Quick Book Reco: Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

That moment when you realize that you're reading a book as much and as fast as you can because you love it and can't get enough of it and want to know where the story goes and how it all ends...but you also know that you'll be so bummed when it's done and you won't get to read it anymore and you'll miss the characters terribly. Yeah, I had that moment here. I miss Willow already.

Another amazing middle grade novel. Another must read. Add it to your list: Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan.

I followed up the fantastic Wonder with this awesome book: Counting By 7s. As with Wonder, I read this in just a few short days and had trouble putting it down to attend to my motherly duties ("Okay, sweetie, let me just finish this page," was heard a lot in our house for a couple of days). You will quickly fall for the quirky main character, Willow Chance, and you will ache for her and cheer for her until the very last page. And, if you're like me, you'll also fall for Sloan's writing style, story line and character development...it's the total package! (I'm super impressed as both a reader and writer.)

Counting by 7s is about being an outsider, and coping with loss, and discovering where you belong. Willow Chance is a 12 year old genius with many obsessions but not many friends, who still manages to lead a quietly happy life...until tragedy strikes and her world is turned upside-down. Her journey to find her way through a world she doesn't really understand and the thick smoke of grief should feel tragic, but, in fact, it feels triumphant and heartwarming and endearing. Willow touches lives in unexpected ways that even she can't understand and manages to rise from the ashes of her former life with a strange, yet uniquely perfect new world for herself. She is every bit the survivor (and thriver) and she will stay with you even after the book is done.

I adored this book. And I bet you will too.

Until next time, I bid you good reading.

P.S. This was an Amazon Best Book of 2013, amongst other honors, and is recommended for ages 10 and up.

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