To Kill A Mockingbird

I’m an English major. When JJ and Stuart proposed writing about the book that changed your life, my mind froze. Did they really want me to choose just one? I’m the girl with a million books stacked in her dorm room, more in boxes at home, and three times as many listed on my Barnes & Noble wishlist. I entertained several ideas, but kept returning to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

I first read the novel as a sophomore in a little New England high school and was astounded at how easily I could cross the Mason-Dixon line and engrain myself into Maycomb, Alabama. I could feel the stern warmth of Calpurnia, Scout’s complicated mix of annoyance and admiration of her brother Jem, and I could feel the fire of justice and equality emanating from Atticus Finch.