This story follows Scott, her brother Jem and their father Atticus during three years in Alabama (1933-1935). Scout and Jem spend their Summers with a friend, but their faith in adults' reasoning (and therefore their world) is shattered when Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman.

I rarely feel that authors understand how to write children, [a:Diana Wynne Jones|4260|Diana Wynne Jones|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1193516584p2/4260.jpg] was one of them and I believe [a:Harper Lee|1825|Harper Lee|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1188820730p2/1825.jpg] is another. Even if it is somehow autobiographical, Scout's thoughts and dilemmas are exceptionally well written. I am forever amazed that a story around strong issues like human rights, racism and feminism is seen and discussed through the eyes of a child. It has become one of my favourite books, and even if it is a time and a place I do not fully understand, I was able to connect with the characters - Atticus possibly being the most endearing of them all. The one thing I would change is the beginning: this story has almost 200 pages of warming up, which I feel excessive. I agree the reader needs time to understand the time and place, even more so in the XXI century, but I think it is overdone and may lose some readers along the way. I hope everyone reads this book at some point because it makes you more willing to walk in someone else's shoes.