Mockingbird (edition 2011)

I loved the voice of this novel! Great first person account, from how an asperger's child would view and see things from their world. Caitlin is dealing with her brother, Devon's, death after he is shot and killed in a school shooting.
Great use of text features to get across Caitlin's personality and provide insight into what is means to have this form of autism. ( )

5Q, 4P. I am impressed with Kathryn Erskine's Mockingbird. This contemporary reworking of To Kill a Mockingbird has many parallels to Harper Lee's classic, yet Erskine's story is uniquely individual in its own way. In Mockingbird, Caitlin, a middle school girl with Asperger's lives with her father in a small town. Caitlin has just lost her older brother, Devon, in a horrible accident that she and the entire town struggle to make sense of. On top of struggling to understand the concept of "closure" in connection to Devon's death, Caitlin faces extreme challenges with making friends, understanding emotions and finding empathy. While interpersonal connection is possibly the highest challenge for Caitlin, she has a knack for learning new words and is an amazing natural artist who can draw just about anything, perfectly. Written in first person, readers get a vivid picture of how Caitlin views the world, how she copes in her own way, and how she uses her special gifts and strengths to embrace life and move forward through tragedy. Erskine repeatedly referrers to Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird throughout the novel by drawing connections between Caitlin and Scout, and by examining empathy, courage, independence, and integrity, among others. I loved this story and will keep it in my personal collection to reread in the future. And, will absolutely recommend young teens read Mockingbird, even though not all will be taken with the book. A well-written, insightful, and moving story. ( )

Another favorite this year, Mockingbird is a really touching story. I absolutely loved the main character, Caitlyn. Her personality is impossible not to love! Although her straight-forward, literal attitude is majorly due to having Aspergers, it's refreshing and delightful. I often found myself laughing and smiling while reading some of the things she said. This is a great book to share about school violence - or violence in general, grief, disabilities, and making friends. ( )

Caitlin sees the world a little differently than most of us, and this is something her brother has always helped her cope with. But because of a school shooting, Devon is gone, and Caitlin and her dad are left to find closure on their own. This is a heartfelt, poignant book that gives the reader a glimpse of life with Asperger's and life under tragic circumstances. ( )

Very, very interesting. Strong connection to the character too. There were times when I wanted to shake my hands back and forth really, really fast. That's not said in jest. I could really feel the tension and the emotion, the TRMs, the loss of Devon, the frustration when the other characters didn't Get It. I wasn't familiar at all with Asperger's Syndrome. Seeing it through such a great character and in the context of the loss of Devon was interesting and moving.

My only complaint is that it seemed to get a little rushed as it went on. I think it could have been considerably longer. It almost seemed as though Ms. Erskine was writing toward a reluctant reader or someone younger than the 10-14 age group that I've seen listed as the marketing age range. Once she developed the character and the story sufficiently she seemed to want to wrap up the resolution before interest waned. I wanted more. I guess that's kind of a positive complaint though. ( )