From the New York Times Book Review June 15, 2018 by Julia Pierpont: “Many novels have been written on the devastating subject of school shootings — Lionel Shriver’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” Stephen King’s “Rage,” Jim Shepard’s “Project X,” to name a few — but in “Only Child,” the event itself is mercifully brief. By Page 10, the shooting is over. Navin’s true subject lies in the aftermath; it is a story of grief.”

From Goodreads.com: Squeezed into a coat closet with his classmates and teacher, first grader Zach Taylor can hear gunshots ringing through the halls of his school. A gunman has entered the building, taking nineteen lives and irrevocably changing the very fabric of this close-knit community. While Zach’s mother pursues a quest for justice against the shooter’s parents, holding them responsible for their son’s actions, Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and art. Armed with his newfound understanding, and with the optimism and stubbornness only a child could have, Zach sets out on a captivating journey towards healing and forgiveness, determined to help the adults in his life rediscover the universal truths of love and compassion needed to pull them through their darkest hours.

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