To Kill a Mockingbird
(Harper Lee)

The Finch family lives in Maycomb, Alabama, a typical Southern town charged with racism, in a time when it was deemed dangerous to go against the crowd. Atticus lives with his two children, Jem and Scout, and their cook/nanny/housekeeper Calpurnia, as his wife had passed a few years prior to the start of the novel.

Jem, Scout, and their summer neighbor Dill, occupy their time by trying to make Boo Radley, a local recluse, come out of his house—though they really do not want him to, they just want to prove that they are not scared of him.

Atticus is a lawyer and he makes the unpopular decision to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape by one of the poorest and most morally questionable families in town, the Ewells.

In a town that believes the black man is always guilty, Atticus’ belief that he is truly innocent and dedication to proving this fact, made him and his family a target of ridicule. Jem and Scout are slowly taken from their lives of innocence, and taunting Boo Radley, to learn the harsh realities of the world and the importance of tolerance, loyalty, and doing what is right.

The court case of Tom Robinson is one that rocks the small town and alienates the Finch family against all but those who are unfailingly loyal to them and know that Atticus is in the right. Eventually, the ridicule turns to abuse, both verbal and physical, and the Finch family is nearly split apart. The only thing saving the Finches from serious harm is the unlikely hero found in Boo Radley.