Touching and Breathtaking (To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee)

Member Name: jacklover

Product:	To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Date:	16/06/02 (280 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good storyline

Disadvantages: Nothing much!

As you can probably guess from the title of this review, I'm very fond of this book and highly rate it as a novel. I have also enjoyed watching the film version of the story too. As like many students, I am currently studying this book for my GCSE exam in 2003. I'm glad I'm studying this novel because the storyline is so amazing, the plot can be quite hard to understand which means I do struggle sometimes, what with coursework and practice papers but overall the book has a meaning, a very important one which comes across well.

I could tell straight away this book was going to be a worthwhile read because it has been an exam novel for years, my Mother studied it for her exams and she warned me I'd be touched by it. As a person in general, I'm not overally into reading but place a girly mag or gossip mag in front of me and I'll pick it up without hesitating! So I'm not really into books you might say, to tell the truth before I read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' I hadn't picked up a good book for at least a couple of years! ~ I really don't enjoy reading as much as some and I never seem to find the time!

I have put off reading the 'amazing' Harry Potter books everyone seems to be yelling about! ~ They just don't appeal to me, I started one once and it bored me stiff so I never finished it. (However, I do own the video and I do love it!) My sister is a totally different person however, she has the whole collection and can read a new book each week!

Onto 'To Kill A Mockingbird' though....

The book was written by a lady named Harper Lee who was born in April, 1926. The story is based around racism in the 1930's. A court case takes place in a small town called Maycomb which is in Alabama, America. The court case is about a black man who has supposedly raped a white woman and Harper Lee writes from a childs perspective. The novel also focuses on other main points in life
that were important at that time. We learn what it was like many years ago living in a town seperated by colour.

Story not appeal to you? When I began the book I wasn't too sure I wanted to stick with it but once you get into the book, you learn more like in all books and you start to enjoy it more. (Well, thats what happened to me!)

The book is based around the 'Finch' family:

Atticus Finch: Atticus is a lawyer and is defending Tom Robinson (Black man accused of rape) in a major court case. His wife seems to have passed away a long time ago so he also has to focus well on raising his two children, Jem and Scout.

Jem Finch: The oldest child, Jem is a young boy of around 10 but by the end of the novel he is going on 12. He seems a rather quiet boy and take responsibilty of his sister well.

Scout Finch: The little sister, Scout is quite aggressive and rougher then her big brother Jem! She is about 6 and the novel is written in Scouts perspective.

Calpurnia : Although Calpurnia isn't actually part of the Finch family she does spend a lot of time with the three. She looks after the children during the daytime and cooks and cleans too. She is quite an important character as she is coloured unlike the rest of the Finch family.

There are many other main characters in the book, here are just a few:

Mayella Ewell: The woman who is protesting against being raped and attacked, Mayella is a main part in the novel but has a rather weak character.

Bob Ewell: The father of Mayella, a strong minded character.

Tom Robinson: The poor man accused of rape, he is coloured. We don't actually learn much about Tom in the novel but we learn all we need to know.

Arthur Radley: A freaky character which you never really see apart from once.

I've written a brief storyline, not giving anything away and have told you most of the main characters, I can't really
say much more apart from this a great book which is enjoyable to read. It has a meaning which is why it also makes a great exam book for us children!

As I mentioned at the beginning of this novel, there is a film version. It is quite old like the book and only in black and white but it brings a great story to life. It is directed by Robert Mulligan and can be found in most librarys or video rental stores.

I'm sure many of you reading this review have read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' If you haven't I recommend you do. I hope you've enjoyed reading this opinion, wish me luck for my exams!!! Cheers and best wishes to all, emmaxxx :0)

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