Friday Spines Book Review Number 18:
First, if you've read this book, thank you. I can't believe the number of people I've met who haven't--if I had to chose one book to represent humanity, it would be To Kill A Mockingbird.
"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." --Atticus, To Kill A Mockingbird
One of the reasons this story is so amazing is that it has so many stories in it, impeccably woven together to represent life. Scout Finch, our spunky narrator, is five years old when the book starts. She has short hair, wears overalls, loves to read, and sees no reason not to do exactly what she pleases. Scout lives in a "tired old town" called Maycomb, in Alabama. In Scout's mind it's a sheltered place, even the smallest places were part of the earthshaking Civil Rights movement and the events leading up to it.
Scout's childish but clear voice tells the story of her life as it intersects with those of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl; Dill, her best friend and next door neighbor who can't stand the amount of injustice in the world; Dolphus Raymond, a man who pretends to be drunk so the small-town gossips will be able to explain his unheard-of marriage to a black woman; her father Atticus, a criminal defense lawyer who is also the bravest man in the world; and Jem, her older brother with a passion for Egyptians, football, and acting aloof.
Harper Lee's writing is amazingly complex, but you won't even notice the different layers of the story. By telling it in the voice of a young girl, who sees the world in a less complicated but somehow truer way, the author allows us to almost absorb the book off the pages in a manner that's closer to breathing than reading.
There is serious material in this book: Racism, murder, moral questions, and injustice, but the language is innocuous, and you get exactly as much out of the book as you want to. I first read To Kill A Mockingbird when I was about 9. I got the audiobook and listened to it in the car with my mom, and fell in love with Scout instantly. A few years later I studied it in an English class, and was glad to be already familiar with the book; I've always been happy that I read it when I was young. I'd recommend Mockingbird for ages 10 and up.
Read it to or with your child, or if you can access the audiobook do; Sissy Spacek's voice fits right into the story, and you'll be hearing her as Scout for days afterward.If you haven't read this book find a friend who has, and ask them to read along with you: If they're really your friend they've undoubtedly been telling you to read it for years, and will be thrilled to discuss Miss Maudie, the Cunninghams and Boo Radley with you for hours on end.
Other things I love about this book:
If there's anything you didn't like about this book, let me know. I couldn't find anything, except perhaps the lack of a sequel.
Check out this map of Scout's neighborhood; the book is a lot of fun to plot out on your own map as well! :)
Other books you might like: A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett; The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly; and Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury.
Related books: Scout, Atticus and Boo, by Mary McDonagh Murphy; Mockingbird, by Charles J. Shields; and I Am Scout, also by Charles J. Shields, this book is good for younger readers interested in Harper Lee's past.
Note: All links except for the map lead to Goodreads or somewhere on Friday Spines.
Happy reading!
M. Gabrielle
First, if you've read this book, thank you. I can't believe the number of people I've met who haven't--if I had to chose one book to represent humanity, it would be To Kill A Mockingbird.
"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." --Atticus, To Kill A Mockingbird
One of the reasons this story is so amazing is that it has so many stories in it, impeccably woven together to represent life. Scout Finch, our spunky narrator, is five years old when the book starts. She has short hair, wears overalls, loves to read, and sees no reason not to do exactly what she pleases. Scout lives in a "tired old town" called Maycomb, in Alabama. In Scout's mind it's a sheltered place, even the smallest places were part of the earthshaking Civil Rights movement and the events leading up to it.
Scout's childish but clear voice tells the story of her life as it intersects with those of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl; Dill, her best friend and next door neighbor who can't stand the amount of injustice in the world; Dolphus Raymond, a man who pretends to be drunk so the small-town gossips will be able to explain his unheard-of marriage to a black woman; her father Atticus, a criminal defense lawyer who is also the bravest man in the world; and Jem, her older brother with a passion for Egyptians, football, and acting aloof.
Harper Lee's writing is amazingly complex, but you won't even notice the different layers of the story. By telling it in the voice of a young girl, who sees the world in a less complicated but somehow truer way, the author allows us to almost absorb the book off the pages in a manner that's closer to breathing than reading.
There is serious material in this book: Racism, murder, moral questions, and injustice, but the language is innocuous, and you get exactly as much out of the book as you want to. I first read To Kill A Mockingbird when I was about 9. I got the audiobook and listened to it in the car with my mom, and fell in love with Scout instantly. A few years later I studied it in an English class, and was glad to be already familiar with the book; I've always been happy that I read it when I was young. I'd recommend Mockingbird for ages 10 and up.
Read it to or with your child, or if you can access the audiobook do; Sissy Spacek's voice fits right into the story, and you'll be hearing her as Scout for days afterward.If you haven't read this book find a friend who has, and ask them to read along with you: If they're really your friend they've undoubtedly been telling you to read it for years, and will be thrilled to discuss Miss Maudie, the Cunninghams and Boo Radley with you for hours on end.
Other things I love about this book:
- The serious topics are combined with humor, both young and mature: Dill and Jem provide pranks that never get old, Atticus's sarcasm is impeccable, and Scout sees everything in such a quirky light that you'll be laughing every time you think of her.
- Harper Lee captures the slow Southern dialect of Maycomb in both sentence structure and spelling.
- Although Scout is a complete tomboy, she learns both the value and the skill involved in "being a girl": cooking, cleaning, and running a household.
- Doing the right thing is portrayed realistically, not as a choice that is always obvious or easy, but something that may be difficult but afterwards (perhaps months or years so) will feel the best.
Check out this map of Scout's neighborhood; the book is a lot of fun to plot out on your own map as well! :)
Other books you might like: A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett; The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly; and Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury.
Related books: Scout, Atticus and Boo, by Mary McDonagh Murphy; Mockingbird, by Charles J. Shields; and I Am Scout, also by Charles J. Shields, this book is good for younger readers interested in Harper Lee's past.
Note: All links except for the map lead to Goodreads or somewhere on Friday Spines.
Happy reading!
M. Gabrielle
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