Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Wow, this is the most inspirational book I've read in a long time. I easily read it through in one sitting, and was astounded at how moving and grounding it was at the same time. I cried several times and laughed aloud several times. I think nowhere could the positive aspects of human nature be displayed better than in this book about a young, adopted "genius" who loses her parents and must find a new life and a new family.

"I agreed to return because he seemed to be very excited about the aptitude tests and I thought that he might be depressed. It was possible that he was making some progress in his mental health condition by seeing me."

The pooled support of the individual characters and their constructive interpersonal interactions show what the idea of "community" is all about. Or at least, what it should aspire to be. And although it may put your reality of "community" to shame, there's no judgement there…just understanding and the silent offering of a way things could be better.

The book also explores the wonderful theme of categorization--that we all inherently categorize things to make sense of the world, but when the world doesn't make sense, we have to readjust our way of thinking. Sometimes this means adjusting our categories, sometimes this means changing our process of categorization, and sometimes this means realizing that categorization of the subject isn't productive or possible.

"All reality, I decide, is a blender where hopes and dreams are mixed with fear and despair. Only in cartoons and fairy tales and greeting cards do endings have glitter."

This is technically a "children's book," but--my god!--I think the messages it contains and the intricate way in which they are presented, as well as the character growth displayed so wonderfully by creative writing techniques and changes in perspective…I forgot where this sentence began, but I am just so in awe of what the author accomplished, and I hope this novel isn't pigeonholed as a book for the young. I hope every parent reads this book with or to their child, and I hope every grown-up considers reading it, too.

Sometimes all you need to feel inspired is the chance to look at the world through someone else's eyes. That sounds clichéd, but it's so true in this case.

~10/10~