Counting To D by Kate Scott
Paperback, 227 pages
Published February 11th 2014 by Elliott Books
ISBN: 978-0-9895947-0-7
Genre: Realistic fiction > Contemporary Romance
Reading Level: YA
Source: Publisher / ARC
The kids at Sam's school never knew if they should make fun of her for being too smart or too dumb. That's what it means to be dyslexic: smart, and illiterate. Sam is sick of it. So when her mom gets a job in a faraway city, Sam decides not to tell anyone about her little illiteracy problem. Without her paradox of a reputation, she falls in with a new group of highly competitive friends who call themselves the Brain Trust. When she meets Nate, her charming valedictorian lab partner, she declares her new reality perfect. But in order to keep it that way, she has to keep her learning disability a secret. The books are stacked against her and so are the lies. Sam's got to get the grades, get the guy, and get it straight--without being able to read.
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To begin, I want to say I personally know someone who had dyslexia. I've always known he has had trouble reading and understanding what he reads but really never understood the learning disorder. After reading Counting To D I now have a much better knowledge of what dyslexia is. Author Kate Scott did excellent job at not only writing a beautiful inspiring novel but explaining the disorder on so many levels.
No matter how much you may think you someone you truly cannot until you walk a day in the persons shoes.
Samantha "Sam" is very smart, kind and wants to be liked. With her Mother's job change, she moves to San Diego to begin a new life and a new school. Sam doesn't want to move. She is happy and comfortable where she lives and hates to have to leave her BFF Gabby behind. Sadly, moving is a must and now Sam needs to find a way to once again hide her learning disorder from her new peers. Even with dyslexia, Sam is crazy smart, especially in math. In fact when she gets scared, anxious or nervous to calm herself down she counts by prime numbers. When Sam starts her new school her goal is to make sure nobody finds out about her dyslexia but at the same thing wants badly to fit in and make friends. Even if that means lying to them in the process.
Sam soon meets a group of friends named "The Brain Trust" with the reputation of being the smarts kids in school. Quickly she becomes friends with them, especially a super cute guy named, Nate. Now being part of their group, Sam begins to relax around her new friends and even competes for grades with them on the side. As Sam and Nate get closer, so does the the issue of hiding her learning disability. When a series of events takes place in school, Sam it outed. Will her friends forgive the lies and accept her or turn the other way? What are Nate feelings about this?
To find out read the book, you'll be glad that you did.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I felt I learn so much about Dyslexia and how people cope having it. I never really gave a second thought to how people who have the disorder see and read words on the page. I knew they looked all jumbled up but couldn't comprehend why. Not only was Sam's story an excellent read I felt I learned something in the process. Sam herself was such a likeable character. Many times I wanted to hop into the pages of the book and give her a big hug. While yes, she did lie to keep other from finding out her problem which at the time she felt a must but ended up learning something in the end...
No matter who you are your disabilities do NOT define you.
My hope is that when others read Counting to D that they take this lesson with them along with a positively awesome read! A want to give mad props to the author, Kate Scott. You really rocked this book! It was unputdownable!
In closing, I definitely recommend Counting to D. It's a great book for all ages and all types of readers. #diversebooks
Side note about the font (taken from my copy):
Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.
About The Author: Kate Scott
Find Kate @
Kate Scott lives in the suburbs outside Portland, Oregon with her husband Warren. Kate was diagnosed with dyslexia as a young child but somehow managed to fall in love with stories anyway. Counting to D is her first novel. When Kate isn’t writing, she enjoys listening to audiobooks, camping, and spending time with her friends and family. Kate also spends a lot of time doing math and sciency things and is a licensed professional engineer.
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