sandraagee's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be sweet and satisfying. As a middle-grade novel for those in grades 5-7 or so, it succeeds fairly well.
I was super intrigued by the premise of this book and while I certainly enjoyed hearing about how the I Kill the Mockingbird movement took off, I didn't necessarily feel the same satisfaction in reading about its ending. Everything seemed to wrap up a bit too neatly and easily, which left me longing for something to make the ending more compelling.
I was super intrigued by the premise of this book and while I certainly enjoyed hearing about how the I Kill the Mockingbird movement took off, I didn't necessarily feel the same satisfaction in reading about its ending. Everything seemed to wrap up a bit too neatly and easily, which left me longing for something to make the ending more compelling.
beklovesbooks's review
fast-paced
2.75
A little weird.
I like books that refer to other books I read and this had a ton of that. I didn’t like the treatment of Fat Bob and the idea of students and others all referring to him that way.
Cute little side love story. Not very honoring treatment of Catholic faith.
I like books that refer to other books I read and this had a ton of that. I didn’t like the treatment of Fat Bob and the idea of students and others all referring to him that way.
Cute little side love story. Not very honoring treatment of Catholic faith.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Cancer, and Death
Minor: Medical content, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death of parent, and Body shaming
alinaborger's review against another edition
4.0
Lucy loves To Kill a Mockingbird. Elena and Michael appreciate it. But they all love Fat Bob, the teacher who recommended it—the teacher who swore it would be the entirety of their summer reading list before he had a heart attack in the cafeteria and died.
Their new teacher inspires significantly less devotion and makes Mockingbird optional. Lucy won’t settle for optional, and she and her friends concoct a savvy social-media event that gets everyone reading it—if they’re lucky enough to find a copy.
In I Kill the Mockingbird, Acampora crafts the friendship between Lucy, Elena and Michael with lovely attention to detail, and they are the kind of brilliant, emotionally mature, bookish teenagers that every teacher adores.
But what’s even more remarkable is the supporting cast. Lucy’s mother has just survived a bout with cancer and her father is a busy Catholic-school principal; Elena lives with her Uncle above the bookstore he owns, and Michael’s single mom nurtures his baseball ambitions with tender devotion. Any one of these adults in another book would have been underdeveloped or overemphasized—and as a result would have pushed against the fabric of the book, would have undercut the main trio’s first steps toward independence. But Acampora has handled all of them believably, enriching the fabric of the main characters’ lives.
Nowhere is this enrichment more obvious than in the tensions the characters face between what is and what should be. Parents shouldn’t get sick or die or go missing, Lucy thinks, but they do, so she has to figure out how. How can her dad maintain a religious faith he considers “good manners” in the face of her mother’s illness? How can her mom return to the role of caregiver when she has spent so long being cared for?
As for what should be: Lucy isn’t too sure, except for one thing. Everyone ought to read To Kill a Mockingbird. And for that, she and her friends have a phenomenal plan.
Their new teacher inspires significantly less devotion and makes Mockingbird optional. Lucy won’t settle for optional, and she and her friends concoct a savvy social-media event that gets everyone reading it—if they’re lucky enough to find a copy.
In I Kill the Mockingbird, Acampora crafts the friendship between Lucy, Elena and Michael with lovely attention to detail, and they are the kind of brilliant, emotionally mature, bookish teenagers that every teacher adores.
But what’s even more remarkable is the supporting cast. Lucy’s mother has just survived a bout with cancer and her father is a busy Catholic-school principal; Elena lives with her Uncle above the bookstore he owns, and Michael’s single mom nurtures his baseball ambitions with tender devotion. Any one of these adults in another book would have been underdeveloped or overemphasized—and as a result would have pushed against the fabric of the book, would have undercut the main trio’s first steps toward independence. But Acampora has handled all of them believably, enriching the fabric of the main characters’ lives.
Nowhere is this enrichment more obvious than in the tensions the characters face between what is and what should be. Parents shouldn’t get sick or die or go missing, Lucy thinks, but they do, so she has to figure out how. How can her dad maintain a religious faith he considers “good manners” in the face of her mother’s illness? How can her mom return to the role of caregiver when she has spent so long being cared for?
As for what should be: Lucy isn’t too sure, except for one thing. Everyone ought to read To Kill a Mockingbird. And for that, she and her friends have a phenomenal plan.
unwrittensoul's review against another edition
3.0
It was a cute book. It is easy to read and full of joy.
biblialex's review
5.0
Summer reading about summer reading! Kids plotting to get their town to read To Kill A Mockingbird was what got me interested, but it was the characters that really hooked me. I could've easily spent more time just reading more of their conversations about weird Catholic saints, favorite books, and whether Peeps are a fruit.
secret_getaway's review
5.0
This is a very short but charming story about the last summer before reaching the scary high school chapter in life. It’s about doing something great not only for someone you care about but also to benefit society as a whole. Sparking an interest in a book as important as To Kill a Mockingbird is a commendable task and for such young characters to take on that task sets this book to be something great.
There is so much in this book that affected me. The grim presence of cancer in the family, the uncertainty of high school and the apprehension of developing a crush on a long time friend. The value the characters see in books created another strong affiliation I had for this book. I cold easily connect with these characters and I commend their objective to bring back the popularity of one of the most renowned novels in America.
This final summer meant so much to these characters and is something anyone could relate to. While on their mission, the characters also face illness, family bonds, and first crushes. It’s a book that encompasses everything a contemporary novel should have but with a noble act in the sake of classic novels. For a quick read that celebrates the importance of classic novels, this is definitely the book to pick up.
There is so much in this book that affected me. The grim presence of cancer in the family, the uncertainty of high school and the apprehension of developing a crush on a long time friend. The value the characters see in books created another strong affiliation I had for this book. I cold easily connect with these characters and I commend their objective to bring back the popularity of one of the most renowned novels in America.
This final summer meant so much to these characters and is something anyone could relate to. While on their mission, the characters also face illness, family bonds, and first crushes. It’s a book that encompasses everything a contemporary novel should have but with a noble act in the sake of classic novels. For a quick read that celebrates the importance of classic novels, this is definitely the book to pick up.
hgraybrown's review
3.0
I enjoyed the humor in this story, and the way Lucy, Elena and Michael get caught up in a runaway train of a prank - of course, I also loved the literary theme of the story. This story is cute and sweet and simple, with some fun contemporary antics that include Instagram and Twitter and old fashioned things like used books and baseball.
From a Catholic perspective, I could not entirely see the purpose of Lucy's references to her faith in the story since they were not incorporated into the story in any meaningful way. Though I think a young Catholic would relate to some of Lucy's observations about her faith (like the images of Saint Lucy holding a dish containing two eyeballs), they were mostly humorous in a somewhat irreverent way that might confuse a younger member of the faith. I think these elements would have worked better if Lucy questioning her faith were a larger theme in the book (I am not sure it even qualifies as a smaller one).
I would recommend this book to students in sixth grade who enjoyed The Lemonade War and are ready for another fun summer adventure story.
From a Catholic perspective, I could not entirely see the purpose of Lucy's references to her faith in the story since they were not incorporated into the story in any meaningful way. Though I think a young Catholic would relate to some of Lucy's observations about her faith (like the images of Saint Lucy holding a dish containing two eyeballs), they were mostly humorous in a somewhat irreverent way that might confuse a younger member of the faith. I think these elements would have worked better if Lucy questioning her faith were a larger theme in the book (I am not sure it even qualifies as a smaller one).
I would recommend this book to students in sixth grade who enjoyed The Lemonade War and are ready for another fun summer adventure story.