Mockingbird
In Caitlin's world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That's the stuff Caitlin's older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon's dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger's, she doesn't know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white—the world is full of colors—messy and beautiful.Kathryn Erskine has written a must-read gem, one of the most moving novels of the year.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Mockingbird
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Caitlin, a ten-year-old with Asperger's, has lost her older brother in a school shooting. She does not understand a lot about how people grieve. She decides she needs to find what closure looks like for her family.
Yes. Mockingbird won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It is widely taught for its respectful portrayal of a 10-year-old girl with Asperger syndrome processing her brother's death in a school shooting.
Mockingbird is middle grade, recommended for readers 9 to 12. The themes of grief and a school shooting are heavy and benefit from classroom or family discussion.
Mockingbird was written by Kathryn Erskine, published in 2010 by Puffin.
Mockingbird is 256 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Mockingbird takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Mockingbird is a standalone novel by Kathryn Erskine, not part of a series.
Mockingbird is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.