Mockingbird

Caitlin sees the world in black and white. It's less confusing. Color muddies thoughts and people. Devon, her brother, understands her best. He helps 5th grader Caitlin, who has Asperger's syndrome, make sense of a confusing world. When Caitlin's brother dies in a school shooting, she has to figure out the world without him. Caitlin's mom is dead and her father is overwhelmed with grief. Having Asperger makes it difficult for Caitlin to express her feelings. She has to study a book of expressions or look on an expression chart to describe how she is feeling. Caitlin gets help from the school counselor and her newfound friend Michael.   The community and Caitlin try to find closure surrounding the senseless deaths from the shooting at the school.

The title is based on the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The movie was Devon and Caitlin's favorite and he called her, Scout. The word, scout, symbolizes many things in the book from Devon's eagle scout to Caitlin scouting for words; particularly the word, closure.

The book is a tear jerker but because of Caitlin's blunt explanation of events that have little emotion, it takes away some of the intensity. All the same, there are some teary spots in the plot. Some might be confused with the dialogue that is in italics. It isn't always clear when Caitlin is speaking or thinking.

Reading Level 4.1

:-) :-) :-) :-) 4.75 Smileys.