Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
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.
Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations, and deserves to be reread often. --Alix Wilber
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Simply the best - 1,000 stars!
Customer Rating:
the.best.novel.of.all.time. PERIOD. I've read, re-read, and re-re-read numerous times. The first time I had to read this was for a 9th grade English class in high school. The other countless times I've read it have all been for me. And everytime I read it, I discover something new. Everyone should read this book - the story is timeless, the characters are so developed, and the writing is unmatched.
One of the few books assigned in High School I actually ENJOYED reading
Customer Rating:
I won't analyze this book fully. But simply put, this book was VERY easy to keep reading and it wasn't a chore to pick it up and finish a chapter.
This book also gets some moral lessons across, while not being too preachy, like other "Literary Classics." A.K.A. garbage I was assigned to read that was just as exciting as reading a phone book or dictionary, that had stupid "adults" with too many obvious problems and major personality flaws and they were too dumb to see and fix them, and some really stupid, pessimistic, angst-filled, moral lesson that only artsy, emo, over-intellectual, passive aggressive people could even apply to their lives. Everyone else with a balanced psyche would roll their eyes at these "lessons." "Lord of the Flies" comes to mind with the moral of "The kids are okay, but who will save the adults?" Lame. You can't control everything in life as an adult, but you can control most of it. Most of life is what you make of it. Get over it and stop being melodramatic.
You know who you are if the type of "Reading" material above gives you a headache. If you are, stick with "To Kill a Mockingbird." It's a good read overall.
Rave for To Kill a Mockingbird
Customer Rating:
Layne Gable Block 3
"Shoot all the blue jays you like if you can hit `em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in a town called Maycomb in the 1930's. It is a book about two children trying to grow up in an extremely racist town. At a young age their troubles are somewhat childish, but as they grow up they learn what real fear, courage, and prejudice is. First, people should read this book because it teaches a strong life lesson. It shows that everyone deserves to be treated the same no matter what they are. Second, people should read this book because everybody can relate to the events in it. Everybody has gone through growing up and leaning things that you never knew existed. Lastly, people should read this book because it keeps the readers attention the entire time. I will admit that the first twelve chapters are a little slow but one the reader gets further into the story it is almost like you cant put the book down. In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in a small town in the 1930's. Everybody should read this book for countless reasons. It will keep the readers attention the whole way through. :)
Deserving of classic status
Customer Rating:
This book is truly deserving of it's classic status. It was so well written and easy to read. The themes addressed were so important to the time when it was written. The characters were loveable and you get to feel like you know them. I can very easily see why this book was voted as the best book of the century by the ALA. I'm just sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it!
Low budget edition
Customer Rating:
This 'library edition' is quite cheezy. The book is small, light, and the paper is so thin, you see through to the print on the other side. Also, the paper is not really white, it is sort of a pale grey color. If i was to buy this again, I would pay more for a nicer edition.
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