This summer the seventh-grade students had to read two books: Counting by Sevens by Holly Goldberg and The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders has sold over 15 million copies since it was published in 1967 and has a movie which was produced in 1983. Holly Goldberg’s Counting by Sevens has also sold many copies as well, the exact number is not tracked. Both books are emotional and provoking.
David Humphreys says, “My favorite of the two books was the outsiders because of the action and emotion.” The action of fighting and running away and a fire makes this such an interesting story for kids to read.
In case you need a refresher, here’s a summary of both novels:
The Outsiders
The Outsiders starts with the main character Pony Boy walking down the street from the movies in the hood and gets jumped by socs (socists) But his friends scare them off. The book continues and eventually Pony Boy and his Friend Johnny get jumped again and Pony Boy is getting drowned so his friend Johnny stabs the guy drowning Pony Boy. The socs run away and the boy who was stabbed dies. They run away and trick the cops to think they are going to Texas. But they are hiding in an old church. The Church catches fire and Pony Boy and Johnny save a few kids but Johnny gets hurt and then the socs and Greasers aka the hood have a rumble they win but (Big Spoiler) Johnny dies because of an injury. Then another Greaser kills himself because of Johnny’s death. They find out that not all socs are bad and the story ends with no more fighting.
Counting by Sevens
The book starts off with the main character Willow Chance in a car driving home with her counselor and finds out that her parents both died in a car accident. The book then goes back in time to where she got in trouble because the teachers thought that she was cheating on a test because she got 100%. So she had to go to counseling with Dell Duke. Then she meets Mai and Quang-ha. She learns Mai’s native language and they become good friends. She starts taking a taxi to get to counseling so her parents do not have to pick her up and find out about the counseling. Then Willow’s parents die and Mai takes her in even though she lives in a tiny house and doesn’t have much money. Then Willow gets taken away and gets hurt. She gets to come back with Mai and her mom Patie and her brother Quang-ha. Then they move into Dell Dukes apartment so the house check workers can see if Patie can take care of Willow. Then after a while Patie adopts Willow and the story ends.
Many people said that The Outsiders was their favorite of the two books. The next of the books this year are The Book Thief, Almost American Girl, A Long Walk To Water Animal Farm, The Giver, Black Girl Dreaming, Twelfth Night, and Twelve Angry Men.
Mrs. Blankenship says, “I picked the two books because they go together well because both of the main characters are about outsiders, the Outsiders is also one of the first adult books that the kids get to read. The kids can also really relate to the books.”
The books are very relatable like when the characters are Counting By Sevens have to clean Dell Duke’s room and do all his laundry. I think that’s how most kids feel about cleaning their rooms!
The seventh-grade students are excited to start the next books this year and learn more about history with our next book The Book Thief which is about nazi Germany during World War Two.
