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Summary: Like a spider, Lee weaves a story with a repeated theme.
Review: Harper Lee expertly weaves the theme of hurting the innocent in and out of the first person biography of a young girl's life as delicately as a spider making sure every weave is thick and catches its prey. This ordinary child begins to learn the way of life through the hypocritical, the prejudice, the courageous, the insecure, and the hateful, violent angry actions of the people from within her own household to the center of town. With but a father and a brother to aid and answer her many question, her dive deepens to the unspoken darkened depths of all human hearts.
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Summary: a fun yet serious and eye opening story
Review: Review of: To Kill A Mockingbird by: Harper Lee To Kill A mockingbird was written in 1960 and published in 1980. It is a story about a 8 year old girl name Jean Louise Finch (scout) and her family growing up and living a southern county when black people were still often not created equal in the eyes of the white people who live there. The setting is Maycomb a county in Alabama. The story is narrated by scout and is based on the adventures of her, her brother Jem (Jeremy Finch), a friend of theirs from Mississippi who visits in the summer (Dill), and the children's father Atticus Finch. Scout doesn't remember her mother who died when scout was very young. She only hears of her Jem who remembers her a lot better because he is quite a bit older than she. Jem, Scout, and Dill have a infatuation with their neighbors the Radleys who are very shut in and are rarely ever seen at all outside. The kids are drawn to the house and at times dare each other to go touch it or something. At one point they go to investigate one time at night and end up running away while Jem losses his pants and goes back and finds them mysteriously sewn up and folded on the fence. It is not till the end of the book till the long lost Boo Radley is ever seen out of the house. In the beginning it shows the difference of schools back then when scout is told she isn't allowed to read or write any more at home. This is were you first get a look at the lower class Cummingham who try to be good and the hookworm infested Ewell who is ornery and only goes to school on the first day. Through the book you see read scouts troubles with the school she doesn't like. Atticus is a lawyer who gets involved in a very sticky rape case where he is chosen to defend a black man accused by a white man in a dominantly white town. This case plays the major role in the story and how it unfolds adding some very interesting plot twists and allowing a setup for a exciting conclusion. Another important part of the story is the social structure in the town there are a couple poor families in the town. It is interesting to see the difference of how one family is poor but respectable and trusted by the town and the other is controlled by a abusive father who has many kids and can't support them with his welfare check because he uses it on alcohol. This man is an Ewell and often causes a lot of trouble for the finches and the rest of the town. The story is also effected by scouts aunt or Atticus' sister. She is very well respected in the town when she comes to live with the Finches and help Atticus with the kids. She tries to change Atticus' ways of parenting and turn Jem into a gentlemen and scout into a lady. This story is quite unique and has quite a few very exciting parts and has a the ability to keep you reading. It is also very unpredictable and often surprises you. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book much at all at first but once I got into it I did like it and the pages seemed to go quicker than I thought and I began to like it quite a bit. I liked the unique feisty character of scout and the usually calm and collective personality of Jem like his father. I liked how the author made the Ewells (at least the Bob Ewell) mean and nasty enough to make me forget how I might feel sorry for them and their misfortune and almost despise them and make me happy when things don't go their way. The author also uses the southern scene of prejudice to the plots advantage often making me feel sorry for the blacks and rooting for them at the trial. In all of this the author also was able to fit in many of the main characters physical traits such as Atticus getting older and start to slow down and become more fragile. You see that scout get bigger and is no longer easily able to sit in the lap of her father. Jem also gets older and starts to get into a moody stage and many new physical characteristics appear. The author was able to have the story as real as can be and at the same time keep all the characters always unique and interesting. You have the town gossipers, the grouches, mean nasty type, kind, witty, shady, and the respected. The list goes on. This author in my eyes not only makes the book interesting with the troubles and happiness, but presents the info in a way that you think you know someone or what will happen and you are found wrong and surprised. This book would be a enjoyable for anyone old enough to understand situations and has experience reading. The reading is fairly quick and easy to understand in my opinion. A lot of the book is fun and entertaining while other small parts can be a little bit boring once in a while. Over all I would recommend this book for people who like to read. It is a good read for all grades 7 or above and for all adults.
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Summary: Innocent, touching, looks deep into human nature.
Review: The book is told from the point of view of an eight-year-old child who doesn't realize much about her society. It takes us into a world where discrimination is an everyday thing, and people are helpless to stop it. It's powerful in the way that the view is unbiased; the young girl telling the story is unaffected by the racism that controls most of the adults. The book really reflects upon the problems in our own neighborhoods that we neglect all the time. It's so commonplace that only when we see the story through the eyes of someone who is still innocent that we truly realize what society has become. It's a strong book that will leave a massive impact on the way we see our world.
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Summary: The back of the book is right!
Review: You know how on the back of books it always says how great the book is? No matter how good the book really is? Well, with To Kill A Mockingbird, there's hardly room for debate over the fact that the back tells the truth. The classic is still moving and riveting after all the years. The story of how a young child stood strong true to her morals through racism, critisicm, and cruelty is, however seemingly dated some of the material may be, still a darn good read and the ultimate page-turner (and quite a tear jerker). I just couldn't put it down! A definite must read for EVERYONE!
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Summary: 2 children find out about their father and strange neighbor.
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a book about two children - Jem and Scout Finch. They are very interested in their mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. Their father, Atticus, is a lawyer and is defending an African American man who is falsley accused of raping a girl. As the childrens' lives progress, they find out more about their neighbor, their father and about themselves.
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Summary: This book is prtty darn good! (The classic lives on!!!)
Review: To Kill A Mockingbird is the story of two siblings growing up in a small southern town in the 1930's. As Ms. Maudie (an adult friend of Jem and Scout, the narrator and her brother) says, "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird - they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us...." In my mind, this is pretty much the recurring theme in this book - the two main plots are about a black main on trial for rape; and a reclusive neighbor of Jem and Scout who has many vicious rumours circulating about him. I think that this book is fantastic - one of the best I've ever read. It's a really moving story, with a sweet ending - you should definitely read it and see for yourself!!!
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Summary: Loved it!
Review: This book is really great. It was a class assignmentso it really wasn't my choice to read it, but once I did I always would read ahead because it's so hard to put down. I really liked the point of view it is written from, a little innocent girl that can understand things. One of the major themes that I hope you see if you decide to read this book or have read it is loneliness. It's really something to ponder about so if you missed that theme, think about it!
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Summary: A girls early life through her eyes.
Review: This book was exellent! I loved how the story started off with a few sub-plotes, and brought them all together to form an extraordinary, touching story that many people can relate to. I feel this story is also great becuase of the many lessons it teaches. I won't name them though, you can read it for yourself. The characters where great. I felt each one of them were interesting and unique in their own way. They all had something happen to them that showed courage, cowardliness, curiosity, wisdom, dishonesty, loyalty, awkwardness, and tenderness. Every character would appear a certain way at the beggining of the book, and as the end of the book approached, a new view of the character would be obtained. One that was never expected.
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Summary: A very enjoyable book
Review: The book was very enjoyable to read and I don't say that for many books. The book was very funny and comical yet sad and seriuos at the same time.The book is in a very new and interesting format.It is in the retrospect of a woman's childhood and everything that happens that leads up to one insignificant happening.Lastly I must say that this book is truly magnifisant and I suggest it to all to read.
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Summary: Classic
Review: This popular book justly deserves the high praise it receives from critics and readers. In short, it is the last great novel. There hasn't been a truly great one since in my humble opinion. Too often nowadays writers write with an eye towards turning the thing into a movie. And while a great film was made of this, the novel stands squarely on its own as an important American masterpiece. I like the fact that Harper Lee only wrote one novel. What else could she do after this?
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