I Am Scout by Charles J. Shields

A perceptive newspaper reporter had remarked that To Kill a Mockingbird "is written out of Harper Lee's love for the South and Monroeville but it is also the story of a father's love for his children and the love they gave in return.

I don't remember what year in school I was assigned to read To Kill a Mockingbird, but I do remember it becoming an immediate favorite. For quite a few years, it held the ranking of my absolute favorite book and even now it continues to stand stall among many other books that have been claimed as favorites of mine. It definitely holds a special place in my heart.

So when I spotted I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee on display in my local Half-Price Books store, I was drawn to it. Of course I would want to read the biography of Harper Lee! Plus it had a typewriter on the cover, so there was no denying that I needed this book. Thankfully, my dad had already agreed to get me a book while we were there. You can rest assured that I was grinning from ear to ear as I walked out of the store clutching this book.

I wasn't disappointed. Before I read this book, I honestly knew next to nothing about the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, which is frankly unacceptable--at least in my book. I love knowing as much as I can about the authors I admire and I feel like that curiosity was sated by the reading of this lovely book.

Charles J. Shields does a spectacular job in answering all the questions a body could have about the much-loved author whose sole novel is a classic and continues to be read by thousands of students every year. I finished this volume feeling like every question I had was answered. Shields handled his material perfectly and with such an interesting and much-loved character as Nelle Harper Lee, that was absolutely necessary.

I have so much admiration for Nelle Lee and truly enjoyed the experience of finding out more about her and her creative processes, as well as the events and occurrences that shaped her into the woman she became. In many ways, I see her as a role model. She is the type of person who is exactly who she wants to be and is entirely unapologetic when it comes to being who she is.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very well-written and put together. If you enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird or just want to know more about Harper Lee, you should definitely pick up this book. It's certainly worth a good read.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Poking out from the branches was a white envelope addressed "Nelle." Inside was a note: "Dear Nelle, You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas."
"What does this mean?" she asked.
"What it says." They told her to total up what it would cost for a year to stay home and write full-time. The sum was their gift.
Several seconds passed before she found her voice. "It's a fantastic gamble. It's such a great risk."
Michael smiled. "No, honey. It's not a risk. It's a sure thing."