Mockingbird

Mockingbird (mok'ing-burd) by Kathryn Erskine  235 pp.

I read this in one sitting last night after seeing it laying on the desk in Children's. This story is told from the point of view of Caitlin, a ten-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome. She and her father are struggling with "The Day Our Life Fell Apart" when her older brother was tragically killed. In addition, Caitlin struggles daily with her Aspeger's which leaves her unable to read any social cues from the people around her. With the help of an understanding school counselor, Caitlin learns the meaning of 'closure' and begins the arduous job of finding it for herself, her father, and a first grader named Michael, whose mother also died. It's a fascinating look at the thought processes of someone with Asperger's.