I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields

Charles J. Shields author of the best seller biography, Mockingbird writes the biography with teens in mind. The biography describes the early relationship of her parents and their marriage, her young life and family in Monroeville Alabama, the writing of Mockingbird, her friendship and work on In Cold Blood with Truman Capote, the making of the movie and her later years. Some things I thought that were interesting are: Her original title for Mockingbird was Atticus. She was so close to her father, she looked up to him and adored him. Her mother unfortunately was mentally ill. Once incident with her mother is the reason why she writes in the book that Scout's mother died when she was age two. In real life, when Nelle (Harper) was two years of age, her mother tried to drown her. Her sisters intervened to save her. She only had one more semester I believe at U of Alabama and she would have completed law school. There are several chapters devoted to her friendship with Truman. Truman always wanted fame, glory, and fortune, Nelle wanted none of that. She worked with him as his "literary assistant' during the interviews and writing of In Cold Blood. She made the acquaintances in the town where the murder happened so Truman could interview them. He never gave her credit for all of the work she did on the book. Heck she even read and edited (with a bum hand) his final manuscript. At one point she threw her Mockingbird manuscript out the window, littering the ground with it! Everyone wants to know why she never wrote a second book. Well now I know and understand why not. I won't give it away in case you decide to read the book.

Ages: 12 and up

Comments: What comes through so well is her personality, her inner struggles with writing the book and how the two are so closely intertwined. I thought the writing of this biography was a little dry at first but later on the pace picks up. I had planned to start reading this while I was in Alabama a few weeks ago but I was finishing up another book. It just would have made for a perfect setting. :)