To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Fred Fordham and Harper Lee

 To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Fred Fordham and Harper Lee-273 pages

I have not read the original "To Kill a Mockingbird" classic novel by Harper Lee. When I saw this on the shelf I decided I would read it for this month's challenge. It is a good novel/graphic novel. It is harrowing and appalling to once again realize that this is how African-Americans were (and to some extent still are) treated during the Jim Crow Era. The way Tom Robinson is convicted even though all evidence says to the contrary is infuriating and appalling, but this is truly the way it was. This is a fairly accurate portrait of life in the 1930s in the American South. Harper Lee was from Alabama and grew up in this time, so she should have a decent grasp on the time. She wrote it from the point-of-view of a young white girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is appointed to defend Tom Robinson because the judge knows he's the only one who will treat him with dignity and truly defend him properly. It is a thought-provoking story. I am glad to have finally read it in some form. 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
384 pages / 12 hrs, 2 mins

"For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life--until the unthinkable happens.

"Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps."  --from the publisher

I really liked this book even though some aspects of the story were a bit far-fetched.  It is well written with a graceful style.  I gave it four out of five stars.

Blood at the Root by Patrick Phillips

Blood at the Root by Patrick Phillips
320 pages

When I saw this book is nominated for some prestigious awards, I decided to take a look at it. 

Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal, American Library Association

Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review

Longlisted for the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction

 

 That's when I discovered it was about Forsyth County, Georgia where my brother-in-law has been living for 20 years, and I knew I had to read it.  The book is well written and it is obvious the author did a great deal of research.  The lynchings and circumstances surrounding them are described in appropriate detail.  Hard to read, yes, but an important testimony of the lives cruelly taken.  Today there are very few African Americans living in the county, and I have no doubt prejudice remains strong.