Mockingbird Book Club Meeting 1

         On October 6^th, the book club I am participating in met for the first of four times. We are all reading the novel titled Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine and made a plan to read up to chapter 10 before this meeting. I was looking forward to meeting with this group, especially because of how much I enjoyed the book and wanted to continue reading. As soon as the group got together, we all agreed that it was a very interesting story and an easy-read. We discussed the main character Caitlin, who is a fourteen-year-old girl with asperger’s, an autism spectrum disorder. I mentioned to the group that I did not realize the extent of anxiety that people with asperger’s experience every day. Since this book is written from the perspective of Caitlin, it is clear how difficult many situations can be for a person with asperger’s, especially if a tragedy occurs. 

           Next, one member of the group brought up how surprised she was of all that happened to this poor girl, and how it took some time while reading to find out what exactly happened. Caitlin’s brother Devon, was one of three people that was killed in a school shooting. This type of event is difficult for any person to handle. During the first ten chapters, Caitlin has a hard time processing what happened to her brother. Someone in the group mentioned that Caitlin can tell her father has been upset lately by the way he does not want to talk about Devon and the crying noises she hears when he is in the shower. It’s interesting how reading emotions is a weakness for people on the autism spectrum and it’s something most people take for granted. The concept of “stuffed animaling”, which Caitlin describes as staring at something until it becomes blurry, is spoken of in the group discussion. It makes it easier for Caitlin to look at because it becomes “fuzzy”. Straining her eyes to un-focus her vision seems to be a coping mechanism for Caitlin.

         To wrap up our discussion, the group agreed to read up to chapter 20 before our next meeting in a few days. So far I do enjoy this experience. The book is especially interesting to me and I like to have the chance to talk about it with my peers. I feel it is more effective than simply answering response questions. I enjoy the freedom that goes along with a book club and that we all can bring up anything we want to regarding the novel. In all, I am truly looking forward to reading the next section and meeting up with the group again soon.