BOOK REVIEWS

BOOKS COVERED:-
 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
 THE BOOK THIEF
 • TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD – CHAPTER 1
o BOOK NAME: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
o AUTHOR’S NAME: HARPER LEE
o MAIN CHARACTERS: SCOUT FINCH, JEM FINCH AND ATTICUS FINCH
o FAVOURITE CHARACTER: SCOUT FINCH
o FAVOURITE LINE: “I MAINTAIN THAT THE EWELLS STARTED IT ALL, BUT JEM, WHO WAS FOUR YEARS MY
SENIOR, SAID IT STARTED LONG BEFORE THAT. HE SAID IT BEGAN THE SUMMER DILL CAME TO US, WHEN
DILL FIRST GAVE US THE IDEA OF MAKING BOO RADLEY COME OUT.”
o ONE LINE STORY: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD IS PRIMARILY A NOVEL ABOUT GROWING UP UNDER
EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE 1930S IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. THE STORY COVERS A
SPAN OF THREE YEARS, DURING WHICH THE MAIN CHARACTERS UNDERGO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. SCOUT
FINCH LIVES WITH HER BROTHER JEM AND THEIR FATHER ATTICUS IN THE FICTITIOUS TOWN OF
MAYCOMB, ALABAMA. MAYCOMB IS A SMALL, CLOSE-KNIT TOWN, AND EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS SOCIAL
STATION DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY LIVE, WHO THEIR PARENTS ARE, AND HOW LONG THEIR ANCESTORS
HAVE LIVED IN MAYCOMB.
o GENRE: AN EXAMPLE OF SOUTHERN GOTHIC FICTION IN THAT IT TAKES PLACE IN THE SOUTH,
CONTAINS BOTH DARK AND COMEDIC ELEMENTS, USES SOUTHERN VERNACULAR, FEATURES
EXAGGERATED CHARACTERS, AND REFERENCES THE SUPERNATURAL.
 PLOT SUMMARY
• THE STORY, TOLD BY THE SIX-YEAR-OLD JEAN LOUISE FINCH, TAKES PLACE DURING THREE YEARS (1933–35) OF THE GREAT
DEPRESSION IN THE FICTIONAL TOWN OF MAYCOMB, ALABAMA, THE SEAT OF MAYCOMB COUNTY. NICKNAMED SCOUT, SHE
LIVES WITH HER OLDER BROTHER JEREMY, NICKNAMED JEM, AND THEIR WIDOWED FATHER ATTICUS, A MIDDLE-AGED LAWYER.
JEM AND SCOUT BEFRIEND A BOY NAMED DILL, WHO VISITS MAYCOMB TO STAY WITH HIS AUNT EACH SUMMER. THE THREE
CHILDREN ARE TERRIFIED, YET FASCINATED BY THEIR NEIGHBOR, THE RECLUSIVE ARTHUR "BOO" RADLEY. THE ADULTS OF
MAYCOMB ARE HESITANT TO TALK ABOUT BOO, AND FEW OF THEM HAVE SEEN HIM FOR MANY YEARS. THE CHILDREN FEED
ONE ANOTHER'S IMAGINATION WITH RUMORS ABOUT HIS APPEARANCE AND REASONS FOR REMAINING HIDDEN, AND THEY
FANTASIZE ABOUT HOW TO GET HIM OUT OF HIS HOUSE. AFTER TWO SUMMERS OF FRIENDSHIP WITH DILL, SCOUT AND JEM
FIND THAT SOMEONE IS LEAVING THEM SMALL GIFTS IN A TREE OUTSIDE THE RADLEY PLACE. SEVERAL TIMES THE
MYSTERIOUS BOO MAKES GESTURES OF AFFECTION TO THE CHILDREN, BUT, TO THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT, HE NEVER APPEARS
IN PERSON.
• JUDGE TAYLOR APPOINTS ATTICUS TO DEFEND TOM ROBINSON, A BLACK MAN WHO HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF RAPING A YOUNG
WHITE WOMAN, MAYELLA EWELL. ALTHOUGH MANY OF MAYCOMB'S CITIZENS DISAPPROVE, ATTICUS AGREES TO DEFEND TOM
TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITY. OTHER CHILDREN TAUNT JEM AND SCOUT FOR ATTICUS'S ACTIONS, CALLING HIM A "NIGGER-
LOVER". SCOUT IS TEMPTED TO STAND UP FOR HER FATHER'S HONOR BY FIGHTING, EVEN THOUGH HE HAS TOLD HER NOT TO.
ONE NIGHT, ATTICUS FACES A GROUP OF MEN INTENT ON LYNCHING TOM. THIS CRISIS IS AVERTED IN AN UNEXPECTED
MANNER: SCOUT, JEM, AND DILL SHOW UP, AND SCOUT INADVERTENTLY BREAKS THE MOB MENTALITY BY RECOGNIZING AND
TALKING TO A CLASSMATE'S FATHER, AND THE WOULD-BE LYNCHERS DISPERSE.
• ATTICUS DOES NOT WANT JEM AND SCOUT TO BE PRESENT AT TOM ROBINSON'S TRIAL. NO SEAT IS AVAILABLE ON THE MAIN
FLOOR, BUT THE REV. SYKES INVITES JEM, SCOUT, AND DILL TO WATCH FROM THE COLORED BALCONY. ATTICUS ESTABLISHES
THAT MAYELLA AND BOB EWELL ARE LYING. IT IS REVEALED THAT MAYELLA MADE SEXUAL ADVANCES TOWARD TOM,
SUBSEQUENTLY RESULTING IN HER BEING BEATEN BY HER FATHER.
• THE TOWNSPEOPLE REFER TO THE EWELLS AS "WHITE TRASH" WHO ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED,
BUT THE JURY CONVICTS TOM REGARDLESS. JEM'S FAITH IN JUSTICE IS BADLY SHAKEN. ATTICUS
IS HOPEFUL THAT HE CAN GET THE VERDICT OVERTURNED, BUT TOM IS SHOT AND KILLED WHILE
TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM PRISON.
• DESPITE TOM'S CONVICTION, BOB EWELL IS HUMILIATED BY THE EVENTS OF THE TRIAL, ATTICUS
EXPLAINING THAT HE "DESTROYED [EWELL'S] LAST SHRED OF CREDIBILITY AT THAT TRIAL." EWELL
VOWS REVENGE, SPITTING IN ATTICUS' FACE, TRYING TO BREAK INTO THE JUDGE'S HOUSE
AND MENACING TOM ROBINSON'S WIDOW. FINALLY, HE ATTACKS JEM AND SCOUT WHILE THEY ARE
WALKING HOME ON A DARK NIGHT AFTER THE SCHOOL HALLOWEEN PAGEANT. JEM SUFFERS A
BROKEN ARM IN THE STRUGGLE, BUT AMID THE CONFUSION, SOMEONE COMES TO THE
CHILDREN'S RESCUE. THE MYSTERIOUS MAN CARRIES JEM HOME, WHERE SCOUT REALIZES THAT
HE IS BOO RADLEY.
• SHERIFF TATE ARRIVES AND DISCOVERS EWELL DEAD FROM A KNIFE WOUND. ATTICUS BELIEVES
THAT JEM WAS RESPONSIBLE, BUT TATE IS CERTAIN IT WAS BOO. THE SHERIFF DECIDES THAT, TO
PROTECT BOO'S PRIVACY, HE WILL REPORT THAT EWELL SIMPLY FELL ON HIS OWN KNIFE DURING
THE ATTACK. BOO ASKS SCOUT TO WALK HIM HOME. AFTER SHE SAYS GOODBYE TO HIM AT HIS
FRONT DOOR, HE DISAPPEARS, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN BY SCOUT. WHILE STANDING ON THE
RADLEY PORCH, SCOUT IMAGINES LIFE FROM BOO'S PERSPECTIVE.
 • THE BOOK THIEF

 BOOK NAME: THE BOOK THIEF

 AUTHOR’S NAME: MARKUS ZUSAK
 MAIN CHARACTERS: DEATH (NARRATOR), LIESEL MEMINGER, RUDY STEINER, MAX
VANDENBURG, HANS HUBERMANN, ALEX STEINER, TOMMY MULLER AND ROSA
HUBERMANN
 FAVOURITE CHARACTER: RUDY STEINER
 FAVOURITE LINE: “EVEN DEATH HAS A HEART.”
 ONE LINE STORY: THE BOOK THIEF IS A STORY NARRATED BY A COMPASSIONATE DEATH
WHO TELLS US ABOUT LIESEL, A GIRL GROWING UP IN GERMANY DURING WORLD WAR
II. SHE STEALS BOOKS, LEARNS TO READ, AND FINDS COMFORT IN WORDS. SHE AND
MAX, THE JEW HER FAMILY PROTECTS, ARE THE ONLY MAIN CHARACTERS THAT
SURVIVE THE WAR.
 GENRE: HISTORICAL NOVEL; COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL; HOLOCAUST NOVEL
 PLOT SUMMARY
 NARRATED BY DEATH, A MALE VOICE WHO OVER THE COURSE OF THE BOOK PROVES TO BE MOROSE YET CARING. THE
PLOT FOLLOWS LIESEL MEMINGER AS SHE COMES OF AGE IN NAZI GERMANY DURING WORLD WAR II. AFTER THE DEATH
OF HER YOUNGER BROTHER ON A TRAIN TO A FICTIONAL STREET BY THE NAME OF HIMMEL STREET IN THE FICTIONAL
TOWN OF MOLCHING, GERMANY, ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF MUNICH, LIESEL ARRIVES AT THE HOME OF HER NEW FOSTER
PARENTS, HANS AND ROSA HUBERMANN, DISTRAUGHT AND WITHDRAWN. SHE MEETS A BOY NAMED RUDY STEINER IN A
FOOTBALL MATCH AND WHENEVER SHE WINS, RUDY THROWS A SNOWBALL SMACK IN LIESEL'S FACE.
 LIESEL STARTS TO SETTLE DOWN INTO HER NEW HOME AND DURING HER TIME THERE, SHE IS EXPOSED TO THE
HORRORS OF THE NAZI REGIME, CAUGHT BETWEEN THE INNOCENCE OF CHILDHOOD AND THE MATURITY DEMANDED BY
HER DESTRUCTIVE SURROUNDINGS.
 AS THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN GERMANY DETERIORATES, HER FOSTER PARENTS CONCEAL A JEWISH MAN NAMED MAX
VANDENBURG. HANS, WHO HAS DEVELOPED A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH LIESEL, TEACHES HER TO READ, FIRST IN
HER BEDROOM, THEN IN HER BASEMENT.RECOGNIZING THE POWER OF WRITING AND SHARING THE WRITTEN WORD,
LIESEL NOT ONLY BEGINS TO STEAL BOOKS THAT THE NAZI PARTY IS LOOKING TO DESTROY, BUT ALSO WRITES HER
OWN STORY, AND SHARES THE POWER OF LANGUAGE WITH MAX. THROUGH COLLECTING LAUNDRY FOR HER FOSTER
MOTHER, SHE ALSO BEGINS A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MAYOR'S WIFE, ILSA HERMANN, WHO ALLOWS HER TO FIRST
READ BOOKS IN HER LIBRARY, AND LATER, STEAL THEM.
 ONE DAY, AS A GROUP OF JEWISH PRISONERS IS LED THROUGH TOWN TOWARDS DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP,
HANS OFFERS ONE PARTICULARLY WEAK MAN A PIECE OF BREAD, DRAWING THE IRE OF OTHERS IN THE TOWN. MAX
LEAVES THE HUBERMANNS' HOME SOON AFTER OUT OF FEAR THAT HANS'S ACT WILL DRAW SUSPICION ON THE
HUBERMANN HOUSEHOLD AND THEIR ACTIVITIES.
 EVENTUALLY, AS PUNISHMENT FOR THIS ACT, HANS'S LONG-WITHHELD APPLICATION TO JOIN
THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN WORKERS' PARTY IS APPROVED AND HE IS DRAFTED INTO THE ARMY,
CLEANING UP THE AFTERMATH OF BOMBINGS ON THE GERMAN HOME FRONT. A WHILE LATER, LIESEL
SEES MAX AMONG A GROUP OF PRISONERS AND JOINS HIM IN THE MARCH, IGNORING A SOLDIER'S
ORDER TO STEP AWAY AND GETTING WHIPPED AS PUNISHMENT.
 AFTER HANS RETURNS HOME, BOMBS FALL ON LIESEL'S STREET IN MOLCHING, KILLING ALL OF HER
FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND NEIGHBORS. LIESEL, WORKING ON HER MANUSCRIPT IN THE BASEMENT AT THE
TIME OF THE RAID, IS THE SOLE SURVIVOR. THE WORKERS, SEARCHING FOR SURVIVORS AND CLEANING
UP THE SCENE, TAKE LIESEL'S MANUSCRIPT ALONG WITH THE RUBBLE, BUT DEATH SAVES IT.
DEVASTATED, LIESEL IS TAKEN IN BY THE MAYOR, AND HIS WIFE ILSA HERMANN AND REFUSES TO CLEAN
THE ASHES OFF HERSELF UNTIL SHE WALKS INTO THE RIVER WHERE HER FRIEND RUDY SAVED A BOOK
BEFORE, SAYING HER FINAL GOODBYES TO HIM. IN 1945, LIESEL WORKS IN THE TAILOR SHOP OWNED BY
RUDY'S FATHER WHEN MAX ENTERS. THEY HAVE AN EMOTIONAL REUNION.
 MANY YEARS LATER, OR IN THE WORDS OF DEATH, "JUST YESTERDAY" , LIESEL DIES AS AN OLD WOMAN
IN THE SUBURBS OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, WITH A FAMILY AND MANY FRIENDS, BUT HAS NEVER
FORGOTTEN HANS, ROSA, RUDY, AND HER BROTHER. WHEN DEATH COLLECTS HER SOUL, HE GIVES HER
THE MANUSCRIPT SHE LOST IN THE BOMBING. SHE ASKS HIM IF HE READ IT AND DEATH SAYS YES. SHE
ASKS HIM IF HE UNDERSTOOD IT, BUT DEATH IS UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE DUALITY OF HUMANITY.
DEATH'S LAST WORDS ARE FOR BOTH LIESEL AND THE READER: "I AM HAUNTED BY HUMANS."
By:
• Name: Dhanaranjani B.
• Grade: X ‘B’