Only Child
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Only Child
Narrated by:
Kivlighan De Montebello
Buy Now for $18.99
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Narrated by:
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Kivlighan De Montebello
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By:
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Rhiannon Navin
About this listen
Captivating . . . Will appeal to fans of Room, The Lovely Bones and The Fault in Our Stars' – Independent
Heartstopping. Heartbreaking. Heartwarming.
Compelling, compassionate and powerful, Rhiannon Navin's Only Child is the most heartfelt book you'll read this year.
We all went to school that Tuesday like normal. Not all of us came home.
When the unthinkable happens, six-year-old Zach is at school. Huddled in a cloakroom with his classmates and teacher, he is too young to understand that life will never be the same again.
Afterwards, the once close-knit community is left reeling. Zach's dad retreats. His mum sets out to seek revenge. Zach, scared, lost and confused, disappears into his super-secret hideout to try to make sense of things. Nothing feels right – until he listens to his heart . . .
But can he remind the grown-ups how to love again?
Narrated by Zach, Only Child is full of heart; a real rollercoaster of a read that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.
Critic Reviews
Captivating . . . Will appeal to fans of Room, The Lovely Bones and The Fault in Our Stars
Authentic and moving
Grab hold of the tissues for a heartbreaking read that's full of compassion and insight
An emotional, heart-wrenching read for fans of We Need To Talk About Kevin
Heart-wrenching and intelligent, and so very moving and insightful about a family in crisis (Kate Eberlen, author of Miss You)
Powerful . . . Will appeal to fans of Emma Donoghue's Room
Completely felled me . . . Brilliantly heartbreaking
Sinks its hooks into you from the very first sentence
An amazing voice . . . Powerful and wise and healing (Rachael Lucas, author of Wildflower Bay)
Devastating. Unsentimental. Honest. Beautiful. Everyone should read (Penny Hancock, author of Tideline)
Zach, at only 6 years old, understands more about the human heart than the broken adults around him. His hope and optimism . . . will have every reader cheering him on, and believing in happy endings even in the face of tragedy (Washington Post)
An astonishing debut
Powerful . . . A careful examination of the way one boy and his parents, and their community, struggle to survive — and stay together — after the worst has happened
Told in the surprisingly mature voice of an unforgettable little boy, this tender novel about healing and family will tug at your heartstrings
Outstanding (Harlen Coben)
Heart-wrenching . . . [An] important and timely book
Innocence trumps violence (Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair)
Like Emma Donoghue's Room, Navin's debut takes the risk of narrating a modern tragedy in the voice of a very young player . . . A powerful exercise in empathy and perspective
Hotly anticipated
Heartbreaking
Through Zach’s eyes, we watch a mother become consumed by her anger, and a father begin to retreat . . . Zach embarks on a mission to ease his parents’ sadness, though the reader knows that only time can do that . . . Sweetly rendered
In the immediate aftermath, six-year-old Zach witnesses the arrival of police, the panicked parents, the lack of news and then, slowly, the growing list of the dead and the news that the shooter was a fellow student.
The long-term devastation rips families and friendships apart and we experience it all through the confusion of Zach’s eyes, who tells the story with the voice of narrator Kivlighan De Montebello. His storytelling skills defy his young years.
Navin’s novel is insightful, tender and terrifying. Her ability to capture the world around her from the viewpoint of someone who doesn’t always understand is both heartbreaking and gripping. The opening scenes of the shooting, told from Zach’s hiding place in a cupboard, is just as terrifying as it would have been facing the gunman. Like a proverbial train wreck, it’s difficult to stop ploughing through Navin’s story, witnessing the damage unfolding and the adults around Zach struggling to cope in ways that make no sense to him. Zach too, fails to understand his own reactions: his anger, his sadness, his extreme reactions…
De Montebello is equally exceptional. This young actor, whose film debut was only 4 years ago, provides a poignant reading that encapsulates every emotion. He breathes life into Navin’s text, creating vivid images of each scene. We understand and believe in him and the people around him.
The subject matter of Navin’s debut novel may be too close to home for some, but it outstrips many thrillers even without action scenes.
Harrowing
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