To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In my effort to re-read classics, to my delight, To Kill a Mockingbird came up next on the reading list. I had fallen in love with this story as a child, and I find that I love it even more as an adult.

The first time I read this book I was around 10 years old. I was just learning about racial tensions and realizing that not everyone has good intentions in life. This book stirred within me feelings of discomfort, resentment, sadness and ultimately hope; hope that I would encounter more people in life with a strong sense of ethics, than people without. That is what makes this book a classic. The ability for the reader to live within the pages.

This seems to be a simple story, about a family in a small Southern town, but it is interwoven with strong issues of morality and character. Harper Lee is an elegant, beautiful storyteller. Narrator, Scout, is perfectly crafted. And Atticus Finch has become one of the most well known characters in American literature—he teaches respect and ethics to his children. What is more important?

I can’t wait to share this book with my own children, when they are ready to experience it!