Lee, Harper (1988). To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing.
Genre: Historical fiction, Young adult
Recommended ages: 12-14 years old (Middle school and up)
Awards received: Pulitzer Prize for fiction (1961)
Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird is a Depression-era coming-of-age story set in rural Alabama as told by six-year-old Scout Finch, the tom-boy daughter of a widowed lawyer, Atticus, who is tasked with defending an African-American man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. The book focuses both on the ensuing struggle for justice amid prejudice as well as the exploration of childhood innocence as the protagonist and her brother reach out in an attempt to establish contact with their reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley.
Personal reflection: This book serves as a shining example of both the cost and benefit of maintaining personal integrity as Atticus, Scout and her brother, Jem, become the center of criticism from the town’s white population as Atticus tries to the best of his ability to defend the wrongly accused Tom Robinson against allegations of raping a white woman. The literary quality is top-notch as Lee intertwines the two seemingly different stories about the personal and moral cost of Atticus’ defending Tom Robinson with the exploration and eventual loss of childhood innocence as Scout, Jem and their visiting friend, Dill, attempt to contact the reclusive Boo Radley, a neighbor of the Finches who, through rumors and imagination, both scares and intrigues the children.
Recommendation: While the story is a good example of the historical fiction and young adult genres, it lacks child appeal as it includes adult themes (rape, racial prejudice), an abundance of racial epithets and static African-American characters who receive little exploration from the author. As a result, white readers identify better with the protagonist and are more impressed by the expressed themes than readers of other races. Despite this, a school library would do well to purchase this book since its themes of integrity, childhood innocence and morality resound strongly with young, impressionable readers.
The Lord of the Flies
Golding, William (1999). Lord of the Flies. United States: Penguin Group.
Genre: Young adult, Allegory
Recommended ages: 14-16
Awards received: Nobel Prize in Literature (1983)
Summary: Lord of the Flies is a story of survival and civilization set in the mid-20th-century and follows a group of (all-male) British schoolchildren aged 13 and under who are stranded on a desert island after their plane crashes, killing any and all adults onboard. The boys attempt to organize, survive and govern themselves as they wait for rescue, but things quickly go awry between factions loyal to Ralph, the protagonist, and Jack, the antagonist. The children are eventually rescued, but at the cost of their humanity following the breakdown of their fragile civilization.
Personal reflection: This novel is a good example of the importance of government, especially democracy, in maintaining a civilized society. The characters, except for Ralph and his followers, quickly devolve into savagery after Jack’s grab for power. The book would probably have an initial appeal to readers as far as the premise of self-governing children on a desert island goes. It undeniably serves as a solid lesson on why rules exist and the consequences of anarchy and tyranny, but the atrocities committed by the children, which teach those lessons, would be a bit hard for young readers to digest—most notably the extreme violence that occurs toward the end of the book. Golding won a Nobel Prize with Lord of the Flies for a reason, and the outstanding literary quality and rich themes expressed through Golding’s allegories leave no question as to what that reason is.
Recommendation: A school library would definitely do well to purchase this book, despite its rather adult themes and content, since it answers every student’s questions as to why rules and governing bodies exist and the consequences of abandoning those rules.
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