Wholly crap I haven’t cried like that while reading a book in such a long time. Man this one was so packed with so much build up that the flood gates certainly opened as I read the final few chapters.

Oh my heart!

I nearly wasn’t going to read this one having known a little bit about what the story involved (hence why I like to go into a book blind so I am not swayed or put off in anyway.)

Written from Sam’s POV the characters became so real to me, like I’d been just having a chat with Sam as he retold these stories, even just the day to day stuff had me intently listening as I read.

This is a book that will make you think. It had me reflecting on my school days and the small town were I lived.

When Only One is a heart-wrenching story that respectfully deals with the topics of domestic violence, child abuse, suicide, grief, and a school shooting. The writing style was very engaging and made the book difficult to put down.

I really enjoyed this book. I grew up in a rural aussie town and a lot of what happened hit really close to home. This is an excellent book that I'll definitely be recommending to everyone I know.

Similar in writing style to I Had Such Friends, I get the sense that Meg Gatland-Veness writes specifically for the NSW HSC English or Literature curriculum.

This is a novelisation of a school shooting incident, in the NSW rural fringe (an hour's commute from Sydney, an hour from the bush) set when Cheers was still on TV and everyone relied on payphones to get in touch (let's assume 1985 without it ever being explicit)

It features a mixed bag of teenager behaviour and teen parent relationships, with the added complexity of taking place in a low SES neighbourhood and an insular community in a time before social work and mental health was accepted or mainstream.

Perfectly acceptable to read and emotionally moving in places, it still felt manufactured to manipulate a particular discussion, in a classroom I graduated from 20 years ago.