To Kill a Mockingbird

This book is about defending justice, using a legal system to fight something you know is wrong, and sticking to what is right at all costs. It is about knowing what’s right and what’s wrong.

My main character, too—Miss Pink sticks to what is right at all costs. This touching, powerful story shows the worst of people and the best. 

Although not specifically a spiritual/self-help book like my other picks, I just love it so much. It's like an old, trusted friend. I read it in high school and at least a dozen times since. It was a companion when I traveled in Europe and always helped me when I was feeling low or lost. It seemed to bring me back to my core.

The decency of the actions of Atticus the Father has served me as a guide to my wish to attain. "They just trust him to do right; it's that simple." Like my Father when I was… show more.

I think this novel did more to open white minds to the needless social harm of racism than any other book. It’s almost unparalleled success in reaching American readers of all ages, in my view, places it at or very near the top of the list of great American fiction.

Though not Harper Lee’s intent, her literary and commercial blockbuster remains an enduring tutorial for writers like me:  writers preoccupied with storytelling and the voices telling it. Sometimes, after a long writing session, I read a random chapter of Mockingbird to relax and to keep myself modest.

This novel by Alabama author Harper Lee is one of my favorite novels. Southern racial prejudice is exposed in the coming-of-age story of the young protagonist awakening to its ugliness and hypocrisy.

The mood is Southern Gothic as the childhood fears of Boo Radley turn out to be unfounded. I love how Lee gives us the perspective of the adult narrator while placing us fully in the world of the children. I love the evoking of childhood fears of the supernatural while learning that the world of living people is much more dangerous.

I consider it a novel that is… show more.

I am recommending this book because it is a profound novel that delves into themes of justice, empathy, and moral growth. Set in the racially charged atmosphere of a small Alabama town during the 1930s, the story is narrated by Scout Finch, a young girl whose father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer defending a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman.

Through the eyes of Scout and her brother Jem, readers witness the deep-seated prejudices of their community and the moral courage it takes to stand up for what is right. I loved the book for its compelling… show more.

Of all the books I was “forced” to read in school, this was the one I most often picked back up to read on my own. There is so much in this story to unpack, from race relations in the Depression-era South to the shortcomings of the legal system.

Ultimately, this is about an innocent young person who, through a series of events beyond her control and which are much too adult for her, must learn to accept that people are not strictly good or bad but varied amalgams of both.

Perhaps the most famous Southern novel of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the pinnacle of American literature. Covering heavy themes such as racial bigotry, death in families, and the loss of childhood innocence, Lee spins a tale of Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of rape by a local white woman and her father.

The conclusion of the trial and the events following it stand as a terrible warning to this day, reminding readers of the dangers of prejudice. It’s truly a must-read novel.

If Presumed Innocent inspired me to try my hand at writing fiction, this novel inspired me to become a lawyer, mostly because of the depiction of Atticus Finch. He is the epitome of the noble, honorable lawyer, using his considerable skills to represent a black man accused of the sexual assault of a white woman in 1930s Alabama.

His humanity and integrity are on full display as he faces professional ruin, social ostracization, and physical danger for his defense of the man, all while trying to raise two children as a single parent. Adherence to the law does not result… show more.

I treasure this book and recently reread it alongside my own teen! It profoundly showcases the courage required to challenge deep-seated prejudices within a community and family.

Witnessing Scout Finch's perspective on her father Atticus' stand against racial injustice amidst moral dilemmas serves as a powerful reminder of the strength needed to confront and transcend the biases we inherit, a journey that resonates with my own experiences of overcoming familial legacies.

I grew up with the movie. But it wasn’t until I read the book that I fell in love with the story.

Scout’s relationship with her family and Calpurnia, the maid who is like a mama to her, drew me into the book and wouldn’t let me go. I waited with anticipation to see what Boo Radley would put in the tree hole for Scout, her brother, and Dill.

I feared Boo along with the children and learned the lesson that sometimes, in life, we are afraid of the wrong people. I learned that life is far more complicated than… show more.