Synopsis – Mockingbird Summer
In segregated High Cotton, Texas, in 1964, the racial divide is as clear as the railroad tracks running through town. It’s also where two girls are going to shake things up. This is the last summer of thirteen-year-old Corky Corcoran’s childhood, and her family hires a Haitian housekeeper who brings her daughter, America, along with her. Corky is quick to befriend America and eager to share her favorite new “grown-up” novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. America’s take on it is different and profoundly personal. As their friendship grows, Corky finds out so much more about America’s life and her hidden she can run as fast as Olympian Wilma Rudolph! When Corky asks America to play with her girls’ softball team for the annual church rivals game, it’s a move that crosses the color line and sets off a firestorm. As tensions escalate, it fast becomes a season of big changes in High Cotton. For Corky, those changes will last a lifetime. Set on the eve of massive cultural shifts, Mockingbird Summer explores the impact of great books, the burden of potential, and the power of friendship with humor, poignancy, and exhilarating hope.
My Review
Mockingbird Summer by Lynda Rutledge
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
2.5 stars rounded down.
Mockingbird Summer was a very simplistic and cliche look at race relations in a Texas town in the early 1960s. The plot is very obvious from the outset of the book. Nothing happened that was not 100% predictable. Considering the very difficult themes of racism and segregation that this book was attempting to tackle it is amazing that it was written at such a low level. It read like a book geared towards young teenagers or pre-teens.
The writing was incredibly dull. You could skim or skip totally large sections and miss absolutely nothing of the story. That’s never a good sign.
There is a dog who is a main character of the story. I have a personal dislike for the use of human traits to describe non-human characters so that was also a turn off for me.
The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” features prominently in the novel but I honestly did not think that it added any depth.
Overall, this book was a miss for me.
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