Only Child
Navin, RhiannonSix-year-old Zach Taylor has had far too much happen in his short life: he has experienced a school shooting that has taken his brother Andy, and now his parents are not themselves. It's bewildering and his parents' preoccupations in the aftermath of the tragedy leave Zach floundering, alone. But it is the naive optimism and determination of the big-hearted child he is, to make things right, that has unexpected consequences.
Presented through the unique perspective of an insightful young survivor, this is a powerful story of grief and recovery. [Larger font]
Pages
288
288
Year
2018
2018
Reviews
23-11-2023
An easy read, from an interesting angle, but we felt that the observations and perceptions were not totally believable of the average 6 year old. It generated good discussion and comparisons with other texts on same topic but from different points of view eg. 'Nineteen Minutes' - Jodi Picoult and 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' - Lionel Shriver.
02-11-2023
Good, thought provoking. Not very accurate for a 6yr old's point of view though. Good discussion points. An easy read.
01-12-2022
We all agreed that this was a compelling book about a dreadful modern reality in America, narrated through the eyes of a 6-year old who was pretty much left to disentangle the emotions of his grief alone, whilst the adults in his world fell apart in various ways. The child like narrative was a clear and useful map of dealing with the confusion of grief. Very well-written.
08-11-2022
General feeling in the group was that if Zach had been older, say 8 or 9, it would have been more plausible. But most found it an easy read and a different view point on this subject.
11-07-2022
Very thought-provoking and topical read due to whats currently happening in the USA re mass shootings and gun laws. Brought about lots of discussions about how people discuss big things in their lives and the grief processes. A very emotional account of a tragic situation.
16-06-2022
A book full of tears, kindness, heartache, tragedy, and the innocence of a child all wrapped into one great read.
18-05-2022
Everyone enjoyed this book - a very interesting perspective, coming from the child's point of view.
04-05-2022
Everyone found it interesting and a good read.
22-10-2021
An interesting approach to an emotional subject which generated some good discussion.
23-08-2021
Fabulous! Everyone really enjoyed this beautifully written book.
06-08-2021
Our book had divided opinions about this book. It generated a lot of discussion on the way the parents behaved, and the availability of guns. We all thought it was a very clever book.
19-05-2021
An excellent book, everyone enjoyed the characters and the saga that unfolded. However we did feel that it was a bit wordy, and could have been more condensed.
16-04-2021
Not at all what we expected to read about a school shooting. Truly fascinating viewpoint.
19-08-2020
Heartbreaking story, but loved the writing from a child's perspective, particularly the portrayal of emotions as colours.
07-08-2020
One loved it, one hated it and the rest of us hovered somewhere in the middle. We generally agreed that if we had picked it up at the library we would have put it back on the shelf having read the back cover and realised the setting for the story. However, we generally liked the story being told from the child's perspective (especially the primary teachers in our group!) but overall we found the theme very disturbing.
09-07-2020
So much discussion arose from our reading of this book - especially concerning Zach's personality and perception, as well as the themes of grief and guilt. Enjoyed by us all.
03-07-2020
Reduced us to tears - such an emotional read. This author manages to get inside a child's thoughts and perspective really well.
22-06-2020
Was mostly enjoyed.
15-06-2020
An excellent read which prompted lively discussion. The writer held the child's perspective throughout (mostly). Well crafted story of a family under incredible stress, and forced by a horrible act of violence to confront underlying tensions and issues. Highly recommend.
15-06-2020
The majority of members enjoyed the idea of this horrific event told through the eyes of a child; a unique perspective, although two members thought it was contrived. An interesting account of a family in shock and trauma. Many members could relate to this and expressed their experiences - it brought out interesting discussions.
13-05-2020
This was a very good book for creating lively discussion!
13-05-2020
Everyone enjoyed this.
13-05-2020
WE all LOVED the book. Good writing - full of authentic feeling and detail. The characters develop and rub off on each other.
12-05-2020
A mixed response from the group. Some thought the book was very good. Others thought it was "written for book clubs" - a genre all its own, hence the questions published within the book. Another comment was that it appealed to our voyeuristic fascination with nasty things done to others.