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    In Search of Mockingbird
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    In Search of Mockingbird
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    In Search of Mockingbird
    Ebook145 pages1 hour

    In Search of Mockingbird

    By Loretta Ellsworth

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A runaway seeks Harper Lee for answers

    Sometimes the things that need to be discovered aren't so easily found at home. Erin is certain that this is true in her case. A book is all that connects Erin to her mother, who died when she was a baby. But how much can Erin really learn about her mother from a tattered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird? On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin decides it's finally time to find out. And so begins her bus journey from Minnesota to Alabama in search of Harper Lee, the reclusive author of To Kill a Mockingbird.

    In a novel full of quirky characters, strange coincidences, and on-the-road adventures, In Search of Mockingbirdby Loretta Ellsworth deftly traces a unique voyage of self-discovery, perfect for fans of To Kill a Mockingbirdand Go Set a Watchman.

    “Light, contemporary quest story . . . Suggest this as a follow-up to Lee's classic novel.” —Booklist

    “Erin's journey of self-discovery gives her the courage to confront her own failings and the maturity to accept her father's plans to marry. . . . Readers will root for her while reaching for a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.” —Publishers Weekly

    "Ellsworth makes Erin's unlikely coming-of-age trip convincing. Designed to look like an old journal, the story's searching-for-mother theme should make it especially appealing to older fans of Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn Dixie (2000) and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice Books. An engaging road trip." -Kirkus Reviews

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateApr 3, 2007
    ISBN9781429998383
    Author

    Loretta Ellsworth

    Loretta Ellsworth grew up in Mason City, IA. A former teacher and a graduate of Hamline University with a Master’s Degree in Writing for Children, she is the award-winning author of several young adult novels. She has four children and six grandchildren and lives in Lakeville, MN. Stars Over Clear Lake is her first novel for adults.

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    Reviews for In Search of Mockingbird

    3.5/5

    64 ratings10 reviews

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    • 2/5
      This was a quick read, which was nice because the pacing of the book was fast, too. Erin is a teenager wants to go to Alabama to meet Harper Lee, because her mother wrote to the author when she was a teenager. Erin wants to be an author too, and she thinks Harper Lee has all the advice she needs to succeed, and to somehow connect with her mother. The story was a bit thin on this one - a girl obsessed with To Kill a Mockingbird and Harper Lee doesn’t (didn’t…) know about Lee’s reclusive lifestyle? And you think she would talk to you for some reason, and solve everything? It’s a nice road trip story, but a little too glossed over and easy-going - everyone on the bus trip was rooting for Erin, nothing creepy happened… Pretty unrealistic. Erin also seemed young for her age. But it was a nice, quick, fluff read.
    • 3/5
      A charming if somewhat unrealistic tale of a 16 year old girl named Erin who receives an unusual gift for her 16th birthday. The gift is the diary that her mother kept as a teenager. This means a lot to Erin as her mother died when she was a baby and she is frustrated by the fact that her father never talks about her. She does have her mothers well worn and scribbled in copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and now she has her mother's diary. She is so upset about her father's upcoming remarriage that she decides to act upon a idea she has had for a while--to travel to the town where Harper Lee lives. Somehow she feels like this will help her connect with her mother and sort out the issue in her life. So off she goes, travelling by bus, and so the story plays out as a pilgrimage tale, not only for Erin but also for the people that she meets and befriends while she is on the bus.I enjoyed this short and sweet story, however parts of it seemed very far fetched to me. My book group discussed it and while it didn't make for a long discussion it did bring up some interesting points about the role of literature and authors in our lives. I'd suggest it if you'd like a quick feel good read.
    • 3/5
      Pleasant but unremarkable.
    • 4/5
      Erin’s favorite book is To kill a mockingbird, partly because it’s such a good book and partly because it was her mother’s favorite, too. The day before her 16th birthday, Erin’s receives her mother’s diary — a precious link to the woman who died when Erin was a baby. She finds out her mother wanted to be a writer, just like she does, and even wrote a letter to Harper Lee, the author of To kill a mockingbird. Suddenly, Erin can’t stand it anymore.She leaves in the middle of the night and buys a Greyhound bus ticket to Alabama. She’s going to go to Monroeville and find Harper Lee, to ask advice on becoming a writer and to find out if her mother’s letter was ever answered.It’s a long trip and Erin meets some interesting people along the way, who help her and are helped by her in return. Will she make it to Alabama before the police catch her and take her home? And if she does, will Harper Lee be home when she arrives?This is a short, sweet novel about the connections between people: Erin and her dead mother, Erin and her father, Erin and the people she meets on the bus, and even Erin and Harper Lee.
    • 5/5
      I really like this book. I did read Mockingbird, and think that if you did not read it, that before reading this book you should read that one.I like how the main person goes on adverture like the main person in Mockingbird
    • 3/5
      Set in the context of a thousand mile bus ride, Erin learns a lot about her mother, herself, and life through the people she meets and the book, To Kill a Mockingbird. While rather cliched in a number of ways, it was a quick read and would probably appeal to those who are fans of Mockingbird.
    • 4/5
      Erin is about to turn 16, and her dad has just announced he's going to marry again. Erin's mom died when she was very young, but she's not crazy about the idea of getting a new mom when she barely knows her real mother. One of the few things she does know is that her mom loved Harper Lee's book To Kill A Mockingbird, and that her mom once wrote Harper Lee a letter asking how you know if you have what it takes to be a writer. Erin found her mom's old, battered copy of the novel in the attic, and has read it countless times-- so many times that it's become a sort of security blanket for her.In a moment of desperation the night before her 16th birthday, Erin leaves her home in Minnesota and hops a Greyhound bus for Monroeville, Alabama on a quest to meet the reclusive author. Secretly, Erin hopes to find out answers about herself as well as her mother by visiting with the author. Loretta Ellsworth's novel is short, but she is able to show a change in Erin as the teenager meets new people and sees new places on her journey south. The many references to Mockingbird make it an especially enjoyable read for the many people who've read the book; I think I high school students who've read it recently might especially enjoy it for that reason. Some of the characters lack depth, and the story has an unsurprising ending. However, it's a quick, fun read that focuses on loss, forgiveness, and like Mockingbird-- humanity and coming of age.
    • 4/5
      This book (along with 25 others) is a potential Gateway Award (awarded by the Missouri Association of School Librarians) nominee.I read the book as a reader selector for that committee and will rate it as to it's suitability and interest to teen readers. SPOILER ALERT!A nearly 16 year-old girl in St. Paul Minnesota undertakes a journey, a quest if you will, to discover her mother via her mother's (and by extension her own) favorite story [b]To Kill a Mockingbird[/b]. Along the way, as in any quest, she meets some interesting characters, makes new friends, and discovers things about herself, and ultimately grows up.[u]Things I liked[/u]: 1) the descriptions of the bus stations and the bus rides. The author perfectly captured the tedium, the smells, the mind-numbingly boringness of long distance bus travel. 2) the way the quest ended was very good...[u]Things I didn't like[/u]: 1) the author made a few mistakes on some of the details; i.e. the story is set in 1986, 20-something Epp Gobarth grew up in Missouri and recalls his dad never missing a Rams game with him when he a kid... except the Rams didn't move to St. Louis until 1995. Simple fix... change it to Cardinals games and it's fine. 2) her families characterization was kinda flat... her bothers came off as nothing but jerks, and the author never really managed to change our opinions.Overall, I'll probably rate the book with 3 stars out of 5.
    • 4/5
      Erin is sixteen - just. Her mother is dead, and she's the odd girl out in her family, which consists of her sports-loving father and two older brothers. They love her, but don't understand her love of books and writing. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday her father announces his upcoming marriage to his girlfriend, and gives Erin her mother's diary. Upset and confused, Erin runs away; setting off by bus to visit her idol, Harper Lee, author of her all time favorite novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Erin's odyssey takes her across several states, in and out of the lives of several sympathetic people, and at long last, reunites her with her family unharmed, and perhaps wiser and more understanding.It's a fairly light little book, only 180 pages, and the tone is gentle. Although a cross-country bus trip for a young girl un-escorted could have gone quite the other way, Ellsworth keeps the tone safe and the journey is as much inward as it is made in miles. I'm not sure how appealing the cover will be to teens, but if you can get them to read it, it's one that might ring true for the more literary among them.
    • 3/5
      If you like To Kill a Mockingbird it is likely you will love this book. If you don't, it is likely you will like this book. Short, sweet story of a girl trying to figure out who she is by figuring out who were mother was by taking a journey to Alabama to visit Harper Lee.