Book - Mockingbird

eBook - Mockingbird

By: Kathryn Erskine

Score: 9/10

Year: 2010

Publisher: Puffin Books

ISBN 978-1-101-14931-7 (digital edition) 

based on 9780399252648  (print edition)

Pages : 235 (digital)

Language: English

Trigger warnings : I'm looking for a way to create a display/hide button, but I didn't understand.

Keywords : violence, mass shooting, school shooting

Ten-year-old Caitlin, who has Asperger’s syndrome, sees the world (and draws) in blacks and whites, hating how colors blend into one another, often in an unexpected fashion (at least to her views). She also struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make friends at school.  

At home she seeks closure, as she mourns - in her own special way - the death of her older brother, Devon, who was one of the victims of a school shooting, in Virginia Dare Middle School. 

This story, as the author specifies in the note (p.233) was inspired by the Virginia Tech University shooting in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 16, 2007, and which had claimed 33 lives, in her own backyard. Her narrative approach follows her views in life, centering on hope - that very hope for closure, that is told in the first person, straight from Caitlin's mind. 

This novel's title finds several echoes to the classic Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the black and white movie adaptation (with Gregory Peck) is mentioned, this title showing up specifically for one of its 39 chapters (I'll let you find out).

The entire novel follows Caitlin's thoughts, and all dialogues - including wording, and their Capitalizing - are based on her knowledge, and, most importantly, her views of the world... For example, the need to capitalize H in Heart, because how can any other word be more special? 

The pacing is wonderful, as we follow this 10 year old, soon to be 11, Caitlin. She truly embodies Scout from Harper Lee's novel, right down to some actions she takes. Word definitions are given at intervals, when she has to learn them, or use them to explain herself to her teachers and other characters with whom she has to interact.

We follow her quests for healing, but also of making sense of the differences between her and those of her peers ; as a mirror to the author's wishes for better mutual understanding at the core of an improved society, to reduce its misunderstandings, and, ultimately, violence. 

As we enter the narrative, and Caitlin's head, we also learn of her ways of dealing with life, her coping mechanisms, and ways in which they may differ between a neurodivergent person and a neurotypical one. Evidently, we don't get a full picture, because there's a spectrum and individual ways, whereas the novel showcases those limited to Caitlin and perhaps one or two others, but enough to hint towards the main aim Kathryn Erskine laid out : that of the need to put oneself in another person's shoes in order to better understand. On this level, I think the mission is successful, as the story draws into the character, who becomes attaching and you want to see how she may come out of the wounds she's facing at this critical time of her life. 

 Some of her wording or actions, based on her limited views/understanding create comedic relief, and I found myself laughing on numerous occasions - but I assure you that the author never mocks anyone. As she explains (again, in the note) that her daughter had been diagnosed with Asperger's in second grade, and that's how Caitlin's story fits into the overall narrative of hope.

This is my 6th and last library-borrowed book for the 6x bibliobook challenge I'd planned for this month in the reading club (LucieBulle's club de lecture en eau douce).

It also fulfils the neurodivergent card in the "jeu de la PAL". 

My ebook, borrowed from a library has the cover image I used for this review, but the main kindle edition comes with this one - also present on the printed edition on which it is based

Trigger warnings section : 

Keywords : violence, school shooting, grief, and emetophobia triggers. 

The backstory around Caitlin, her dad, and a other characters from her school, indeed their community, revolves around a school shooting that happened before the story starts. Aside from the keyword in the listing (p. iv) the mentions of it are on pages 65-66, 70, 79-80, 117 and 168 - whilst the author's note (233) discusses the one that really occurred. 

The other triggers concern emetophobia, as there are 8 mentions of a character being sick, or someone who may feel like it (2 in p.36 ; 1 in p.66 ; 3 in p.85 ; another p.162 and last on 175).