To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Wow.

Atticus Finch, where have you been all my life? Seriously. How is it possible that I have not read this book before now? It's right up my alley.

The lessons in this story are ones that everyone should learn. Although parts were difficult for me to read, I appreciated and learned from every chapter of this book.

Dealing with such a broad range of issues from racism to gender roles to poverty to abuse to rape to forgiveness and family, this book should be required reading for every highschool student.

Atticus is the type of person that I try desperately to be. Unbiased, fair, compassionate, determined and has an incredible set of morals and values. For his time, men of his beliefs were few and far between which is what makes him so amazing.

I love that we get explore Jem and Scout's feelings about their Dad. Jem seems to identify with his father more readily than Scout, who struggles with her father's age and the fact that he's not like all the other Dad's. It's not until later that she realizes it's because he's so much more than that.

When we finally get to meet Boo, Scout's reaction (a soft "Hey Boo") had me smiling. It really showed her maturity and proved she had understanding and knowledge beyond her years. That was honestly my favorite part of the entire book.

There's not much that can be said about this book other than, if you haven't read it, go find a copy and do it. What an incredible story