November 27, 2017
Navin’s gripping debut opens with first grader Zach Taylor huddling in a closet with his teacher and classmates while shots and screams echo in his school’s corridors. After the shooting, Zach’s parents’ frantically search for Andy, Zach’s older brother, only to discover that he is one of the victims. Zach’s gradual comprehension of the tragedy includes his bewilderment when people bring food to his house, which he thinks of as an unseemly party. As he works through his memories of Andy, he comes to an aching realization of the depth of his loss. His parents are too preoccupied with their own grief to notice Zach’s anguish or to bring him to therapy. He takes refuge in books, reading hidden in Andy’s bedroom closet, and is the bystander to his mother’s nervous volatility and his father’s adulterous liaison. When his mother resolves to bring a lawsuit against the parents of the boy who wielded the gun, in spite of the fact that the two families have had a longtime friendly relationship, Zach conceives a dangerous “mission” to bring healing to his parents and the community. Those who can handle the difficult subject matter will find the plot to be a page-turner; Navin also excels in brilliantly capturing Zach’s perspective. 125,000-copy announced first printing.
June 1, 2018
When her five-year-old twins began practicing lockdown procedures in kindergarten, Navin channeled her fearful helplessness into writing what would become her debut novel. Six-year-old Zach's memories of the "POP POP POP" he hears from inside his first-grade classroom closet remind him of a video game. In reality, those POPs claim 19 lives, including that of his ten-year-old brother, Andy. Navin's decision to narrate the horrific aftermath from Zach's youthful, raw perspective is ideally enhanced by child actor Kivlighan de Montebello's wrenching performance as he transitions seamlessly from cautious to questioning to screaming to acceptance. Zach is shattered by his mother's withdrawal; he can't understand her animosity against the shooter's parents, who were, until this tragedy, beloved community members. He's troubled by his father's mysterious interactions with the mother of another dead child. He's guilty over his initial relief because being Andy's little brother wasn't always easy. Before his family completely implodes, Zach devises an "urgent mission"--inspired by Magic Tree House book #37's four secrets of happiness--to repair his fracturing family. VERDICT Published a mere week before the February 14, 2018, Parkland, FL, massacre, this work's shocking timeliness will result in demand in all formats. ["A tough, topical story with a hopeful conclusion for the family, this is a strong book club choice": LJ 1/18 starred review of the Knopf hc; a Spring Editor's Pick, LJ 2/1/18, p. 31.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
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