Mockingbird

Do you know the definition of closure?

This is a book about an eleven year-old girl named Caitlin, and she has Asperger's. In her world, everything is black and white. Good and bad. Anything and everything in between is just plain confusing. And it used to be her older brother, Devon, who used to explain those things to her. Now Devon is dead, and there is only Dad. Except Dad is no help. This book is a really great lit-circle book, and I really really really (I cannot emphasize this enough) think that it's wonderfully written and that I recommend it to anyone who is in need of a good book, teachers, adults, students, and kids all alike. 

Caitlin is confused about a lot in her life, like empathy, colours, and everything in between black and white. And most recently of all, how to find closure. If Devon had been there, he would have taken care of her, and explained to her about everything. So now Caitlin is as confused as ever and no one that seems like they're going to help her. This book is a really strong insulator of feelings, and one can't stop themselves from being sympathetic towards Caitlin, and her father, that doesn't really understand what she needs right now. In her journey to find closure and bring it to her and her father, she meets another friend, and may come to understand empathy and emotions more than anyone ever thought she could. Even if she has Asperger's, she still is like any other human being. She has emotions, it's just that she finds it harder to portray it well, and make people understand, and to make her understand how people are feeling. Because life doesn't have an answer key. And Caitlin needs to understand that life isn't black and white. That it has many colours, messy, bright, strong, but beautiful. 

With a friend, a very helpful art professor, Mrs. Brook, the counselor, Caitlin, a chest, and her Dad, Caitlin is determined to reach closure. It's not only for herself, but for everyone around her as well- the community, the school, and her family. But does Caitlin realize this? Not to mention that right now, Caitlin really needs to find closure for herself as well. And it definitely doesn't help that others treat her like something bad. When she really isn't. She is really like all of them. It's just that they need a little bit more 'finesse'.

Kathryn Erskine is an amazing writer and I have to say that her writing is especially strong, and I think that it is one of the most emotionally strong pieces of writing I have ever read. Mockingbird is an amazing book, and I think that Kathryn did an amazing job in writing in the point of view of a child that has difficulties with a lot. It is a complex character study, that really is a great example of a exemplary character study, and I recommend it all the more as a lit-circle book!

***I give this book a 9.999999999999999999999 out of 10. It was really touching and spectacularly written!***