There are 7 things you should know about Willow Chance:
1. Willow Chance loves to count by 7s. 7s comfort her, and she loves to count them almost as much as she loves gardening and the color red.
2. Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius. She is fascinated by the natural world, and she knows more about biology and medicine than most doctors.
3. Willow Chance has lost her parents twice. When she was a baby, Willow was adopted by Jimmy and Roberta Chance. When Jimmy and Roberta are killed in a car accident, Willow finds herself alone in the world once again.
4. Willow Chance has never had a real friend before.
5. Willow Chance considers her school counselor to be a project. She suspects he might need her more than she needs him.
6. Willow Chance knows Vietnamese. She learned it in order to better understand Mai, the sassy high school girl she meets at her counselor’s office.
7. To those who are lucky enough to know her, Willow Chance is a blessing.
Counting by 7s is both heartbreaking and hopeful. It’s about loss, but it’s also about gain. It’s about making connections. It’s about friendship, and it’s about family…all kinds of family. It’s about responsibility. It’s about standing out and about fitting in. It’s about understanding just what kind of strange you really are. This beautiful middle grade novel is very highly recommended to readers ages 10 and up.
