“Only Child triumphs. Zach, at only 6 years old, understands more about the human heart than the broken adults around him. His hope and optimism as he sets out to execute his plan will have every reader cheering him on, and believing in happy endings even in the face of such tragedy. . . . Navin manages to make Zach’s voice heartbreakingly believable.”—Ann Hood, The Washington Post “Perfect for fans of Room… a heartbreaking but important novel.” —Real Simple Readers of Jodi Picoult and Liane Moriarty will also like this tenderhearted debut about healing and family, narrated by an unforgettable six-year-old boy who reminds us that sometimes the littlest bodies hold the biggest hearts and the quietest voices speak the loudest. Squeezed into a coat closet with his classmates and teacher, first grader Zach Taylor can hear gunshots ringing through the halls of his school. A gunman has entered the building, taking nineteen lives and irrevocably changing the very fabric of this close-knit community. While Zach's mother pursues a quest for justice against the shooter's parents, holding them responsible for their son's actions, Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and art. Armed with his newfound understanding, and with the optimism and stubbornness only a child could have, Zach sets out on a captivating journey towards healing and forgiveness, determined to help the adults in his life rediscover the universal truths of love and compassion needed to pull them through their darkest hours.
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“Kivlighan de Montebello’s young voice captures the innocent perspective of Zach, the 6-year-old first-person narrator of this novel…Inferences, de Montebello’s youthful voice, and the author’s references to the Hulk and The Magic Treehouse give poignancy to the filter of Zach’s naïveté. De Montebello reveals Zach’s truths, the gripping situations he finds himself in, and the unmitigated tension he feels…[An] excellent audio…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
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