Mockingbird . . . I wonder

I'd put money on it that (in a random poll), Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird would sweep the Book Most Often Named 'My Favorite' Book category. Not for nothing is it a book (and author) surrounded by speculation and myth, mocked (pardon the pun) and parodied, required and studied . . . and probably even avoided--by students who'd rather just watch the movie. It's most recent tribute comes from Paul Acampora's book I Kill the Mockingbird. Three students who adore Lee's novel decide to go renegade and start a reading revolution--by "disappearing" copies of the book in libraries and bookstores across their state. While they don't actually steal the books, things get out of hand as their revolution goes viral--books do get stolen, and the real reason behind their revolution gets muddied and confused. Acampora is great with dialogue, the book moves quickly and feels very honest and realistic. It's in the teen section, but I didn't see any reason (besides a little light crush/relationship stuff) that a mature kid (10/11ish and up) couldn't read it.

This book would be fantastic for class/book club discussions. What constitutes vandalism? Is fudging the law ok to make a point? How far do you take your fun "revolution" before it becomes downright scary (i.e. book burning). Seriously, read this book. Just, please, don't hide our books :-)

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 8, 2014 at 7:42 PM

    Maybe not my favorite book, but certainly very good. Boo radley's name still sticks with me after all these years.

    ReplyDelete

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