Previous
Chapter 1
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Counting by 7s, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Independent Thinking
Bureaucracy
Grief and Survival
Chosen Family
Summary
Analysis
Two months before the death of her parents, Willow is about to start at a new school. She’s an adopted only child who realizes that this makes her different. Before adopting her, Willow’s mom tried to get pregnant for 7 years. Willow is obsessed with diagnosing medical conditions (like her mother’s infertility) as well as with math, particularly when it involves the number 7.
Willow has unusual interests for someone her age, which establishes early how she often thinks differently from other people. This chapter reveals that Willow is adopted, and the story will continue to explore how one’s family isn’t necessarily defined by blood relations—some come together instead by circumstances or choice. The number 7 is often considered lucky, and luck plays an important role in the story—such as Willow’s very bad luck in suddenly losing both her parents. Willow’s last name (“Chance”) further hints at luck’s importance to the story.
Active
Themes
Willow has learned that she is a “person of color,” while her mom and dad are both white. After medical conditions, her big interest is plants. She lives in the central valley of California, where it’s often hot and dry.
The difference in race between Willow and her adoptive parents helps to establish what a multicultural setting the central valley of California is. It also raises the question of how she learned to speak Vietnamese in the first chapter (since her parents aren’t Vietnamese), hinting again at how Willow’s mind works in unusual ways.
Active
Themes
One of Willow’s earliest memories is a teacher named Mrs. King, who asked her “How does this book make you feel?” Willow replied that she didn’t like it, and she also didn’t like sitting on the floor to listen to the story because of all the germs. From then on, she got a reputation for being weird. Later, she had to see a school consultant, who pronounced that she was “highly gifted” without fully explaining what that meant.
Active
Themes
