What readers think of Only Child, plus links to write your own review.

An unthinkable tragedy has happened to this young family. An event that recent real life disasters have made us (think Sandy Hook) aware of our own vulnerability, happens. There is a mass shooting at the local school.The older son has been killed, the shooter (a young man known to the community ) has been killed by police and the parents and younger son are left to grieve and cope.The story is told from the point of view of six year-old Zach an extremely precocious child, who has lived in the shadow of his older brother, Andy. Andy was not the perfect child one would like to remember, but one with many problems. The story demonstrates the manner in which each person grieves and acts out his or her pain. The story held me from beginning to end. I would have given it a 5 except that I found Zach painted a bit too mature for his age. That said, I highly recommend this book

I read Only Child because it was suggested for a book club discussion. It is so sad. Adult reactions are too selfish to imagine. Forced myself to finish reading it.