This is a great book with deep meaning! A great read!

"Shoot at all the blue jays you want but remember, it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" In most cases, this quote would not move anyone, it is a few simple words but in the south when words of cruelty and racism were a way of life, it is an inspirational story for young adults and older. It's a realistic fiction book and I loved it, although it's a bit slow at the beginning, it picks up towards the end and it has a wonderful meaning. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is Scout's story, in her point of view, and her family's trying to fight racism in the south. Everything was going fine until the day Atticus (scout's father) is assigned to defend a black man for the rape of a white woman. Things get personal for their family when people start to realize that Tom Robinson (accused of rape) might win his case. People begin to threaten the family and threats are even made on Atticus's life. This is a story that makes you realize what was going on in the south, even after slavery was over, when racism and inhumanity were still going strong.

Anyone who has seen the movie starring Gregory Peck knows how moving this story of racial hate and redemption is. Reading the book is like savoring a long gourmet meal when famished, with the added benefit of not feeling stuffed.
I boiught the book whenit was first published. I bought it now to allow a granddaughter the same pleasure. Unfortunately she had not received it, because Amazon has not shipped it.
Joseph P. Ritz, author of "I Never Looked for My Mother and Other Rerets of a Journalist."

I read it in high school and both of my children have read it for a grade. We love it. My daughter cried towards the end. This book is a keeper.

To Kill a Mocking Bird follows the life of a girl in a small rural town. Many things happen over the span of the book. There is a little of everything in this book including suspense, romance, death, and action. The story itself starts out slowly by explaining the background of the main characters and their town. New characters are introduced in most chapters until the middle of the book. As the new characters are introduced, their history and background information are also given.
I liked how descriptive the author was while writing this story. I was able to easily visualize most of the characters and even the buildings. The personalities of each character is very livid and leaves an impression allowing you to remember who is who. Despite the many names and people involved, I was able to recall the events in general. This is because most events in the story are important as they each tell give the main characters more and more depth. Each event and character slowly builds up to the climax of the story subtly.
The things I didn't like about this book is how the beginning is a bit confusing. The beginning of the story confused me as I didn't really know who the main character was until a few chapters later. Also, some characters I feel were important were never mentioned again after a couple of chapters. I myself like science fiction books but this book was able to keep my attention due because of it's amazing story. Overall it was a good book despite the fact this is not the usual genre of books I read.