school shooting

Only Child by Rhiannon Navin, is narrated through the voice of Zach, a first grade boy who hides in a closet with his teacher and classmates while a lone gunman begins shooting people in his elementary school.  In the aftermath of the shooting, once 19 people are pronounced dead, we are taken through a captivating emotional journey, hearing not only Zach’s thoughts, but those overheard conversations of his parents. The family’s lives are torn apart and put back together as they each try in various ways to heal from this tragedy. Zach’s mother is bent on exacting revenge from the shooter’s

Only Child is told by six-year-old Zach Taylor, whose world is turned upside down when a gunman enters his school and kills nineteen children, including his older brother. The author has an uncanny ability to enter the mind of a small child and describe events as only a small child is able. The voice of innocence and wonder, sadness and confusion jumps out of every page as Zach tries to comprehend the tragedy that has befallen his family and the actions and despair of the adults around him, including his parents. Through his words, the reader learns about the family dynamic, issues they have

Four different people, four separate stories, and four unique perspectives are all tied together by fear. As the school-wide assembly ends, the entire school discovers that all the doors are locked as a student starts shooting.  In this fast paced read, which only spans the course of fifty minutes, the reader gets the perspective of four students, who all have reasons to fear the boy holding the gun. Each character reflects on how they are tied to the shooter, decisions they have made, and how they got to this point all while testing their strength in this nerve-wracking, suspenseful book