Counting by 7s

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

A girl in Bakersfield is crazy smart. She aces a test and gets accused of cheating and sent to see the counselor. The counselor tests her and realizes she is smart. She also meets a Vietnamese brother and sister who also visit the counselor. She also needs to travel in a taxi to see him at times. She gets to know the driver and encourages him to go to school as get a mole looked at.

Then her adoptive parents die in a car crash, leaving her orphaned without any relatives around. On impulse, the the Vietnamese girl declares her to be a family friend and get her mom to adopt temporarily custody. They go through a number of challenges to try to become a family. They end up taking over the counselor's apartment and putting on a good show for protective services. They also work to mike things better by creating a garden. Things don't quite go according to plan, but others help out. The book pulls at the heart strings with many characters that appear stereotypical, but have growth of their own.