I don’t know what to write about this book without giving too much away. All I can say is what a wonderful child Zach is to deal with this the way he did. A very emotional heart wrenching story.

Amazing book, very well written and grips the reader from the very first page. Absolutely brilliant read.

Wow! Outstanding! Hard to believe this is a debut author. Without doubt this will be one of the best books of this year and will stay with me for a long time to come.

A truly heartbreaking read, it tells the story of a family torn apart by a tragic shooting, it makes you think about the people left behind and how adults and children deal with loss and grief and what can happen when you deal with it separately and not together, a great read I would definitely recommend

What an amazing book, very powerful and quite addictive reading. The story is written through the eyes of a young child who was involved in a school shooting in which his elder brother dies. What follows is an emotional roller coaster of how the family deal with the grief which they do in different ways and in the mother's case by going through anger and needing someone to blame, which impacts on Zack and his struggle to understand. This book should make us all think when there is a younger child within the grieving family and in today's blame society and in fact a child's understanding is often the way to go as it's honest and uncomplicated. Despite the fact this book is written through the eyes of a child, it is in no way a child's book and has a deep insight into feelings that abound after such a tragic event, happily, very rare this side of the Atlantic, and hope it stays so. An incredibly moving debut novel which will stay with you for a long time and I, for one, shall be keeping an eye on this author.

Breathtakingly Beautiful

This is an outstanding debut, Zach really can tell a story! Before beginning I had heard comparisons with ‘Room’ and quite rightly so, I think there is something very harrowing about a tragic event when told through the eyes of a child, the innocence serving to add another layer of pathos to the story as it unfolds. Each word I read, each page I turned breathed life into Zach until he was right there with me, even as I went about my day to day life.

This is a beautiful narration of a horrific event and it’s aftermath, overwhelmingly sad yet also overflowing with hope.

Thank you so much to the Publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy. I loved this book with my ‘Whole Self’

Only Child sensitively explores the devastating impact of personal tragedy within the family unit. As narrator, Zach poignantly conspires to reveal the painful truth of victimisation, so often not as openly and selflessly acknowledged. I spent two nights crying whilst reading this book, mostly for the innocence and acquired worldliness of little Zach, but also for the very public misguided portioning of blame, earned or otherwise.

Only Child is a heartbreaking read especially as it's told through a child's POV. To be honest as a mother I wouldn't have been able to read it from the mothers POV.
I read this book over the space of a few hours I just had to know the outcome.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. It was very good right from the start. It sucks you in from the very first chapter. It is heartbreaking to think that these things happen in real life. This has happened to people in real life. It can still happen today. Definitely worth a read. I will be recommending this book. Very well written, great story, heartbreaking at times but very good. Definitely worth 5 stars.

This is an accomplished debut. Zach Taylor is six years old when his ten year old brother Andy is shot dead alongside a number of his class mates and teachers. The novel follows Zach’s attempt to make sense of what has happened and the impact it has on him and his family.

Rhiannon Navin has captured beautifully the confusion within Zach. Everyone speaks kindly of Andy and what a wonderful child he was. Zach knows this isn’t strictly true and that Andy could be mean. He puzzles over the motives of the adults in the way only a child could. On occasions Zach sounds a little older than his six years but for the most part, and it isn’t easy for an author to accomplish, you hear a clear six year old voice.

Zach’s family begin to fall apart under the strain of their loss and his father’s infidelity. Zach is determined to make things right both for his family and that of the boy who did the shooting. The ending is a little bit simple but all things told this was a good read.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you

An absolutely heartbreaking book about a school shooting and its aftermath all from the point of view of a 6-year-old boy, Zach. Zach survives the shooting, huddled in a classroom cupboard with his classmates, but his older brother, Andy, does not. Zach struggles with a vast array of feelings, making feeling posters to try to separate out his complicated emotions and make sense of them. But while Zach tries to deal with his loss, his parents are rapidly unravelling, dealing with the tragedy in wildly conflicting ways.
This is a compellingly written book. Zach is a narrator for whom you feel great sympathy. His attempts to make sense of the motions and feelings of grief are hugely touching and the innocence of childhood sometimes gives him a wisdom his parents lack.
It was a huge surprise to discover that this is the author’s debut novel. Her writing style that adopts the personality and viewpoint of a six-year old is very accomplished. I look forward to reading whatever Navin produces next.

WOW what an absolutely stunning 5 Star read from cover to cover. A very emotional tale of an elementary school shooting and the total devastation caused by such a terrible event. The total heartbreak for a family trying to recover from such events and the trauma caused to a child who managed to survive. Told from the young survivors point of view it will tug at your heartstrings. Absolutely recommend.

This book was simply heart wrenching. Watching the devastation of a family from the eyes of the 7 year old son.
Zach is at school when someone starts shooting and nineteen lives mainly children are gone in minutes. Zach then has to make his way in this new world where everything seems scary. His parents don’t know how to deal with it together so they start breaking apart.
You understand things that Zach at 7 can’t comprehend.
This book didn’t just make me cry but several times as you desperately want one of his parents to identify how much Zach is hurting.
I can’t wait to see what the writer will release next.
Stunning can’t recommend it enough.

Six year old Zach Taylor has just survived a shooting at his school only to realise that a bigger horror awaits him and his family. His older brother has been killed in the shooting.

A heartrending story told in Zach's words, the impact is magnified ten-fold through the little boy's innocent narrative. His terror during the shooting, sometimes sidelined by the mundane and brought immediately back to focus by the onging horror. It was heartbreaking to read how the family falls apart and how it impacted Zach, the innocent, helpless victim.

The author has done such a fabulous job, never once did the narrative seem fake or unrealistic. Zach's voice felt true and his observations apt for a child. The way he copes, tries to work things out.. I cried through the book. All I wanted to do was hold Zach and comfort him.
A book I'd heavily recommend. One I'm sure will stay with me for a while. And the author, I'll pick up any book she writes in a jiffy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy of this book.

Where do I even start? Such an amazing debut and written through the eyes of a seven year old. So thought provoking on such a difficult subject. The story of little Zach from the daughter lives changed forever. You go through every single emotion whilst reading this book which is pure brilliance by the author. I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars it truly is very special

Prepare for tears, do not wear mascara! This was such a sad but heartwarming book about a school shooting in America with the story told from the perspective of a surviving boy whose brother was killed. It was so well written and uniquely told from a child’s perspective. Just loved it and couldn’t put it down

This is the story of an amazing little boy caught up in terrible situation and how he and his very human parents deal with the aftermath. It is told by the child himself with quite a bit of poetic license because no seven year old could express himself quite as brilliantly. I read it in one day and evening, was enthralled, upset and humbled by the boy’s emotions and feelings. Extraordinary empathy from the author.

Written from the perspective of a 7 year old boy, Only Child tells the heartbreaking story of what happens to a family after the unthinkable happens at school. The horrific shooting has far-reaching effects for the local community too. The simplicity of the voice of a child adds an extra layer to the book, as there are times you have to read between the lines and decide for yourself what is happening and what feelings characters are experiencing. A very well written book that makes you explore deep within yourself.

This novel deals with the aftermath of a school shooting from the point of view of young Zach Taylor. His teacher, Miss Russell, hides her class successfully while a shooter prowls the corridors of McKinley Elementary School, but, when Zach is reunited with his mother, Melissa, and dad, Jim, they find that his older brother, Andy, is nowhere to be found. Later, it is discovered that Andy was one of a number of children who were killed by the adult son of the school security guard, Charles Ranalez.

Andy was bright, excellent at sports and had ODD, or oppositional defiant disorder, which I had never heard of before. Basically, it meant he suffered from bad tempers, and rages, and you quickly get the impression that Zach was a little wary of him. So wary that, at first, he is even a little glad that Andy is gone. Nobody around to laugh at him, or call him names and his parents all to himself. Only, that isn’t to work out quite as he hoped. Unable to reconcile themselves with what has happened, Melissa and Jim pull apart in their reactions to the tragic, and terrible, events and loss of their son.

Jim retreats into work. Melissa is bent on revenge, even though she was the favourite of the kindly Charles Ranalez, when she attended the school. Zach is a small child, alone and afraid, who has to attempt to deal with his feelings, as his parents struggle with theirs. Allowing the viewpoint to be that of a young child helps us see the harsh reality behind the adult politeness. For example, when Jim speaks glowingly of Andy, Zach recalls the arguments that his behaviour caused. As the book continues, he sees the hypocrisy of the adults, begins to learn what Andy really meant to him and, unhappy with all the arguments and stress caused by his brother’s death, he does his best to make bridges between the adults around him.

This is a moving and impressive debut. . The author shows how Zach’s favourite books, The Magic Tree House series (favourites of my own children when younger) help him make sense of his feelings. You really feel for Zach, confused and ignored, while also understanding the behaviour of his parents Who really knows how they would behave in the face of such tragedy and who can judge anybody suffering such pain? Still, this novel shows that it is not just parents who suffer loss, but children too, and adults cannot ignore, or trivialise, their feelings. This would be an excellent book for a reading group, with much to discuss. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Firstly, I cannot believe this is the first book by this author.
It starts with a shooting in a Primary school. As the Mother of an 11 year old boy I found the scenes around the shooting and the aftermath both chilling and heart wrenching. The fear of the children, the anguish of the parents and the devastation or euphoria upon learning of their children’s fate.
The book is written from the perspective of Zach , just 6 , who feels isolated, lonely and confused and sees his world and family falling apart around him .
The shooting, the aftermath, the loneliness of Zach, the falling apart of the family and the reaction both of and to the perpetrator’s family. There’s so many emotional moments in this book and the author captured them all perfectly. Every time I read a chapter I had to close my Kindle , take a breath and collect my thoughts together. This is one of those books that leaves the reader with a serious book hangover