The story is narrated by (autistic) Caitlin through a horrific and tragic portion of her life, yet she does not understand why this event is so tragic. Caitlin's brother, Devon, was murdered in a recent school shooting. Caitlin is left to deal with emotional family members without her rock and best friend, Devon. Unable to process and understand emotion Caitlin turns to dictionary definitions of grief related words; when she stumbles upon closure she realizes she needs to find it herself. In this coming of age story, we see the world through the eyes of a (seemingly) unfazed griever.
Katherine Erskine got her inspiration for this novel from the Virginia Tech Shooting. However, this story of grief does not only apply to victims of violence. This story could apply to any grieving situation as well as helping understand different coping styles and maybe even help understand people who have autism. Helping people understand situations through the eyes of others is essential to friendships and social connections.
As I read this story I kept thinking back to the film, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?". The film features Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio) as a young autistic boy being cared for by his obese mother and struggling brother, Gilbert (Johnny Depp). We see Arnie's coping after his mother's death only for a brief period of time but it was completely opposite of Caitlin's in Mockingbird. Though Caitlin is seemingly at a higher level, we see how different these people who share this characteristic cope with tragedy. I felt like this understanding of the spectrum of severity helped me get a greater grasp on autism as a whole and I feel it would help students as well.
The book is rated for students grade 5 and up as well as ages 10 and up but it touched me as an adult. This book covers social skills, coping mechanisms, and even the coming of age struggle. The language choice is a little tough in the beginning because of the way Caitlin's mind processes situations but after about 10 pages you really start to hear her voice as a narrator. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It was so enlightening.
