To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic Southern racial drama, the story of Tom Robinson (a black man accused of a crime he didn't commit), Atticus Finch (the upstanding lawyer appointed to defend Tom), and Scout Finch (Atticus's intelligent daughter who narrates the story). The plot is earnest and predictable, but it has a moral purpose and a consistency of vision that save it from becoming too sentimental. Flannery O'Connor was no fan of the book, and had this to say about it: “It’s interesting that all the folks that are buying it don’t know they’re reading a child’s book. Somebody ought to say what it is.” But of course, many children's books are profound in their simplicity, and To Kill a Mockingbird effectively captures a critical moment in American history.