I’m very excited to be on the blog tour for the wonderful Only Child by Rhiannon Navin. With the increase in terror threats and the possible change in gun laws in America this is a very important book which I think everyone should read.
Only Child is available to purchase in hardback and ebook here.
This was another 5 star read for me!
Book Description:
We went to school that Tuesday like normal.
Not all of us came home . . .
Huddled in a cloakroom with his classmates and teacher, six-year-old Zach can hear shots ringing through the corridors of his school. A gunman has entered the building and, in a matter of minutes, will have taken nineteen lives.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the close knit community and its families are devastated. Everyone deals with the tragedy differently. Zach’s father absents himself; his mother pursues a quest for justice — while Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and drawing.
Ultimately though, it is Zach who will show the adults in his life the way forward — as, sometimes, only a child can.
My Review:
Only Child is an incredible, hard hitting and emotional story that I know will stay with me for a long time.
Firstly I don’t think I’ve ever read such a thrilling and haunting opening chapter! The description of Zach and his class hiding from the gunman was so vivid I felt like I was right there in the cupboard experiencing it along side of them. Their fear is almost palpable and I felt my heart beat racing as I kept reading hoping they wouldn’t be discovered. The pop sounds used to describe shots from a gun I almost felt physically as the descriptions of them were so brilliant. Truly an amazing opening.
The story is narrated by six year old Zach who survives the shooting that kills his brother. The reader follows him as he struggles to cope in the aftermath and especially with all the different feelings he has. It was so sad to see him dealing with so much on his own as his parents are too self absorbed to help him with it. I simultaneously wanted to give Zach a hug and his parents a shake!
The book is fairly fast paced as there is always something happening to keep the reader hooked. It’s very easy to fall in love with Zach which makes you emotionally involved in the story. I wanted to keep reading to check he was ok.
The ending was just perfect and I had tears running down my face as I read the last few pages.
This is the authors’s debut novel which is hard to believe at times as the writing is just exquisite! I really look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Huge thanks to Jess Duffy and Pan Macmillan publishers for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
German by birth, Rhiannon Navin now lives in New York. She is married, with three children and two cats. This is her first novel.
Follow The Blog Tour:
If you liked the sound of this book from my review please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fantastic bloggers are saying!
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Wonderful review! I’ve never read grief and sorrow described like this, by such a young protagonist, and it really tugged at my heart too!
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I’m currently reading this. Its very powerful isn’t it
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It really is, very moving xx
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