Reviews with content warning for Racism - Il buio oltre la siepe

Representation: Black and biracial (half Black and half white) characters
Score: Two points out of ten.

I didn't enjoy To Kill a Mockingbird at any point in the book. I saw this one circling my recommendations, making me want to read it. When I discovered my library had this, I immediately wanted to pick it up. Soon enough, it was time to read it, and I initially thought it would be enjoyable, but it wasn't.

Spoilers ahead. I've warned you.

It starts with the first people I see, Scout and Jem Finch, recounting their lives in a small town named Maycomb. Nothing much happens in the opening pages (actually the first 150 pages,) until a court case occurs involving a Black person being accused of assaulting a white person. To say To Kill a Mockingbird was disappointing only scratches the surface of how abhorrent it is. To Kill a Mockingbird portrays a white saviour narrative as the white lawyer, Atticus Finch, swoops in and solves racism for the Black character, Tom. That has to be one of the most unrealistic rendering of racism I've seen.

To Kill a Mockingbird ignores the fact that Black people and other minorities stood up for themselves to stop injustice and instead sends a message that only white people can stop racism for them. I would've liked the characters if they didn't play the white saviour. All I see is racism from the white perspective, and never hear from any of the Black characters. The last 100 pages weren't much better as all the characters in this fictional composition reflect on what happened, but not before one of them delivers a speech on colourblindness and how race doesn't matter and they are all only people.

To summarise, this piece of fiction from the author initially seemed promising, but when I closed its final page, I felt disgusted. You can read other books concerning discrimination like The Hate U Give instead of this.

Content Warnings

bethanystone13's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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