Classic Of January: To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Series: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Classic Literature 
Release Date: 1960
Source: Borrowed From The Library
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
Cover Rating: 2/5 Stars
Synopsis: "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—, a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice—but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.


First Line: When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.

I don't often read classic books so I challenged myself to read one a month for this year and this was the one I was most eager to read. To Kill A Mockingbird is told from the point of view of Scout who is six years old at the start of the novel. It's very difficult to describe what To Kill A Mockingbird is about because there are so many aspects to it. There is the mystery of Boo Radley, Scout's fathers court case and the prejudice of the neighborhood.

I enjoyed reading from the perspective of Scout, my only problem was I thought she was a he for quite a while and thought her brother was just calling her a girl as an insult. When I realized my mistake I felt very stupid. From the moment I realized she was a girl I began to like her character a lot more, she still wanted to play with her brother and wear overalls but she's disapproved of by the ladies of the neighborhood that believe she should act more ladylike and wear dresses. I liked that rebellion. My favorite character by far was Atticus, he was the perfect parental figure, we need more Atticus's in contemporary YA lit.

The book has quite a modern feel to it which is unusual considering the fact it was written over 50 years ago. Lee's writing pulls you into the 1930s and gives you an accurate portrayal of what it was actually like. This book is one of my favorite classics and it has put my challenge up to a good start. I would recommend this book to anyone whether they normally like classics or not because as I said before, it doesn't have the feel of a classic book.

My Favorite Quotes:

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

“Atticus said to Jem one day, "I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. "Your father’s right," she said. "Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Email me at: confessionsofabookaholic@LIVE.CO.UK