To Kill a Mockingbird in Reading the Classics

Jan 31, 2009 Alisha Marie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own-that-i-ve-read, classics, favorites, southern-fiction, young-adult

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of those books that almost every single student was assigned to read in high school whether it be a real high school or one of those fictional high schools we all see in movies and television. Woefully, I was not one of those students. And since I was (and still am) a proud nerd and bookworm, I was really looking forward to reading this as soon as I entered high school. I was so disheartened when I wasn't assigned this book or Shakespeare or Catcher in the Rye; you k To Kill a Mockingbird is one of those books that almost every single student was assigned to read in high school whether it be a real high school or one of those fictional high schools we all see in movies and television. Woefully, I was not one of those students. And since I was (and still am) a proud nerd and bookworm, I was really looking forward to reading this as soon as I entered high school. I was so disheartened when I wasn't assigned this book or Shakespeare or Catcher in the Rye; you know, all of those books that are supposed to be a staple of your academic high school life. So, I have tried to rectify that and thought To Kill a Mockingbird would be a great way to do so. And I was not disappointed.

I'm also weary of reading classics because I always think that they'll be difficult to read and I won't get through it (like Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca. Seriously, I've tried three times to read these two and can never get past a certain point every time). Or worse I'll get through it and realize that I loathed it. Which would then lead to all of those inevitable looks my fellow readers would give me when I say I HATED To Kill a Mockinbird. It just wouldn't be pretty. So, I put this book off for years. There was no reason for me to worry because To Kill a Mockinbird was surprisingly readable. I thought that it would take me like fifty pages to get into it, but from the first page, I was already entranced in Scout's world like it was my own. Getting into a book so deeply is what I love most about the magic of reading and that was really emphasized in this book.

The characters were all extremely real and I loved Scout, Jem, Dill, Atticus, Calpurnia, etc. Even the Ewells, who you aren't really supposed to like, were all layered and just leapt off the page. The whole situation: the race tensions, Tom Robinson's trial, Atticus' struggle to remain noble, were all the things that contributed to make this book not only amazing, but page-turning. So much that I literally had to force myself to stop a couple of times and savor the beautiful writing.

While many say it's a shame that Harper Lee never published anything again, I personally think that there was no way she would've ever topped the success that To Kill a Mockingbird garnered. Maybe to Lee, it seemed like this was the only story she needed to tell and she told it beautifully. To Kill a Mockingbird has become my favorite read of the year so far (tied with I Capture the Castle) and I know that this is a story that I'm going to re-read over and over again and pick up something new every time. This was definitely an amazing and enchanting novel. ...more

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Apr 19, 2009 Kathleen Valentine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Possibly the most beautiful and inspiring book I've ever read. Atticus Finch is one of those classic characters that will live in literary history forever. ...more

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