Review: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

"I guess the good news is that everybody has to put up with being special because everybody is alive." - Caitlin, protagonist, Mockingbird

In this powerful read, ten year old Caitlin loses her brother, her biggest supporter, and the person who helped her make sense of the world in a tragic accident. The story of being left behind and working through the myriad of feelings and struggles that come with tragedy is told through her, which gives the reader an especially unique perspective. Caitlin has Asperger Syndrome and deals very literally with the world around her, often making it difficult for her to connect with and understand others. Unknowingly, despite her own inner-battles to make sense of the world around her, she teaches her dad, her teachers, her classmates, and her community how important it is to be heard and how imperative it is that we listen to and help one another, especially when it is most difficult. Her perspective allows for a glimpse of the inner-workings of a mind that struggles to share itself with the outside world, but whose biggest need is to make sense of it all.

Erskine's note at the end is especially powerful and reminds readers that we are all in "this" together and that the best thing we can do is to be kind on purpose and to attempt to connect and understand one another, especially when it is most difficult.

"But I am certain of one thing. If we all understood each other better, we could go a long way toward stopping violence. We all want to be heard, to be understood. Some of us are better than others at expressing ourselves. Some of us have severe problems that need to be addressed, not ignored, no matter what the cost. ... Ignore and ignorance share the same root word." - KE

{Reviewer: Mrs. K}