Counting by 7s

Why does Sloan choose to have Willow narrate her own story rather than telling it from an outside perspective? What do we understand about grief differently because we hear it in Willow's clinical, scientific voice?

Willow counts by sevens to calm herself. What does the number seven represent in the novel, and what does it mean when she stops counting?

Dell Duke's classification system sorts people into types (Oddball, Lone Wolf, Dictator). Why does the novel present this system as both funny and harmful? What's wrong with categorizing people?

Willow is accused of cheating because her test scores are too high. What does this reveal about how institutions handle people who don't fit their expectations?

How does the novel portray the foster care system? Is the system presented as cruel, incompetent, or simply overwhelmed? Use specific examples.

Why is Phuong Nguyen — a nail salon owner with no legal authority — a better guardian for Willow than the foster care system? What does she provide that institutions cannot?

Quang-ha is rude and dismissive toward Willow for much of the novel. Why does Sloan include a character who actively resists the found family dynamic?

Jairo the taxi driver provides emotional support primarily through silence — sitting with Willow without speaking. Why is silence sometimes more helpful than words when someone is grieving?

Willow transforms every space she enters — redesigning Dell's apartment, planting gardens, organizing the nail salon. What does this behavior reveal about how she processes the world?

The novel uses botanical metaphors throughout — Willow as a transplanted plant, the found family as a garden. How do these metaphors work? Are they effective or too obvious?

How does the novel define 'genius'? Is Willow's intelligence a gift, a burden, or both? Use evidence from the text.

Compare Willow's found family to a traditional family. What does a found family have that a biological family might not? What does it lack?

Why does Sloan set the novel in Bakersfield, California — a city known for being unglamorous? How does the setting affect the story's themes?

Willow stops eating after her parents die. How does the novel use physical symptoms to represent psychological pain? Find other examples.

Dell Duke starts as a joke — an incompetent counselor with a silly classification system. How does the novel transform him? What does his transformation say about the power of community?

How does the novel portray Vietnamese-American culture? Is the Nguyen family's Vietnamese heritage central to the story or incidental? Should it be more prominent?

The custody hearing at the novel's end is decided by a judge who sees past institutional categories. Is this realistic? What does the novel suggest about the role of individual judgment within bureaucratic systems?

Willow's parents loved her completely but did not understand her. Is understanding necessary for love? Can you love someone you don't fully comprehend?

The novel has multiple narrators — Willow, Dell, Mai, Jairo. Why does Sloan use multiple perspectives? What does each viewpoint add that the others cannot provide?

Willow identifies a leaf during her grief — a small, automatic act that signals recovery. Why does Sloan choose such a quiet moment for the turning point rather than a dramatic scene?

How does the novel define 'home'? Willow loses her physical home. Where does she find a new one, and what makes it home?

Compare Counting by 7s to Wonder. Both feature middle-school outsiders who change the communities around them. How are Willow and Auggie similar and different?

Why does the novel end with Willow counting by sevens again rather than with a dramatic resolution? What does the return to counting represent?

Willow says a garden needs a plan, but the plan is not the garden. What does this mean for her life? Can you plan for the unexpected?

How does the novel handle Willow's adoption? She was adopted as an infant by parents of a different race. Why doesn't the novel make adoption itself a source of conflict?

Is Willow autistic, gifted, twice-exceptional, or simply different? The novel never provides a diagnosis. Why might Sloan have made this choice?

The Happy Polish nail salon is Phuong's livelihood and the family's gathering place. What role does work — physical, daily, unglamorous work — play in the novel's definition of love?

If you were Willow's teacher, how would you accommodate her in a classroom? What would most schools get wrong about a student like Willow?

The novel takes place over several months. How does Sloan use the passage of time to show grief's non-linear process? Does Willow get steadily better, or does she get worse before she gets better?

Willow says at the end that she has not stopped being sad — she has started being other things too. Is this a satisfying resolution? Should a grief novel end with the grief fully resolved?