"Counting by 7s" could really resonate with you if you're drawn to stories of unique characters overcoming adversity. Willow isn’t your average protagonist; she’s a young genius grappling with the ultimate loss and searching for connection. This journey is beautifully written, full of heartache and hope, managing to bring a refreshing take on finding one’s place in the world. Willow’s tale isn’t just sad—there’s joy, growth, and a celebration of life's oddities that might just make you see the world a little differently.

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• Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Grades 6-8 (2015)
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2015)
• Beehive Book Award Nominee
• Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Nominee (2015)
• BEA Buzz Book for Middle Grade (2013)
• North Carolina Young Adult Book Award for Middle School (2015)
• Children's Literature Council of Southern California Award for Excellence in Juvenile Fiction (2014)
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Middle Grade & Children's (2013)
• Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2016)

A New York Times BestsellerIn 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.Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. 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 . . . until now. Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.  * “Willow's story is one of renewal, and her journey of rebuilding the ties that unite people as a family will stay in readers' hearts long after the last page.”— School Library Journal  starred review* “A graceful, meaningful tale featuring a cast of charming, well-rounded characters who learn sweet—but never cloying—lessons about resourcefulness, community, and true resilience in the face of loss.”— Booklist  starred review* “What sets this novel apart from the average orphan-finds-a-home book is its lack of sentimentality, its truly multicultural cast (Willow describes herself as a “person of color”; Mai and Quang-ha are of mixed Vietnamese, African American, and Mexican ancestry), and its tone. . . . Poignant.”— The Horn Book  starred review"In achingly beautiful prose, Holly Goldberg Sloan has written a delightful tale of transformation that’s a celebration of life in all its wondrous, hilarious and confounding glory.  Counting by 7s  is a triumph."—Maria Semple, author of  Where’d You Go, Bernadette

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