One of my reading goals for this year is to read some really great kid's books (or young adult books). The first one for 2012 is Mockingbird. It was awesome!
I honestly found this book to be intriguing for the dumbest reason: it's cover. The cover of this book is the same as the cover of another young reader novel, although for the life of me I can't remember what the book is. Apparently, both authors really didn't care what the cover looked like and both used the same generic cover picture offered by their publisher not realizing that another author had picked the same photograph. Scandal ensued as you can imagine.
I was also drawn to the story because the main character, Caitlin, has Asperger's syndrome and thought that a kid's story told by a 5th grade autistic girl would be fascinating. I thought perhaps I'd learn something. Did I ever. What I did not know until I flipped to the back of the book was that the storyline of Mockingbird was based on the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. This book was the author's way of dealing with that tragedy and helping us all to see two things. One: we all suffer when there's a tragedy in our community. Two: if we all learned to respect each other and be kind, regardless of our differences, the world would be a better, safer, less violent place.
I won't give away any details, but I will tell you that this book moved me. Hearing Caitlin's voice as she tried to find Closure, as she tried to make sense of figures of speech that she takes literally, as she tried to figure out who was going to teach her things now that Devon couldn't, as she tried to make friends...it was all touching and moving.
There are two comments in Mockingbird that I found particularly poignant. The first Caitlin's dad spoke at the end of the book and his words made me smile: "A movie isn't as good as real life. It can't even compare." The second Caitlin said early on in the novel and I think I share her sentiment: "Books are not like people. Books are safe." She was referring to the fact that books never change. No matter how much time passes, you can open a book and the same things will still be happening as when you opened them the first time. It would be nice if people were that way.
While books are safe, colors are not. As an artist, and apparently as good one, Caitlin has an issue with colors. Colors are never the same, she says. You can mix red and yellow many different times and never quite ever get the same shade of orange. As a result, she draws in black and white. She prefers things to be black and white. As a big fan of black-and-white-and-no-gray myself, I can relate. It makes life a lot less confusing. At the same time, I can't imagine the world without pink.
My final note about Mockingbird is this. Emily ordered this book from a Scholastic Book Order. I can't believe that this book was offered to 3-5 graders. The subject matter of the school shooting is what bothers me most. While my daughters can benefit from reading a book about a child with autism, I don't think they are ready to deal with the issues relating to the aftermath of a school shooting. I guess I issue this statement as a caution. Know what your kids are reading. Neither one of my girls ever read this book. It kept getting passed over on the shelf for Harry Potter books and Little House on the Prairie books. Thank heavens! I guess someone was watching out for my girls. Mockingbird is going to be housed on my shelf now.
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
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