Rating: 
Summary: Definitely excellent reading.
Review: This story is about a trial in a small town in Alabama and how it affects the locals, especially the narrator, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, her older brother, Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch, and their widowed father, Atticus Finch. Other characters include the Finch family's housekeeper and nanny, Calpurnia, their neighbors, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Mr. Arthur "Boo" Radley, and his father, Nathan Radley. The trial is about a black man, named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white girl. Excellent reading.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't understand it!
Review: I had to read this for Year 11 English (I'm 16), and it's going to be in our exam at the end of the year. The thing is, I've read the book, and we watched the film in class, but I still don't understand it!
I gave it 3 stars because I didn't understand what the author was trying to mean, with what she says. I also don't get some of the stuff they say in the book, cuz the way they speak in Alabama is weird.
My favourite character in the book is Scout, cuz she's the main one and she was cute in the movie. I also like Atticus, Scout and Jem's father. Aunt Alexandra is really annoying, and I have no idea why she's even in the book.
The part about the court case was interesting (but more so in the movie), and the funniest part was when Scout had to dress up in the ham costume.
I would have rated this higher if I'd understood it better. But still, it's a good book, it's one of the "classics" that everyone reads at some point and I'd recommend it to adults (cuz I'm a teen, and I don't get it).
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry Guys Thumbs Down
Review: I am sorry. Although this book is hailed as something amazing. I was not impressed. Had it not been for the interesting Boo Radley Character this book would be a waste of paper.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I'm sad that Harper Lee hasn't written any other books, but this one is so great that it makes up for that! This is a definite must read! Atticus is such a wonderful character!
Rating: 
Summary: Timeless novel about life's lessons
Review: To Kill A Mockingbird makes it's mark mostly through illustrating small southern life in Alabama and exposing the reader to the prejudices that pervade not only the 1930s but the times we live in. The story is told through the eyes of Jean Louise Finch (also known as 'Scout'), and, as a child of only eight, she shares (in looking back) her ideas of family life and the rich history of Maycomb. Harper Lee's depiction of 1930s South racial prejudice is a powerful one. Atticus Finch is clearly the hero of the novel, defending a black man on trial for raping a white woman. A widowed father, he teaches Jem (his son) and Scout lessons in life, one of the most paramount being to 'walk in another's shoes' to understand life from their viewpoint. Jem and Scout take many of these lessons in stride and try to impress upon themselves being civilized and respectful all of society. Another aspect of the novel is the mystery surrounding Boo Radley and his spooky house. Boo Radley represents all the bad rumors of the Maycomb community, and yet, most of these are unjustifiable. Scout, Jem and their friend Dill are obsessed with discovering exactly who Boo is. Although the novel is primarily small town in nature, the themes encompass everything we deal with today as a society, namely discrimination and prejudice. Through the trial of Tom Robinson, we see Atticus worthy of great respect for standing up to the ideas of a narrowed-minded community. The Finch family also must deal with the man whose daughter is the alleged victim in the case, Bob Ewell. (Bob Ewell represents the ignorance of a small town). Perhaps what makes the book timeless is not only its theme in the general sense, but the final speech by Atticus during the closing arguments. This oration is built up over a long trial, and it is worthy of the time it takes to get there. (Although, I think Gregory Peck made this scene come to life more in the movie). A reader may frown at the many tidbits of detail given to establishing the Southern way of life, especially in the initial chapters, but the book progresses to a point where the reader wants to know the fate of Tom Robinson, Atticus and the rest of the Finches. This book is a classic because it delves into modern topics, a central issues that certainly we all must come to terms with: discrimination and lack of equality.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book had an excellent plot, various hidden meanings, suspensful moments, and generally kept you entertained. It's an overall good read.
Rating:
Summary: To Kill a Mocking Bird- A literary delight !
Review: To Kill a Mocking Bird is a novel that one remembers with upmost integraty and satisfaction. In short, To Kill a Mocking Bird is a novel that explores racism, prejudice, economic hardship and social inequity all through the eyes of a child, who,in this case known as Scout. How a writer explains all these themes through a somewhat simple-minded infant is not only genious, but entertaining and profoundly unique. Through the well educated mind to the verbally effeciant voice box i say Well done Harper lee !
Rating:
Summary: Charming coming of age story
Review: A wonderful book for young adults, full of moral wisdom and coming of age nostalgia. I actually enjoyed the first half exposition more, with its childhood cycle of school years and long hot summers filled with games and stratagems for luring out the mysterious Boo Radley. Of course, Atticus Finch shines as a timeless moral icon, and the tragedy of the Tom Robinson case was a lesson much needed during the early Civil Rights days. However, in purely literary terms, I thought the message came across as rather preachy and heavy-handed, especially in the false ingenuousness of some of the children's conversations on race and social justice.
I'm in my 30's and somehow missed this book during my adolescence, nonetheless I can see why it has long been required reading for so many high schoolers.
Rating:
Summary: There's a Reason This Book is a Classic!
Review: I can't believe that I never read this in high school. Then again, I don't think that the people in my Alabama hometown have changed their mind much about black people since the 1930s when this book was set. The parents of my classmates would have wanted to censor this book for its cuss words and references to sex. Small town Alabama has changed a lot since this book was written in many ways but not at all in others. To quote from the book: "You're not gonna change any of them by talkin' right, they've got to want to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language." My personal choice was to keep my mouth shut and to get out of there! Harper Lee paints a portrait of small town Alabama with its varying social classes. Below even the class that lives on the outskirts of the city dump is the class of the black people in the town. To Kill A Mockingbird is a story told from the viewpoint of children who had not been tainted with this social phobia and who had learned from their father, Aticus, to view each of these groups equally. Still, their curiosity about these different groups lead them beyond their own imaginations into the real world as they encounter people from each of these social classes. They invite a boy home for lunch who has no lunch of his own, they visit a black church with their housekeeper when their father is away on business, and they try to make contact with the next door neighbor who hasn't been seen for 20 years. Then the children are unexpectedly plunged into world of intolerance where the town's adults live when a black man is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Their father is appointed as the black man's lawyer and the children hide in the balcony to witness the trial first-hand. They are shocked and dismayed by the townspeople's inability to see past the man's skin color to aquit him for his alleged crime. In response to the children's reaction, their black housekeeper says, "They've done it before and they'll do it again and when they do it -- seems that only the children weep." How amazingly profound! What a wonderful book!
Rating:
Summary: A classic, but nothing amazing
Review: What HASN'T been said about this book? First of all, Harper Lee is a talented author, her writing is highly developed and somewhat eloquent. It's a simple book about a simple town, so there are no jaw-dropping sentences of literary prowness. Let's face it, this is not James Joyce. O.K., so the book is simple, but is it a good read? Yes. The reason it is so well-loved is because of Atticus Finch, who is a well-balanced, educated, and moral man amongst ignorant, uneducated, racist farm folk. The trial is also well written and enthralling, and the unfairness of racism is well portrayed. One of the greatest books of the twentieth century? Not even close. One of the most well-loved? Definitely. Few hate it, but for those who dive deep into literature: it doesn't live up to the hype.
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