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jenbsbooks 's review for:
Mockingbird Summer
by Lynda Rutledge
I was excited about this one ... I'd loved "West With Giraffes" by this same author, and love "To Kill a Mockingbird". Here ... I liked it, I had no trouble finishing it, but it just didn't really hit. I'm not sure how much I'll remember.
There's a little ... prologue? It's not listed as such, but it does give a quick "wrap up" of what this book is about. There's 20 chapters (basic chronological listing), 3rd person/past tense. We are in the head of Kate/Corky the most, but the POV shifts to quite a few characters ... including the dog, Roy Rodgers. Felt a little reminiscent of the dog chapter(s) in "Lessons in Chemistry".
The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" plays it's own role (Corky reads it, her brother reads it, she gives it to America to read) and also had it's parallels (even happening 30+ years after the book was set, segregation and different treatment for blacks, a 13 year old protagonist and her brother as MCs). Baseball also played a big part ... so there were some "Sandlot" (the movie) similarities. There was a little TOO much baseball. At one point as the game is being played, and we are getting a play by play, I lost some interest. I think it would be different if I was watching it (tv or movie) but all the details and descriptions just didn't have the same effect for me.
I feel like I learn from historical fiction ... when there are characters you care about, it's easier to absorb the things happening and learn from them. I felt like this provided a pretty good representation of the racial situations of the time (based on other reads/info). The "separate but equal" and how some see color, the different treatment.
There was a sudden shift at the end - as it jumped to 2020, right in the middle of Covid. Switched to present tense ... the tense felt super awkward to me, very unnatural and jolting. The Covid inclusion felt a little odd (I think I'd have preferred it to happen a little beforehand, wrapped up pre-Covid). I mean I guess the Black Lives Matter movement, showing there are STILL issues so many years later probably was why it was set then ... it was an interesting way to wrap up.
Included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. No proFanity. Some discussion of rape (well, not much discussion, just the word brought up because of TKAMB) and some race/violence. I thought perhaps this was going to need a trigger for "animal death/cruelty" but I hope it's not a spoiler to say nothing too bad happens to Roy Rodgers although there are a couple close calls.
There's a little ... prologue? It's not listed as such, but it does give a quick "wrap up" of what this book is about. There's 20 chapters (basic chronological listing), 3rd person/past tense. We are in the head of Kate/Corky the most, but the POV shifts to quite a few characters ... including the dog, Roy Rodgers. Felt a little reminiscent of the dog chapter(s) in "Lessons in Chemistry".
The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" plays it's own role (Corky reads it, her brother reads it, she gives it to America to read) and also had it's parallels (even happening 30+ years after the book was set, segregation and different treatment for blacks, a 13 year old protagonist and her brother as MCs). Baseball also played a big part ... so there were some "Sandlot" (the movie) similarities. There was a little TOO much baseball. At one point as the game is being played, and we are getting a play by play, I lost some interest. I think it would be different if I was watching it (tv or movie) but all the details and descriptions just didn't have the same effect for me.
I feel like I learn from historical fiction ... when there are characters you care about, it's easier to absorb the things happening and learn from them. I felt like this provided a pretty good representation of the racial situations of the time (based on other reads/info). The "separate but equal" and how some see color, the different treatment.
There was a sudden shift at the end - as it jumped to 2020, right in the middle of Covid. Switched to present tense ... the tense felt super awkward to me, very unnatural and jolting. The Covid inclusion felt a little odd (I think I'd have preferred it to happen a little beforehand, wrapped up pre-Covid). I mean I guess the Black Lives Matter movement, showing there are STILL issues so many years later probably was why it was set then ... it was an interesting way to wrap up.
Included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. No proFanity. Some discussion of rape (well, not much discussion, just the word brought up because of TKAMB) and some race/violence. I thought perhaps this was going to need a trigger for "animal death/cruelty" but I hope it's not a spoiler to say nothing too bad happens to Roy Rodgers although there are a couple close calls.