Most of the review was factual, which is fine. I thought this book was excellent. I cried almost all the way through, it touched me so much. I think the book is well suited for 5th through 9th grade, and many adults would get a lot out of it as well. RockinLibrarian: I agree with your assessment of the blogger reviews but Richard has a point. It is clear she understands Caitlyn and I find that pretty groovy. I think reviewers like Jonathan Hunt and Elizabeth Bird missed the boat on this one.
While some of their criticisms were accurate i. Mockingbird was the same for me. And hey, life is complicated. Even for kids. Especially for kids. He needs to step back and look at the book as a whole.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and I can understand why it was nominated for the National Book Award. Nina is the last hold out in giving a review on this book. It is funny how a book and engender passionate reactions and extreme polarization. Just for jollies I went out on Amazon to look at the star breakdown of the following books. Opps…typo in previous post…corrected sentencs follows… It is funny how a book CAN engender passionate reactions and extreme polarization.
Chris, given what I know about diagnosis for children on the spectrum, I think it is a difficult thing to second-guess a diagnosis whether for a fictional or real child. I keep on double checking that I use the right title for each book. For me, this book tied the threads together and did so with purpose.
It worked for me. Richard, as a general rule, I only review books I liked. For those that I really enjoy, I add them to my Favorite Books list, which is noted in the review. So for this? I just got the 5th book, so before the announcement will do a separate post about the finalists. They think I am awesome. And we make other noises and roll our tongues and cross our eyes and wriggle our ears and hop in a circle and before I know it the bell rings and they all run to the teacher.
I feel like Snow White because now I have a bunch of little dwarf friends who love me. Oct 26, Suad Shamma rated it really liked it Shelves: , own. This was such a heartwarming and moving novel that works for readers of any age.
From the very first page, I found myself totally enraptured by eleven year old Caitlin, who suffers from Asperger's and has just lost her brother to a school shooting. Caitlin is a very logical and literal person, her emotions don't work the way they need to and she finds that to be her biggest challenge. She hates upsetting people, but ends up doing just that on many occasions due to her extreme honesty and her fai This was such a heartwarming and moving novel that works for readers of any age.
She hates upsetting people, but ends up doing just that on many occasions due to her extreme honesty and her failed attempts at pleasing people with being truthful. She doesn't understand or know how to "flatter" and "compliment" people unless she really means it.
This entire story is dedicated to Caitlin finding closure. Quite literally, if I may add. She doesn't comprehend the idea of closure, but is on a mission to find it, because she is told that is what she needs to help her father move on from her brother's death.
Her dad has taken the loss of his child so badly that he is barely functional and cannot communicate with his daughter without breaking into tears. What's so beautiful about this story though is how Kathryn Erskine deals with the aftermath of a school shooting and the lives of those affected by it, including the younger brother of the shooter, Josh, who has been vilified due to his brother's actions.
Caitlin does not understand that though, her reasons for not liking Josh are very simply because he is not a nice person and likes to bully other kids. That is all there is to it. So when Caitlin befriends seven year old Michael, who she later finds out had lost his mother in the shooting, it makes perfect sense that he is younger than her given that her approach to life make her seem much younger than she is.
Their friendship comes very naturally; she found the perfect person to humor her and understand everything she says without the complication of emotions and flattery. She never needs to worry about Michael not saying what he means, and he in turn looks up to her and finds her hilarious.
However, when Michael also befriends Josh, Caitlin is suddenly feeling extremely protective over her friend from this bully. These relationships along with her pursuit to closure make this story extremely compelling and stirs so many emotions in you. You want to help her find closure, you want to help take care of her when her dad seems so unable to, and you want to be her friend. The way she takes responsibility over her dad, and takes the role of a grown up almost when at home is so touching that you just want to shake her dad and tell him to wake up and take control of the situation!
Such a sensitive topic handled so expertly by Erskine. Apr 15, Whatthelog rated it did not like it Shelves: diversity. It is clear that Erskine is not on the autism spectrum. But yeah, I was made uncomfortable by some of the implications made in the novel.
There is also the idea that she must learn how to empathise, rather than how to display her empathy. Just — WHAT?! Caitlin suddenly Gets It i. However, I thought that there were a couple of interesting points in the novel — mainly how Caitlin thinks about the world around her.
This really helped me to understand her way of seeing the world, and I thought it was done quite well. I…was not expecting this. The way that Erskine drew the community together in their grief was incredibly moving. I think this book was written for neurotypicals. I was quite disappointed in it, and I hope that the next book I read that features neurodiversity will be better.
I heard nothing but good things about this book. I was hoping I'd enjoy it, but I didn't know I'd like it this much. She learns so much but at the same time she teaches us and makes us reflect. It's so simple but genuinely beautiful. Touching and inspiring, if you're open to it there's no way you won't like it. May 05, Kimberly Sabatini rated it it was amazing Shelves: mg-ya.
So incredible. I will love the quarter cut cedar chapter until I die. The boys and I adored this book. Her brother was shot at school, by a fellow classmate. He left behind a half-finished Eagle Scout wooden chest, one little sister who is not allowed in his room and a father who now cries all the time. She goes to school and sees Mrs Brook, the counsellor who talks about feelings and how to express them.
Caitlin relies on the dictionary and her precise drawings to understand the world. Feelings just get in the way and make things confusing. Also not helping matters are the kids at school. Kathryn Erskine lives in Virginia, and was deeply affected by the shootings at Virginia Tech where 32 people were killed, and 25 others wounded.
Thus, in telling a story about how people reconnect after tragedy, Erskine thought to include a young protagonist whose very unique perspective of the world makes it difficult to connect at the best of times. We meet Caitlin shortly after Devon died in a school shooting — leaving Caitlin and her father to pick up the pieces of their fallen-apart life. I sit on the sofa and look at his chest. There are rays of light coming in through the blinds and the dust swirls around in the beams and hits the chest and I wonder if any of the dust particles are Devon and if I can feel him.
The chest becomes a symbol for everything Caitlin and her father have lost. Caitlin is set adrift in this world without Devon. Caitlin misses Devon; she misses her brother who used to tell her how to act around other people and when to stop throwing a tantrum. She misses her dad being her dad and not this person who cries at the TV news. As the story progresses, Caitlin unwittingly finds herself connecting with other children affected by the school shooting.
Erskine has beautifully crafted this book of black and white. Caitlin may prefer to see the world without colour and confusion, but she has a deceptively deep perception of what goes on around her. How can any word be more special than Heart? I adored this book, despite all the tears it wrought from me.
This is an absolutely must-read book. View all 5 comments. Nov 03, Kate rated it really liked it. This book is for young readers.
She recently lost her older brother when he was a victim of a middle school shooting. She is trying to come to terms with what this loss means for her, her Dad, and her community. Jun 26, Lauren rated it really liked it Shelves: books-i-reviewed. From the moment we are born, we begin learning. We watch the adults around us and mimic their actions and, slowly but surely, start to get the hang of the basics--sitting up, crawling, walking, talking. There is a whole other set of skills that most of us pick up naturally, not really having to consciously learn or practice them--the skill of recognizing when someone is angry, the skill of seeing that a friend is sad and offering them comfort.
But did you ever think of what it would be like if y From the moment we are born, we begin learning. But did you ever think of what it would be like if you didn't learn these things?
How would your life be different if you had no idea what it meant when someone rolled their eyes at you or lifted the corners of their mouth upward to form a smile? Welcome to the world of Caitlin Smith.
Caitlin, the protagonist of Kathryn Erskine's Mockingbird, is an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger's syndrome. For people with Asperger's, the emotions of those around them are a mysterious and confusing thing.
They struggle to identify the emotions of others, and, furthermore, to empathize with them. For example, when Caitlin sees a look on someone's face, she has to think back to a chart of different faces that her counselor, Ms. Brook, has been teaching her. Are the eyebrows raised? Is the mouth frowning?
Are the eyes watery? Figuring out the emotion of the person in front of her is like solving a very frustrating puzzle. As you can imagine, this makes social connections very difficult. At the beginning of the book, Caitlin has no friends. And it certainly does not seem hopeful that Caitlin is coming to the end of fifth grade, right when any kid's social life starts to get a whole lot more complicated.
Middle school: mean girls, cliques, in-crowds. If identifying a smile is tough, imagine trying to figure out sarcasm! It doesn't stop there. When you meet Caitlin at the beginning of Mockingbird, you soon figure out that she and her father have just suffered a horrible tragedy--the death of her older brother Devon. Kathryn Erskine does a beautiful job of "showing" rather than "telling" in this book. The reader experiences everything in the novel through Caitlin's eyes.
This is especially powerful because very often, Caitlin does not understand the feelings of those around her. Caitlin describes the things they do and say, the tiny movements of their faces and tremblings in their voices, and although she might not know what they are feeling, the reader does. And it is heart-breaking. So many times, while reading this book, I wanted to reach in and comfort the people around Caitlin, who were so clearly hurting from the loss of Devon.
At other times, I found myself wanting to jump into the book and translate for Caitlin. After a few chapters, you find yourself starting to understand Caitlin's logic. Often, what seems like a completely random tantrum to those around her, makes perfect sense if you understand the thought process that led Caitlin there.
You start to realize that Devon was Caitlin's interpreter to the world. Through the memories she shares, you learn that Devon understood her like nobody else. He taught her how to interact with people and he was endlessly patient with her. Without him, it's like she has been abandoned in a foreign land without a map.
It is fascinating and beautiful to watch through Caitlin's eyes as she and her father and the entire small, Virginia town in which they live try to heal from the loss of Devon. It makes you thankful for things you never before thought of and it makes you realize that there is no one correct way to grieve.
And although Caitlin's Asperger's often acts as an obstacle in her attempts to make connections, at other moments, it makes you question the logic of the "normal" way to act. At times, it is Caitlin's blunt honesty which often accompanies her misunderstandings of other people's feelings that leads to breakthroughs in her family's and community's mourning process.
Mockingbird is a very special book. It makes you step back and see the miracle of human closeness. Through Caitlin's observations of the world, you realize that human connections are a joyful, messy, complicated and extraordinary thing and that we should be deeply grateful for them. In one scene, she describes a little boy gathering his friends from around the playground. She watches in wonder and notices how "it's like his friends are tied to him with a string because they run to him from all directions until they all end up in front of me" p.
It is often those who do not have something that can describe it the most beautifully and this is true of Caitlin throughout the book. I felt sad to part with her at the end but also felt thankful for all she had taught me.
For anyone who would like to step into the shoes of someone you never thought you could understand, Mockingbird is a must-read. I don't have Asperger myself but I've had a lot o 2. I don't have Asperger myself but I've had a lot of close friends who had it, so I more or less know how they feel or think and can say than mockingbird war pretty much true. I gave it the most average rating, 2. Mar 22, Nusrat Mahmood rated it really liked it. The only problem I face while reading this book is I like it.
I would like it more if I have not read similar books earlier I guess. Still, it's a nice read! The whole story was nicely put together and who does not love a character who sees everything as either black or white.
At least I do. Because I envy people who sees things like that as I can't. I am a grey person. I like you! Mar 18, Donalyn rated it liked it Shelves: children-s-realistic-fiction , ncbla-committeebooks. While I appreciate the messages in this book about closure and accepting others, I am weary of books featuring autistic children.
Why has this trend become so popular? I felt that many of the scenarios in the book were not dealt with in a realistic manner. Working at a school and with autistic children , I do not think that teachers and counselors would force children on opposite sides of a tragic shooting to play together.
Oct 29, Kathy rated it really liked it Shelves: read-in Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine is a well written tale of a girl with Asperger's Syndrome. Since one of my children exhibits mild Asperger's like tendencies, I really benefited from reading this book. Very interesting read. Readers also enjoyed. Young Adult. Realistic Fiction. About Kathryn Erskine. Kathryn Erskine. Kathryn Erskine spent many years as a lawyer before realizing that she'd rather write things that people might actually enjoy reading.
She grew up mostly overseas and attended eight different schools, her favorite being the Hogwarts-type castle in Scotland. The faculty, of course, did not consist of wizards, although Erskine draws on her childhood and her second childhood through her children for her stories.
She still loves to travel but nowadays most trips tend to be local, such as basketball and tennis courts, occasional emergency room visits, and the natural food store for very healthy organic chocolate with life saving flavonoids. Here are the instructions of how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Author: Kathryn Erskine. Publisher: Usborne. A high school shooting has left a small American town devastated.
She just wishes people could be more like books — where the words and pictures stay the same, no how many times you open and close the cover.
And the one person who used to help Caitlin make sense of the world is the one she must now live without. This is a book which definitely brings insight and understanding, and through an accessible and convincing voice. In getting to know Caitlin, one may at times question how much it is she who should change and how much society.
The chest then sits in the corner of the story until page when Caitlin decides that closure means finishing off the chest. By contrast, there are whole areas of Caitlin's life we don't see. Although she tells us that she loves video games, she never plays one. More seriously, we hardly ever see her draw. When she mentions in passing that she fears colours and never attempts whole faces, it sounds suspiciously as if the author is putting words in her mouth.
It was a brave decision to narrate the story from Caitlin's very limited point of view; the present tense, the use of italics instead of quotation marks for speech and the clunkily literal chapter titles restrict the narration even further. Kathryn Erskine's evocation of "Asperger thinking" is impressive and sensitively managed, but such narrowing of the focus reinforces the story's programmatic nature.
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