When it comes to the technical aspects of Counting by 7s, this book is five star all the way. It's written in a style I absolutely LOVED, and the voice of the protagonist we clear to me and brilliantly rendered all through the writing. I mentioned in my updated how difficult it must be to write a twelve-year-old protagonist who is a genius, and still have her sound to the ear like a child, not an adult. It worked for me. I loved Willow and I truly believed she was who she said she was. She was very mature and real, and I never once disbelieved in her voice. That's very important, and the author is very talented. But...when it comes to the content of this book, I had problems. I know I am probably going to be in the minority with my feelings on this book, and it worries me a little. First things first. Let's get personal. My husband is an elementary school teacher. So you can image how I feel about teachers, administrators, counselors, school nurses, blah blah blah, and all the work they do. So when I see the character of a counselor (who wasn't a truly bad guy per se) that would NEVER get past the interview process to be hired, I'm thinking I don't like the way the public school system in this book is portrayed. And I stand by that statement. Dell was not a bad character. I actually liked him for the most part. But I didn't like that he was a school counselor. I didn't like the believability in this part of the story, and it totally didn't work for me.To reword this in another way (I wrote this in my pre-review): There is no way someone like Dell would slip through the school system and be able to counsel kids like he did with his unorthodox methods. That is damaging and destructive to kids. In the end, lessons are learned and all that, but I don't think this is okay, and it really shows a lack of respect to counselors, schools, and everyone that teaches. With a husband as a teacher, I take umbrage with this portrayal and it bothered me from the very beginning. And that's just the way it is. Agree or don't agree, it's the way I feel.And then the other thing has something to do with the ending, and I will put it beyond a BIG FAT SPOILER WARNING. This has to do with Pattie. We find out at the end that Pattie has a boatload of money that she has been hoarding in piles somewhere. The first thing is the amount of detail this whole twist to the story lacks. But then I think, "Wait a second. She lived in a garage behind her nail salon (that was basically a hovel without proper running water--they had to take showers in the salon) with her two kids for years before Willow came along." HUH WHAT? So then she can afford to buy an ENTIRE apartment building after she adopts Willow, so the little girl can have her freaking garden and they can all live together still, including Dell? This is just ridiculous. So Willow is more important to her than her own kids by birth? And you wonder why they are messed up and in counseling with Dell (who has no BUSINESS being a counselor) in the first place. I just can't even with this entire ending.Sorry for the rant. Well, not really, but this whole ending was just a mess to me. I know it seems like I hated this book, but I really didn't. I loved the characters beyond the inaccuracies that I stated above. I thought they were wonderful, charming, realistic, and I really enjoyed reading them. I loved the tone of the book, the writing, and the style it was written in. I found it truly engaging and I am absolutely positive that this book will be nominated for awards. I am in love with this author's writing and I definitely want to read I'll Be There now and anything else this author writes. But I found some of the content here problematic. Sad.
