Mockingbird Summer by Lynda Rutledge

"It’s the summer of 64 in High Cotton, Texas, a small town that’s struggling to accept the passing of the Civil Rights Act. Tensions are high but Katherine "Corky" Corcoran is mostly oblvious. All she cares about is the girls Summer softball game between the Methodists and the Baptists. And with her new friend, America, a black girl from the Southside of town, Corky knows this is the Summer they could actually win! Unfortunately, not everyone is as open and accepting as Corky and she'll soon learn that the world can be a very cruel place. Though Corky's inability to grasp social cues was extremely irritating, the overall message of the book was a good one."  

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pros: I liked the bits of history peppered into the narrative. It helped with perspective/I did enjoy the ending, it made up for Corky's complete lack of social graces and gave the reader a bit of hope that things could get better.   

Cons: I get it, Corky was a 13 year old girl and just hitting puberty but dear Lord was she obnoxious with all the questions and painfully oblivious to other people’s feelings/The fact that in the 60s and even now people still judge others for the color of their skin, it's disusting. It’s not a con with the book it’s a con with the world in general.  

Full Review: 

It all starts when Corky goes to the library and Ms. Delacourt lends her the book, To Kill a Mockngbird by Harper Lee. The book centers around the trial of a black man who's been convicted of raping a white woman. Corky loves the book but she doesn't understand what Rape means and no one will tell her, always hedging and saying that that's not something she should be thinking about. Corky's willing to shrug it off and her attention is soon diverted when two women come to the house. Evangeline and America Wilcox. Cal Corcoran, Corky's father, has hired Evangeline to help around the house while her husband, Rayford, is out looking for a job. America has come along because her mother's first language isn't English and she's there to help with communication.

America's sixteen, shy, and quiet and Corky instantly wants to be her friend. Since all Corky can think about is the upcoming softball game between the Methodists and the Baptists, she asks America if she would like to help her practice. That's when she discovers that America is the fastest runner she has ever seen. Her brother Mack, who's just returned from College, sees America run and is so impressed that he calls his old high school coach and they time America down at the track. She runs the 100 meter dash in the same time as Wilma Rudolph, the first female, black Olympic Gold Medalist. 

Corky is over the moon, knowing that with America's God given talent, this could be the Summer they actually win the game! Of course, there are those in the town who are not okay with the idea of a black girl playing in their annual softball game. And, when Corky lends America the library's copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, she learns the hard way that things are very different for black people.  

Tensions run high, people start acting the way close minded idiots will act and though there are big wins in the book, there are also big losses. It's a tumultous story, of change, tension, realizing that people you thought were good really aren't and in the end, it will be a Summer that will shape Corky's future and her life. 

Though the character of Corky herself drove me insane with her endless questions and her complete inability to grasp social cues, overall, the message of the book was good. It showed that though there's been progress, we still have so much to work on when it comes to equality. And though it was saddening to realize that there will always be people out there who are just, jerks, the ending has a small bit of hope that if we work together and love one another, perhaps we can make this world a slightly better place.