To Kill A Mockingbird

I just finished this book, yesterday. LOVED IT! When I was in high school, we only read a couple of books that are on your usual high school required reading list. This is one of the very many we didn't read, and I'm glad. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I had been forced to read it.

I laughed, and I cried, and I sometimes laughed so hard that I cried! I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, especially given some of the language. There are few words that I absolutely despise, and one of them is seen in this book...a lot. I find it shocking that it's even in one of my favorite quotes. Oh, how I laughed and laughed when I Scout commented on what kind of snowman she's never heard of! I'm not sure why it struck me as so funny, maybe it's because it was so unexpected. I don't know, but it still makes me laugh!

To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during the early-mid 1930's in Alabama. Jem and Scout, and their friend Dill, spend their carefree summers trying to get the reclusive Boo Radley to come out of his house. Then, when their father, Atticus, defends a black man accused of raping a white woman, Jem and Scout get an education they don't expect.

Atticus's wife passed away when Scout was still to young to remember, so he gets a lot of grief over the way he raises his kids. He may let his kids run around a little too much, and he may not dress Scout in cute, frilly, pink dresses and petticoats, but I think he's just the kind of father every kid should have.

To Kill A Mockingbird is definitely a book worth reading, and I strongly recommend it.