Comments on: Only Child by Rhiannon Navin | Review

By: susan

susan — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 22:16:28 +0000

I think I might pass on this one. It does sound a bit tough and I’m not huge on kid’s povs. Your reservations on it probably would be mine.

By: Annie

Annie — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 05:40:20 +0000

Interesting book, I usually love kid’s povs, although there was a time when I read many books about school shooting and now I don’t think I’m in the mood. I’ll always remembe r19 minutes!

By: Susie

Susie — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 02:32:21 +0000

They didn’t abandon Zach exactly, but they didn’t put him first and I had a very hard time with that.

By: Susie

Susie — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 02:31:24 +0000

In reply to Michelle. You make really great points, Michelle. I know you're right that Navin wrote the parents with intent. I just had a really hard time seeing their behaviors toward Zach as authentic. I felt guilty about judging their grief, but found it almost impossible not to. As for members of Congress needing to read this book? Yes!

By: Susie

Susie — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 02:28:21 +0000

In reply to Angela. Navin did a great job with the voice of Zach. I just grew a little tired of it toward the end.

By: Susie

Susie — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 02:27:43 +0000

In reply to Sarah's Book Shelves. I really want you to read it. I'm interested to hear where your thoughts on it will fall.

By: Vicki

Vicki — Thu, 31 May 2018 19:43:48 +0000

I have the audio of this but after reading your review I think I’ll pass. The idea that the parents abandoned Zack after the shooting is off putting to me.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 31 May 2018 15:34:31 +0000

I personally loved this book. Your reactions are exactly what I had. Except for seeing them as negatives to the book, I view them as the point Navin is trying to make. Mom is supposed to lose our sympathy, just as Dad is supposed to repel us in the beginning. We are even supposed to lose interest in Zach as he focuses on his parents and the other adults rather than on his own feelings. To me, these fluctuating feelings represents the situation perfectly. We are not going to feel total pain and sorrow or nothing but anger. Our feelings will and should change depending on our focus. It also shows how messy these situations are for surviving family members. There is no one way to grieve or process what happened. I mentioned in my review that I think this is a book every member of Congress should read because it is so messy and so emotionally volatile.

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 31 May 2018 12:58:28 +0000

This does sound like a very tough read. Having the story from the POV of a 6-year-old is interesting; I would imagine it would be hard to capture that voice authentically.

By: Sarah's Book Shelves

Sarah's Book Shelves — Thu, 31 May 2018 11:32:52 +0000

I’m tempering my expectations a bit, but definitely plan to read this one. I got it for under $3 on Kindle!