A Review of “Mockingbird Summer”
Mockingbird Summer by Lynda Rutledge
Lynda Rutledge has crafted Mockingbird Summer, a novel that captures the tone, cadence, and tension of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The narrative of young Kate “Corky” Corcoran, with her knowledge as an adult, hovers in the background and resonates Scout’s narrative in To Kill a Mockingbird. Mockingbird Summer begins on a hot summer day in 1964 in High Cotton, a small Texas town that has yet to address the Civil Rights Movement. This setting provides a microcosm of the trials and tribulations of new social and political perspectives in the United States that many experienced.
The structure, characterization, and growing tension in this novel of social unrest starts with 13-year-old Corky who checks out To Kill a Mockingbird from the local library. The references to Robinson’s imprisonment and its implications are beyond her comprehension. When she seeks clarification for understanding the tension that Tom Robinson’s imprisonment has caused in Maycomb, she asks 16-year-old America, whom she idolizes. America and her mother, who is from Haiti, work for the Corcorans. Corky’s question upsets America and causes unrest between Corky and America. Corky tries to rectify the unease that she has caused between them. As the story unfolds, Mack, Corky’s older brother, discovers America’s talent as a runner and tries to convince the town of her talent. Unfortunately, High Cotton still adheres to the unspoken practices of segregation.
It is this summer that Corky comes of age and is advised to “Stay open, child. Don’t let the world close you down…Stay open so your heart can do what it’s supposed to do.”
Mockingbird Summer tugs at the emotions of readers. For those of us, who have lived through the 1960’s and the recent pandemic, it is a story about acceptance, understanding, and friendship that will resonate for years to come.