What It Is About: Lucy, Michael, and Elena have just finished 8th grade and are heading into their summer before high school. Their favorite English teacher, "Fat Bob", has a heart-attack and dies towards the end of the school year. His only assignment he was going to give the students for summer reading was To Kill a Mockingbird. Even though the substitute teacher has added more books to the summer reading list, these three students decide to honor their teacher by coming up with the "I Kill the Mockingbird" campaign. This campaign is to get as many people as they can to read the novel. They come up with a plan, put it into action, and wait to see what happens. All three are completely surprised by what transpires because of their actions. Now the question is how are they going to bring this "plan" to a satisfying conclusion.
What I Thought Of It: This little novel at 163 pages is completely delightful. I read the entire book this afternoon and enjoyed it so much. The plot of the novel is not that complex, but is quite engaging. Of course I loved all the references to books and reading that were spread out throughout the book. The three main characters were awesome, unique, and strong individuals. It was great to read about three soon-to-be high schoolers that were true to themselves and didn't worry about fitting into the "IN" crowd.
Who Should Read It: I looked on Amazon to see what ages this book is geared toward because after reading it I wasn't quite sure. On Amazon it said ages 10 and up. I'm not sure a fourth grade reader would find the book interesting, but I definitely think a strong avid read in grades five or higher would definitely enjoy this story. I also think it could be used in middle-school and/or high school. I kept thinking as I read it that adult readers would enjoy the story just as much as young readers. This novel would also make for a strong read aloud in the upper elementary grades. Happy Reading!
Rating: 5 STARS out of 5 Stars
Thanks for the recommendation. Loved it! Will be recommending to my middle schoolers this year. As an LMS and 21st Century Skills teacher I enjoyed the way it showed the social media implications.
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