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I have never in my 31 years read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I’ve really been wanting to read this one so I took the plunge and did it. I have to say that I am much happier to have read this as an adult. Some of those deeper story elements mean more to me as an adult than they would have as a young adult.

To Kill a Mockingbird was a good book about a small town. It showed how the power of prejudice and preconceived notions can affect how we see a person. I’m not simply referring to Tom Robinson. There are so many people who we assume we know and then we find new levels to them.

I loved this book so much. The characters were (mostly) likable and I found myself wanting to know more about them. I wanted more exposure to Atticus. I think that I needed to know more about the Radleys than the children did.

The writing of To Kill a Mockingbird really kept me going. Lee hooked me with Scout from the beginning. Scout Finch is our narrator and she tells it much like it is. Children have that kind of brutal honesty. It served well. We understand a lot of what’s happening even if Scout doesn’t. I think perhaps that is why the sadder parts were so sad. Told from a child’s perspective, in its simplicity, as adults we can plainly see them for the tragedies they are.

I know for a fact that high school Stephanie could not have appreciated this book as much as I did reading it now. I can tell you that this is a book that I’m going to enjoy reading again and again.