Mockingbird (2010 National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature)

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.

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Staff Review

A powerful poignant story about an eleven-year -old with Asperger's syndrome whose older brother dies in a school shooting and the steps she takes to get closure. Erskine does a wonderful job – as it is sad, but sad in a way that gives the reader hope. Kids who read this will definitely come away with a greater understanding of how autistic people experience the world and how cruel and insensitive people can be. Definitely a book that makes you want to read it over and over.