"I waited for my feelings pages to dry, and then I went and got tape from the kitchen and hung them up on the wall inside my hideout. That was a good spot for them. I could lie down on Andy's sleeping bag and look at the feelings. Now they were separated and that made it easier to think about them."
I cried, very difficult not to with this novel. That fiction is but could very well be not, as so dramatically close to real life.
A parent's worst nightmare, to lose a child, especially in a brutal and violent way. I cannot even think about the pain of it. And this novel really describes the grief of a middle class American family, mother, father, two boys, with a "normal" life and "normal" problems, shattered by a mass murder in the school. The members of the family are each enveloped in their own grief and pain and the family starts disintegrating.
The story is told by Zach, the 6 years old brother, who is lucky enough to escape death in the school, but who loses a brother and the parents he knew until then. Maybe too wise for his age, the narration of how the family dynamics are facing this tragedy is so realistic, so well put, it really seems to be suffering with this little boy.
A book full of pain and grief, but also a novel full of hope for the future.
Heartbreaking, a must read.
Overall rating: 9 Plot: 9 Writing style: 8 Cover: 7,5
Title: Only child
The Plot:
We all went to school that Tuesday like normal. Not all of us came home.
When the unthinkable happens, six-year-old Zach is at school. Huddled in a cloakroom with his classmates and teacher, he is too young to understand that life will never be the same again.
When the unthinkable happens, six-year-old Zach is at school. Huddled in a cloakroom with his classmates and teacher, he is too young to understand that life will never be the same again.
Afterwards, the once close-knit community is left reeling. Zach's dad retreats. His mum sets out to seek revenge. Zach, scared, lost and confused, disappears into his super-secret hideout to try to make sense of things. Nothing feels right – until he listens to his heart . . .
But can he remind the grown-ups how to love again?
The Author:
Rhiannon Navin grew up in Bremen, Germany, in a family of book-crazy women. Her career in advertising brought her to New York City, where she worked for several large agencies before becoming a full-time mother and writer. She now lives outside of New York City with her husband, three children, two cats, and one dog. Only Child is her first novel.
