To Kill a Mockingbird-Book Review 12

This book is such a timeless classic that I cannot help but to review it. So if you were hoping for a negative review this is not your day.

To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in a fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The story is seen through the eyes of Scout Finch who lives with her widowed father and her brother Jem. Scout is 6-years-old when the story begins and is 8-years-old by the end. There are a few other characters involved such as Dill, the children's friend and, Arthur "Boo" Radley. Arthur Radley lives in a creepy old house and he hasn't been out in years. Without going into too much detail about the actual plot, I will move on to my official review.

         Not only is the book well written,  the character of Scout is so well developed and she grows along with the story. Readers follower her as she learns important lessons about life and society. For example, after her father's client (a black man) gets accused of raping a white woman, he gets convicted despite the evidence saying he didn't do it. Since the jury was all whites, he knew he was not going to win but the father fought anyway because it was the right thing to do. After this, the children Jeb and Scout learn about the unfairness of society and how biased their community is. I think this scene is important for the characters development as well as the scene with Arthur Radley saving the children from the father of the rape victim. During this time, Scout and Jeb realize that "Boo" Radley isn't anything like they pictured, he is a good person. I love the character of Arthur Radley because he represents those who are different. Just like the mockingbird, Radley symbolizes innocence and not taking advantage of anyone who is weak or defenceless.
          This book is definitely timeless and I would highly recommend it to anyone despite what kind of books you enjoy. There is a second novel written by Harper Lee titled To Catch a Watchman, that I am not sure if I will read yet. But if you are looking for a classic to read this summer, I highly recommend To Kill a Mockingbird.

While you wait.

While you are waiting for my new book review (which I am currently working on) I have a few old links I want to repost for you guys. The first link found here is the link to my first short story What Happens After found on Amazon. I will post the link for my other book soon but I am having template and formatting issues that I am in the process of fixing. This next link, here is the new video for my book trailer. I had copyright problems with my first so I had to redo the video. I hope you enjoy the trailer and check out my book!

The usual mumbo jumbo

I am working on my next book review for the book I am currently reading called The Pharaoh's Secret by Marissa Moss. I bought this book for really cheap at a discount store and since I love egypt I thought i'd give it a try. I can't promise when it will be out since I am dealing with my finals coming up and my pending graduation on May 18th. Also, I have a few other things going on in my life that I need to work out as well. Coming the summer I will have more time to read and write so you can look forward to that in the future. For now you will just have to be patient with me.

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree-Book review # 9

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman is such an excellent book and there are so many great this to say about, it I do not know where to begin.  I will start by saying that this is a true story told in the point of  view of 16-year-old Hannelore Wolf and her experiences in the nazi concentration camps during WW2.

     I will make this review shorter since I could probably recite this whole book and you wouldn't even have to read it. Buuuut since I DO want people to read it I will just give you the gist of the book and my thoughts on it. 

        Basically it begins with the main character Hannelore finding out that her father has died and her mother and two brothers are being deported to a labor camp. Hannelore, being in a school in Berlin decides to join her family in the labor camp. So she travels by train to her home and her family is taken away to a concentration camp and not long after, she get separated from her brothers Wolfgang and Selly. Both her mother and Hannelore have their heads shaved balled and numbers put on their arms. Eventually she gets separated from her mother and she is forced to do several jobs such as being a maid/cleaning girl for a German family. She gets moved from camp to camp, not knowing if her family is dead or alive. She watches helplessly as people are killed, starved to death or died of disease. The only good that came out of Hannelore being put in the camps is Dick Hillman, a POW she falls in love with. Dick and Hannelore would meet up in the middle of the night and talk and Dick would gift Hannelore with chocolate and bread. In the middle of all the hell around them, these two were still able to form a bond and fall in love. Eventually they both find out they have been put on Schindlers List and will be saved! I wont spoil anymore of the story for those of who you are interesting in reading it.

     

I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially if you like Holocaust survivor stories and love stories all in one. This book is sad as well as eye opening just like many of the other holocaust survivor stories. I first read this one in 10th grade so being the same age as Hannelore it really effected me in a significant way. The things she, and other Jewish victims had to go through was horrible and shouldn't be ignored. So if you have an opportunity or some extra time, please pick up this book I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman and you won't be disappointed. 

Just some news and updates

So as you can see it has been over a month since my last book review and this is mainly because I haven't had any time to read or write because of school, my honors society meetings and preparing for graduation so I thought I would give you a little update. The next book I am planning on reviewing is called I Will Plant You A Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman. This book is an amazing true story about a Schindler's List survivor during the Holocaust. This book is absolutely amazing, heartbreaking and inspiring and I can't wait to review it for you guys. 

I will try to keep up with my blog until the summer because I am going to be so busy with my Alpha Sigma Lambda meetings and I have community service events coming up where I am building houses for the homeless as a part of the honors society and I am getting ready to transfer school which has been stressful. So please bear with me for the next few weeks and I should have my new review out soon!