"The only reason I picked this book up was that it was in a Little Free Library 
in front of someone's house at a beach, I was visiting. I picked
up this book and Homer's The Illiad.  I am not kidding. The
Illiad does have a great deal of sea action.  Often, I read 
many things together randomly and find surprising overlaps.

However, Counting By 7's resisted my casual, random approach. 
It had a story to tell about
a lone wolf?
a genius?
a mutant?
an oddball?
a misfit?

Or the ultimate trickster nerd girl who gets her concepts of family
continuously destroyed  until she realizes that family can be flexible, casual,
and created via both resilience and randomness.

The book is written poetically.  Its simplicity is a bit of a ruse but a lovely one.
As the story  unfolds, you too will know more about gardening
and epidemiology.  

As to The Illiad, I found it did have some things in common with the
magazine Florida Design. Maintaining one's beachfront is always a good move. 

While this is a young adult book, it has a story middle-grade children and adults can enjoy.

The book has a book discussion section in the back which would make it a good
choice for multi-generational reading projects.