Mockingbird

Caitlin is a bright fifth-grader and skilled artist with Asperger’s syndrome. She lost her mom to cancer some years earlier. As the story begins, her beloved older brother, Devon, has recently died. Two teens shot Devon, another student and a teacher at Devon’s middle school. Dad frequently breaks down crying at home. Because of her Asperger’s, it is difficult for Caitlin to understand her dad’s emotions or express her own. She narrates this account of her growth and search for closure in the aftermath of tragedy.

Caitlin’s school counselor, Mrs. Brook, has always helped Caitlin deal with her Tantrum Rage Meltdowns (TRMs). She’s coached her on how to interpret people’s feelings by reading their facial expressions and looking them in the eye. After Devon’s death, Mrs. Brook continues to urge Caitlin to make friends by using her manners and being nice to others. Caitlin tries to follow Mrs. Brook’s instructions, but the girl’s black-and-white thinking makes it hard for her to grasp the nuances of human behavior. She often alienates others by stating annoying or hurtful facts she thinks will help them.

Caitlin dreads the chaos of recess. She especially dislikes her encounters with another fifth-grader named Josh, who sometimes calls her a freak. Josh’s cousin was one of the middle school shooters, whom police shot and killed at the scene. Josh acts out toward other kids, many of whom consider him evil because of his cousin.

Caitlin doesn’t hold the cousin’s behavior against Josh, but she does dislike Josh because he’s mean. After Caitlin and Josh argue at recess, Mrs. Brook starts letting Caitlin take her breaks with the younger kids. Caitlin sees a little boy with a red hat and recognizes him from Devon’s funeral. They begin talking and the sad boy, Michael, seems to understand her better than kids her own age. She discovers his mother was the teacher killed at Devon’s school. Caitlin begins to share her gummy bears with Michael at recesses and gives him stickers for remembering his manners.

One night, Caitlin and her dad see a news story about the other teen shooter going to trial. The reporter notes this closure is important for the small community. Caitlin fixates on the word closure, looking it up over and over in the dictionary and asking how she can get it for herself and her dad. She believes obtaining this closure will solve everything, and she’s frustrated when Mrs. Brook won’t show her a clear path to achieving it.

Caitlin shares many loving memories of Devon in her narrative. He protected her and advocated for her even when it caused public humiliation. The siblings liked the movie To Kill a Mockingbird because of its message about people who are misunderstood and vilified. Devon even nicknamed Caitlin “Scout.”

Devon and Dad were building a wooden chest so Devon could earn his Eagle Scout badge. They were planning to teach others, including Caitlin, how to carry out similar projects. Now the trunk sits in the living room, unfinished and covered with a blanket. Caitlin decides she and her father will gain closure if they finish the chest. Dad fights her at first, claiming it is too difficult emotionally. She spurs him on by reminding him how Devon was willing to do hard things. When she and Dad finish the project, they donate it to the school at a ceremony honoring the victims.

Caitlin enjoys the support of community members, like an empathetic art teacher named Mr. Walters. Up to this point, Caitlin hasn’t been able to draw complete faces. She has only sketched in black and white because colors are tricky. As she grows in her understanding of human nature, she decides she’s ready to sketch whole faces and draw life in color.