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srivalli 's review for:
Counting by 7s
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
I wanted to like the book more than I did. It deals with important topics and has been written for kids. While I have no issues with exaggerating the prowess of a 12yo, I do have issues with how 'money' is dealt with in the book.
Another issue is with Dell's credit cards that don't seem to max out ever. I don't know how much a counselor would get paid, but things don't seem to add up.
Top it all, Jairo wins a jackpot for millions just when he decides to join college again and study. How convenient! Even though the book is for middle-graders, wouldn't it better to keep such things a little practical? If everyone's monetary problems were solved so easily, we'd be living with ease.
Now, Willow meets Dell as her counselor because the school thought she cheated in her exam. How is it that her new school didn't know she was gifted? The tests were done long ago. The papers would've been shared with the school during admission, I presume. Or is that not how the system works in the US?
Dell, what do I say? I'd have to blame the entire system that he does nothing for the kids, and people have no idea. Sure, it happens in many fields, but isn't counseling serious work? You are dealing with fragile humans, and here it is kids who would grow up into broken adults.
Mai's arc is the steadiest, and I really liked her. I liked Pattie until the end. Willow is pretty much everything she can be from a researcher to a medical examiner and whatnot.
What I did like in the book was abrupt writing. Somehow, it add to the pace, and I finished the book in 2+ days. The shift in POVs wasn't smooth. Nope. It's the dry and sort of dark humor that made the narration better (or maybe I have a twisted sense of humor).
Spoiler
How can Pattie have enough money saved to buy an entire apartment but not use some of it to rent a decent house to live with her kids? She's got them all living in a garage when hoarding as many thousands of dollars? As if that's not enough, she decides to spend all her saving on a building! Imagine a little kid using this as an example to think that their parent has done the same.Another issue is with Dell's credit cards that don't seem to max out ever. I don't know how much a counselor would get paid, but things don't seem to add up.
Top it all, Jairo wins a jackpot for millions just when he decides to join college again and study. How convenient! Even though the book is for middle-graders, wouldn't it better to keep such things a little practical? If everyone's monetary problems were solved so easily, we'd be living with ease.
Now, Willow meets Dell as her counselor because the school thought she cheated in her exam. How is it that her new school didn't know she was gifted? The tests were done long ago. The papers would've been shared with the school during admission, I presume. Or is that not how the system works in the US?
Dell, what do I say? I'd have to blame the entire system that he does nothing for the kids, and people have no idea. Sure, it happens in many fields, but isn't counseling serious work? You are dealing with fragile humans, and here it is kids who would grow up into broken adults.
Mai's arc is the steadiest, and I really liked her. I liked Pattie until the end. Willow is pretty much everything she can be from a researcher to a medical examiner and whatnot.
What I did like in the book was abrupt writing. Somehow, it add to the pace, and I finished the book in 2+ days. The shift in POVs wasn't smooth. Nope. It's the dry and sort of dark humor that made the narration better (or maybe I have a twisted sense of humor).