I Am Scout

April 1, 2008
Gr 6 Up-This biography is a reworking of the best-selling "Mockingbird" (Holt, 2006), adapted for young adults. Shields spotlights Lee's lifelong friendship with Truman Capote and the creation of "To Kill a Mockingbird", showing how the publication and success of that book affected the rest of her life. Shields uses previously conducted interviews with Lee and her family, friends, and neighbors. He pulls from books, magazine articles, newspapers, and radio and television interviews to piece together this life story of the notoriously press-shy Lee. The author's clear and appealing style is much the same as in "Mockingbird" and this adaptation appears to have been not so much edited as streamlined. Photos include Lee, her family, friends, and the famous Hollywood actors who made the film version of her book. "I Am Scout" moves along at a good pace, and Lee's quiet life makes for a surprisingly fascinating read. Perhaps because Shields is pulling from so many sources, the occasional turn of phrase comes across as oddly formal, but generally, this is an immensely readable, intriguing tale of a quiet, private author."Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2008
Shields adult portrait of Harper Lee, Mockingbird (2006), is here called a biography of the author of the most widely read American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. But rather than rewritingthat book for youth, Shields has instead lifted material from the portrait (including footnote numbers in the text), with sometimes choppy results.Still, he offers afascinating look at the unconventional Lee, which captureshis elusive subject and her lifelong friend, TrumanCapote, and paysstrong attentionto Lees part in the writing of Capotes In Cold Blood.Most of what has been left outrelates to Lees personal lifefor instance, her chaste affair with her agent. Older readers can go directly to the adult book to find out more, butthishighly readable offeringis well suited toyounger readers or those willing to settle for a little less. Shields formidable research, consisting of hundreds of interviews and examinations of papers and articles, will impress anystudent who has ever written a term paper.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)