To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of those books everyone has either read or at least heard of at some point, and honestly, I went in expecting it to be kind of boring and outdated. But it actually wasn't? The story follows Scout, a kid living in Alabama during the 1930s, her older brother Jem, and her dad Atticus, who's a lawyer defending a Black man (Tom Robinson) who's been falsely accused of the rape of a woman in the town. The whole town turns against their family because of, well, racism. What was really interesting to me though, was how Scout tends to see everything through a kid's eyes - she doesn't fully understand why people are being so horrible at first, but you can follow her as she's figuring it out as the story goes on. The trial part was intense and honestly made me angry because you KNOW Tom is innocent, but the jury convicts him anyway just because he's Black.
The book also has this whole side plot with a guy named Boo Radley, this mysterious neighbor everyone's scared of, and that storyline connects to the main theme in a way I didn't expect. Here's the thing though: some parts dragged, especially in the beginning when it's just Scout talking about her town and daily life, and her family lineage. I get that it's setting things up, but I almost put the book down a few times. Would I recommend it? Yeah, actually. It's one of those books that makes you think about how messed up people can be, but also how some people (like Atticus) stand up for what's right even when everyone hates them for it. It grips you not because there’s a whole lot of action, but because it’s just so interesting. It’s an overall literary classic. Plus, Scout's voice is pretty funny sometimes. Just push through the slow parts at the start, or you could watch the movie instead.
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