To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

My first encounter with Mockingbird was in the 7th grade and I couldn't seem to get past the big vocabulary. "Scuppernongs" and "chiffarobes" were too much for my 12 year-old mind to handle. I tackled it again in 9th grade, this time at the insistance of a well-meaning teacher. Didn't like it much better. I was, however, impressed that the teacher had the entire first chapter memorized and could recite it by heart. My third reading of Mockingbird led me to a more mature appreciation of the book. I'm awed by Harper Lee's ability to make Scout's voice authentic and innocent, even when written as a retrospective. The book is full of three-line diamonds, like Mr. Raymond's appraisal of Dill when he cries in the trial: "Things haven't caught up with that one's instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won't get sick and cry. Maybe things'll strike him as being - not quite right, say, but he won't cry, not when he gets a few years on him." Lee manages to be insightful, honest, but never dogmatic. Over all, the writing is a 10. The narrative voice of the piece is stupendous. The almost episodic nature of the story is entertaining for most ages, but the difficult vocabulary is a little off-putting. Therefore, I give the story a 6 for younger readers, but a 10 for adults. Teens who want to read about depression era life, but can't deal with the big words would be better served reading "A Year Down Yonder" by Richard Peck; all of the fun, most of the message, none of the hurdles.