I am so glad I read this, having read the description I thought he might need or want to take about it while or after he reads it. He started it yesterday and I finished it today in one sitting. I was a little surprised when he picked it from the list, but only a little, and the reason was that it falls quite a bit under his reading level and I thought he might find it too easy...well...the topic and writing made it a must read for any age, it has a lesson we can all use.
The story is told from the POV of Caitlin. At the start something has happened and her beloved brother Devon is gone. Her dad is having a really hard time dealing with what ever IT is. Caitlin is too but not in the same emotional way as her dad. Caitlin has Aspergers and she sees everything (figuratively and literally) as best in black and white. Say what you mean and mean what you say, and no colors please, they blur and make it harder to see. Caitlin's counselor at school is trying to help her learn empathy and to make friends. Caitlin is struggling. She doesn't get why others don't get it, often including her dad.
This is a really well done story. It was a little hard to read at times given the times we live and why Devon is gone (trigger warning: school shooting). But it did give me some insight into my son, who is high functioning but has ASD too. He has shared with me that as he is reading he understands Caitlin and her frustrations and sometimes he has the same ones.
Now that I am done reading this I am waiting for the inevitable conversations with my son. Both about his Autism and the fear of school shootings. He told me he is afraid because he knows it is when and not if it happens in our community, he is in Middle School. Mockingbird is a way to get the hard conversation started.
(Finished July 8, 2018)
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