BBW: To Kill a Mockingbird

Title: To Kill a Mocking Bird
Author: Harper Lee
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Reading Level:Young Adult/Adult
Rating: 5/5

Summary:
"When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.... When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out."

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

Review:
I am completely awed by this story. Harper Lee has done an excellent job bringing this 1930's Alabama childhood to life. I can see why To Kill a Mockingbird has won the Pulitzer Prize, garnered an Academy Award for the movie version, and ultimately became a timely classic enjoyed by many generations.

I was simply floored while reading this novel in High School. This book was what made me want to read the classics. To Kill a Mockingbird is a piece of our American history that depicts racism and prejudice, childhood innocence, and the perseverance of a man who risked it all to stand up for what he believed in.

Want to know why it was banned and challenged?
Check out why {Here}!