Counting By 7s Analysis

Karen Gonzales

Class 303

4-14-16

Analysis on Counting By 7s

Retrospect is used to create the major theme of the story. The novel Counting By 7s written by Holly Goldberg Sloan is about a young girl who was having a time fitting into a new school, but to make matters worse, she unexpectedly loses everything, even her parents. After that, she learns to live independently and finds help along the way.

Counting By 7s is the story of an adopted green thumb, medical condition geek, and number seven loving young girl, Willow Chance adopted by Roberta and Jimmy Chance. The book is viewed in retrospect and she begins to look at the day her adoptive parents get into a serious car crash, and she loses them. The story then jumps two months before the crash, to a few days before a new school year. Once the school year begins, Willow has a hard time fitting in, being the outcast of the school. The first day of school, everyone needs takes a standardized test. Yet, a week after the test she is sent to the principal’s office. There, she’s

accused of cheating, since she was the only one who got a perfect score on it. So she is sent to the school counselor, Dell Duke. From there, it explains her life from her visits to the school counselor to her meeting of her only best friend Mai Nguyen, a high schooler, to where her view of retrospect begun, the crash where she lost most everything. After the crash, Mai’s family helps Willow, since no relatives come for her. After a time together, Pattie Nguyen, Mai’s mom, decides to adopt Willow.
The biggest part of retrospect found in the book Counting By 7s is where Jimmy and Roberta Chance die. This part of the book plays a big part on retrospect because not only is it introduced in the first chapter of the novel. But, she loved her parents, and most of the book is based on how she lived without them, and life before their death. When she found out they had passed, she wanted to go back. “And after that in whispers comes the news that the people that I love the most are gone forever. No...No. I need to rewind. I want to go back. Will anyone go with me?” This quote shows how devastating it was for her, and the reason why the book is viewed in retrospect. To re-live most of the memories the three had before her parents passed.
Another part of retrospect found in the last few paragraphs of Counting By 7s is where Pattie Nguyen reveals a secret that barely one person knew about, that she has been “stacking money”.

The first time Willow meets Pattie, she sees her family living in poverty. The family is seen living in the garage of Pattie’s nail shop, Happy Polish Nails. It is not until Pattie decides to not only adopt Willow but in the process, buy an apartment for them to live in. And at that point, she could not hide it from anyone anymore, she had to admit she had “crazy mad money.” In retrospect, Pattie could have completely spoiled her own children. However, she made her family live in entire poverty. Yet, when Willow steps into their lives, Pattie is willing to pay that much money for Willow. Even if she is now Willow’s adoptive parent, Pattie treated her in a better way than her own children. Which, in my opinion, is not the way it should have

been.
The novel, Counting By 7s, in my opinion, was set up flawlessly, the structure was amazing and her change in point of views gave the book something most books do not have. The idea of retrospect made the theme of the book pop out even more. In addition to the imagery in parts of the book, which were exceptional. When Willow first meets Dell Duke, her student counselor, she gives a very detailed explanation on what he looks like, from head to toe, including some medical conditions. She begins to explain to him as a “round” headed, “chubby, bearded man.” Who had “thick, curly hair and ruddy skin,” With this explanation of him you might already be able to picture Dell Duke, yet she continues for more detail. Since she said “he was at least of partial Mediterranean origin.” So, imagery also, alongside with retrospect, plays a big role in the novel, in addition to the imagery also being one of the best parts of the book, for me. This is because Willow gives you a detailed explanation of what the person or place looks like to her. Meaning to get to see mostly everything through her eyes, making everything make a little more sense. So, Counting By 7s was not only an amazing book with an amazing plot, but it was packed with well-used author’s craft.