Absolutely heartbreaking. As a parent the pain in this book hits so close to home. The story is told from a six year old's point of view after a school shooting. Everyone suffers in this book and the grief causes so many issues for poor Zach. This isn't a book I would say I enjoyed, but definitely a book everyone should read. Often you don't get to see the after of these horrible tragedies.

I received an early release in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a really hard read, not because it was terrible or boring but because it is something that many parents worry about when sending their children to school. I thought the characters were all really well developed. I thought it did a really good job of showing the ripple effect of tragedy on a family. It was interesting to see the different ways that individuals work through a tragedy.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't finish this book. It triggered too many negative and painfully sad emotions in me. From what I was able to read though, it was very well written. Just not for me!

Predictable, albeit timely, plot: deadly school shooting tears surviving family members apart. Parents lose the older of their two children, and in the aftermath, they both fail their surviving 'only child', dad by his infidelity exposed by the tragedy, and mom by her obsession with revenge upon the gunman's family. The story is narrated by the younger brother, a preternaturally self-aware, 6-year-old, who manages to teach the adults in his life about sympathy and happiness, which he gleaned from reading his dead brother's collection of The Magic Tree House books.

Ostensibly an adult novel, the decision to use the voice of a child bifurcates the overall tale, making it read at times like a didactic children's story, overshadowing the times when its compelling plot turns would otherwise grab the reader.

So many emotions about this book. It cuts a little too close to the Sandy Hook shootings so the beginning was really difficult to read. It's the aftermath of the shootings in this book that caused the most of my mixed emotions. While I can't begin to imagine how parents of victims would feel or act, I was really surprised and angry about how Andy's mom did. Maybe because the book is narrated by their surviving son, 6 year old Zach, who is left to deal with his own fears and emotions pretty much by himself. I'm also not sure about the resolution here. While I'd like to imagine it could happen, it just seemed a little too neat and quick given what came before. This book is going to take a little time to process.

Gripping read, very thoughtful, sad work. Timely work told from perspective of damaged child. Satisfying ending.

ONLY CHILD tells the story of one family facing the horrific aftermath of an elementary school shooting very similar to Sandy Hook. What makes it unique is that it is narrated entirely from the perspective of six-year-old Zach Taylor. Zach survives the shooting, but his older brother Andy does not. As we learn more about the Taylor family, we see that Andy's death severed the very thin thread that was holding the family together in the first place.

I was hesitant to pick up this book because I knew my heart would break while reading it. I also tend to shy away from reading books that will take me to a really dark place. However, I felt this was something I needed to read, and I am so thankful that I did. There is no sugarcoating it- if you pick up this book it will most likely break your heart. Zach's observations about the events surrounding his brother's death and his inability to understand why the adults in his life have suddenly forgotten him cuts straight to the heart. His sweet and innocent commentary was enough to make me cry many times throughout the book. I found his six-year-old perspective to feel genuine for the most part; there were only a few instances that rang untrue for me in terms of vocabulary/insight. I also appreciated the fact that it was nicely paced and only 304 pages. While the ending was unrealistically positive, it was certainly the ending that Zach deserved.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great novel about heartbreaking loss and forgiveness through the eyes of an innocent boy. Beautiful book.

Heart wrenching account of the aftermath of an elementary school shooting from 6 year old Zach as he and his family try to go on with their lives after a senseless tragedy.

This book touched my heart and soul from the first few pages. The way the narrator Zach interacted with life, tragedy, and family was so heartbreakingly real and honest that I found that it was hard to put the book down.

The way this book is written reminds me of "Room", a young child narrator who doesn't always know what is going on. This makes you put tragedy in perspective and look at the world through different eyes.

I was touched and moved by this book and just wanted to give Zach a big hug every chapter.

After a hideous act of violence leaves six year old Zach an only child, his family grows apart in their grief instead of pulling together. Told from the perspective of a child both innocent and wise beyond his years, "Only Child" reveals how much damage violence can do long after the act is perpetrated. Although chilling and heart rending, I loved reading this book.

A beautiful description of the heart break families experience when a member is brutally killed. Six year old Zach survives a school shooting but his family is falling apart. Everybody is busy dealing with their own grief and leaving Zach confused. and hurtng.

The journey to forgiveness is hard but the only way this family can be saved. Highly recommended.