Only Child: A novel

by Rhiannon Navin Narrated by Kivlighan de Montebello

Overview

“Only Child triumphs. Zach, at only 6 years old, understands more about the human heart than the broken adults around him. His hope and optimism as he sets out to execute his plan will have every reader cheering him on, and believing in happy endings even in the face of such tragedy. . . . Navin manages to make Zach's voice heartbreakingly believable.”-Ann Hood, The Washington Post

“Perfect for fans of*Room... a heartbreaking but important novel.” -Real Simple*
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Readers of Jodi Picoult and Liane Moriarty will also like this tenderhearted debut about healing and family, narrated by an unforgettable six-year-old boy who reminds us that sometimes the littlest bodies hold the biggest hearts and the quietest voices speak the loudest.
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Squeezed into a coat closet with his classmates and teacher, first grader Zach Taylor can hear gunshots ringing through the halls of his school. A gunman has entered the building, taking nineteen lives and irrevocably changing the very fabric of this close-knit community. While Zach's mother pursues a quest for justice against the shooter's parents, holding them responsible for their son's actions, Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and art. Armed with his newfound understanding, and with the optimism and stubbornness only a child could have, Zach sets out on a captivating journey towards healing and forgiveness, determined to help the adults in his life rediscover the universal truths of love and compassion needed to pull them through their darkest hours.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2018 - AudioFile

Kivlighan de Montebello's young voice captures the innocent perspective of Zach, the 6-year-old first-person narrator of this novel. When an alert sounds in Zach's school, he's shepherded into a closet by his teacher. Amid the chorus of "POP, POP, POP," Zach's limited viewpoint gives a picture of the shooting in his elementary school, one of the victims being his 10-year-old brother. Zach little understands his father's affair, the severe changes his mother undergoes, or the saintly picture they paint of his sometimes-cruel brother. Inferences, de Montebello's youthful voice, and the author's references to the Hulk and the Magic Tree House give poignancy to the filter of Zach's naïveté. De Montebello reveals Zach's truths, the gripping situations he finds himself in, and the unmitigated tension he feels. This excellent audio may be difficult to hear in view of recent events. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2018 - AudioFile

Kivlighan de Montebello's young voice captures the innocent perspective of Zach, the 6-year-old first-person narrator of this novel. When an alert sounds in Zach's school, he's shepherded into a closet by his teacher. Amid the chorus of "POP, POP, POP," Zach's limited viewpoint gives a picture of the shooting in his elementary school, one of the victims being his 10-year-old brother. Zach little understands his father's affair, the severe changes his mother undergoes, or the saintly picture they paint of his sometimes-cruel brother. Inferences, de Montebello's youthful voice, and the author's references to the Hulk and the Magic Tree House give poignancy to the filter of Zach's naïveté. De Montebello reveals Zach's truths, the gripping situations he finds himself in, and the unmitigated tension he feels. This excellent audio may be difficult to hear in view of recent events. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171818951
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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