Only Child by Rhiannon Navin is a 2018l Knopf Publication.

Zach is a six-year-old boy who survives a school shooting that kills his older brother, Andy. He suffers from the trauma of hearing the gunshots and the loss of his sibling, but he feels ignored and neglected by his parents, who are consumed by their own grief and marital problems.

Zach narrates his own journey of grief and recovery, as he observes how his parents cope in different and destructive ways. He decides to take action, and find a way to heal his broken family, even if it seems impossible. He shows courage and wisdom beyond his years and tries to find the peace he desperately needs.

I listened to this book as an audio book, narrated by Kivlighan de Montebello, who did an amazing job of capturing Zach’s voice and emotions. I was captivated by his performance and could not stop listening.

This book is very powerful and emotional. It does not shy away from the harsh reality of a school shooting and its aftermath, but it also does not take sides or make judgments. It focuses on the human impact of such a tragedy, and how one little boy manages to overcome it with love and compassion. Zach is a remarkable character who touched my heart and inspired me.

I highly recommend this book, but I also warn you that it is not an easy read. It will make you cry and ache for Zach and his family. But it will also make you cheer for Zach’s resilience and courage. It will leave you with a sense of hope and peace, knowing that Zach is on his way to recovery and should have a bright future ahead of him. ( )

für mich das typische amerikanische Storytelling. Wurde aber dennoch angenehm unterhalten. ( )

Powerful & heartbreaking! 6 year old Zach teaches us all about love, loss, anger, & sympathy after gun violence impacts his family, his school, & his community. ( )

Too many emotions with this one.
I was scared, sad, mad, sorry and then sad again. It was one hell of an emotional roller-coaster ride but the ending was so beautiful it makes the ugly crying through the story worth.
It makes me wonder if it's just human nature to be yearning so hard for something one's lost that one fail to see what they've got left just like Zach's mom. Speaking of, she was my favorite character of the whole story.
ႊ့The fascinating thing with this book is that I thought a lot about my mom whenever I see a glimpse into Zach's mommy's feelings. I didn't like her. I might hate her tbh. However her character was built so that we can see how she changed from an ordinary mom to a selfish ball of pain to this emphatic kind mother. Seeing her character blossoms makes me understand my own mother a little better and forgive her for all the time I thought she was selfish when really she wasn't. ( )

Oh my word, Only Child completely captured my heart; I felt as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest, given CPR and put back in again leaving scars that will remind me of this beautiful book for the rest of my life.

Written from the perspective of a six year old boy who experiences the devastating event itself and the heart-breaking aftermath of a primary school shooting, Zach is a voice that I will never forget. I felt my heart squeeze as Zach talked about the sky crying and I almost felt as if I had to be strong for him, as I struggled to hold back the tears that kept threatening to fall. I don't want to write anything about the story as it could spoil it for others but I will say that Only Child is a book that is very hard to put down and impossible to forget.

I was reminded of the stages of grief as I read about Zach's story and saw how the adults around him were behaving. From the shock of the initial event to the anger as the parents look for someone to blame and the final acceptance as life goes on. I compared grief for an adult against grief for a child and although we think children are resilient and quick to bounce back, I think it was good to show Zach's denial and anger coming through. It's also a stark reminder that little ears hear a lot more than we realise.

I was so completely invested in Zach's story that I felt every single emotion with the characters in the book. I felt that Zach had a lot to teach us about acceptance and forgiveness but also that it's ok to be upset and angry. Zach's unique voice, so honest through his innocence, is written completely flawlessly making this a very special book indeed.

Only Child is an absolutely stunning book and I am completely astounded that this is Rhiannon Navin's debut novel. It's exceptional, outstanding, extraordinary, astounding...in fact it's all of the adjectives I can possibly think of and more! Only Child is definitely one of my top picks of 2018; even the coldest heart won't fail to be moved by this perfect novel of loss, hope and everything in between.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )