!
-Tatum