I struggled with this book at the start...it tells the story from a 6 year old's perspective. As the drama unfolds what occurs is a sad tale of missed opportunities, by parents wrapped in busy lives. A disturbing tale but one that unfortunately many people in today's World will relate to. I can't say I thoroughly "enjoyed" the story, but it was well written by the author.

I lost sleep to this brilliant book, the story was an emotional roller-coaster and I was captivated from the first chapter and I couldn't put it down.

This is the first book Ive read written from a child's outlook, wow, I found it an emotional read and was feeling the story along with the child throughout. It was a great story line with twists that I did not expect and by the end I felt I knew and loved that child.

Fantastic,current topic and believable,a tragedy and it's repercussions ripple through lives. Highly recommended.

Heart wrenching absolutely got me right in the chest.
Superbly written an amazing story which is definitely on my top 10 of 2018.

I could not finish this book, I just found it too difficult. What I read was well written and absorbing....

I read this book in the week that there was a real life school shooting in Florida and therefore my emotions were already heightened by yet another senseless tragedy. What I wasn’t expecting was to fall head over heels in love with Zach, our 7 year old narrator who stole my heart from page 1.

This courageous, brave, sensitive and emotional little boy tells us his horrific story starting with a very fraught and emotional opening chapter. Whilst this book deals with a horrific and topical subject I felt the author dealt with everything with sympathy and was able to capture everyone’s emotions beautifully. From the grief and anger to the need for revenge and the utter despair felt by the parents Only Child is a heartbreaking story that needs to be read. Beautifully written and one that will stay in my thoughts for a very long time.

A brave debut novel! I tend to shy away from dramatic, potentially depressing books but this author handled the subject deftly by using a child's innocent perspective. We are introduced to seven-year old Zach. His class is in hiding from a rampaging gunman in his school. His brother, ten-year old Andy, is one of the causalities. We observe the devastating effects these events have on their family and how they all handle their grief.

It's not perfect. It's questionable whether it's possible for a child of 7 to be so mature, sensitive and wise. However, I appreciate how hard it must be to show the complexity of the situation through the eyes of a child. For this, the author is exceptionally brave. And it mostly works. I couldn't put the book down and the way the book unfolds feels very "real". Definitely a tear-jerker.

Heartbreaking, emotional and tough read due to subject matter, but written brilliantly

At a time when gun crime stories and High Schools are quite often on the news, this was a timely book for me to read. I felt Zach’s fear throughout the book - his initial fear when locked in the cupboard for safety, through to his fears as his family life slowly falls apart. My heart broke for Melissa - her revenge on the family of the gunman took over her entire life, rather than allowing herself to grieve with her family. Zach really held the story together, and I sobbed when he ran away to try and find Charles. I found this a hard book to read, mai ly because there are families that this terrible event will have happened to. Highly recommend.

With so much coverage of the school shootings in the U.S.A. this book could not have appeared at better time.

The story is told entirely through the eyes of seven year old Zach. He is in his classroom when the scary instruction of 'Lockdown' comes through the school intercom. Hiding in a cupboard with his classmates & teacher, he hears POP! POP!POP! noises until the relieved teacher & children are told it is now safe to come out.

As the frightened children are led outside Zach sees blood and bodies. When reunited with his mother she asks where his older brother, Andy, has gone? The world outside has completely changed for Zach. Andy was one of the victims of the shooter. Zach is now an only child!

Andy was not a great big brother. He seems to have been a bully towards Zach & he also had behavioural problems that made life difficult at home. Zach is totally unprepared how bad Andy's death makes him feel. As the family falls apart with grief Zach struggles to order his world.

I loved Zach! This is a powerful book. It deals with the aftermath of these tragedies and how people cope. It will stay with me for a long time.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read and review this incredible book.

Real tearjerker. Deals with extremely sensitive subject matter / current affairs. It’s not just about those that are gone, but the ones left behind. My heart bled for the characters in this story. Emotive and worth reading!

I read this book from cover to cover in a single sitting, because I just couldn't put it down!
Written from the point of view of 7-year-old* Zach, it starts when he and his class are caught up in a school shooting. The terror of his class and teacher are vividly described as they crouch as silently as they can hiding in a cramped cupboard in his classroom, waiting for help and hearing the 'pops' of the gunshots and screams of fellow students. Afterwards, it slowly becomes clear that Zach's older brother Andy is not with the survivors...

This is a stunning debut novel. Full of very well drawn characters, of whom Zach shines out. His conflicted emotions and the after effects of his experience are completely brilliantly described, and you just long for him to begin to heal. And for his parents to stop fighting, and his mother to realise she has more than one son, and to rein in her passionate wish for revenge.

(*Other reviews refer to him as six, but his father says he is 'only seven years old', and Zach says 'he's seven too' of his cousin. Possibly this was changed since the pre-publication version of the manuscript was posted on NetGalley.)

Highly, highly recommended.

Heartbreaking story of loss, family and healing from the prospective of a 6 year old little boy.
Such a sad and timely book and so relevant given the continuing horrors of school shootings and young lives cut short by gun totting crazies. An amazing read that will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
I loved the narrative coming from the youngest member of the family and how he was coping, or not with the family unraveling after his older brother was murdered in a school shooting. Deeply moving and highly recommended read.

In the light of recent shootings in American schools, this book was both timely, and heartbreaking. A family loses a 10 year old son when the security officer for the school's son crashes into the school and shoots 18 pupils.
The mother of the story has a younger son, who is deeply affected by the loss of his brother, but his mother and father are so busy arguing, and blaming each other, they cannot see how much it is affecting him.
Then the mother decides to campaign for the gunman's family to be pursued through the courts. However this backfires in a spectacular way.
I found this book very sad, and felt like weeping for the parents and the lost children.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

I loved this book. It was so powerful that I couldn’t stop crying while reading. It follows a family after losing a child in a school shooting, but is seen from the child’s perspective. It was so heartbreaking and felt so real, especially in the age we live in, where school shootings are becoming increasingly relevant.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

If this hadn't been a Read Now offer, I probably wouldn't have ever read anything like this. I would seriously have been missing out on a truly wonderful book.

This book is told from the perspective of one little boy, a survivor of a school shooting- which is happening all to frequently in the US. Although shocking every time something like this happens, here in the UK we can't really understand or feel the devastation or the fear this causes to the whole country. This book brings the whole range of emotions a little closer to us. It touches on how these situations affect the whole communities and the constant repercussions to all the families involved.

The ending was the only downfall. I never expected a happy ending...how can anything like this end in a pleasing way, but I was also disappointed with the typical American schmaltzy let's-all-agree-to-get-along-and-love-eachother cosy group-hug type ending. It's not believable and it was unnecessary. I am sure the real victims of real shootings would love such closure on their situations but I don't think it's so clean cut. In my opinion a great ending would be an enforced blanket ban on guns in the US, but what do I know.....

This book is a stunning debut and I'm still thinking about it days after I finished it. The story is of the aftermath of a school shooting as told by a 7 year old witness whose brother is a victim. Zach tells his story of how the adults around him cope, or not, with the tragedy and how he deals with the emotional fallout. The language of a 7 year old is beautifully evoked and emotions run high throughout. I read the last third of the book with tears of sadness and frustration in my eyes. It is hard to read a book knowing it will not have a happy or resolved ending but the conclusion it reaches is a worthy one. I would recommend reading Sue Klebold's account of Columbine before or after this for a slightly different but relevant perspective on the issue of school shootings.

My heart was in my mouth during the opening section of the book with the most realistic description of a school shooting you will ever read. No holds barred and nothing glossed over.
I did really enjoy all the book but found the understanding and self awareness of Zach too mature for a five year old. The story was besutifully told though and would still highly recommend it.

A traumatic and heartbreaking story told from a young boys viewpoint. Touching and moving

A very timely and poignant book. The little boy was very well written and made for an emotional read. loved the way the dad was with his son but had less sympathy for the mum although am sure noone really knows what you would do unless you were in that situation. brilliant debut book.