This was a very realistic telling of a story narrated from a child's perspective. The time-frame and facts were accurate and the characters were well developed and believable. It was interesting to read that the author was inspired by events in her own hometown. This makes the story all that much better- and sadder. 
 I enjoyed the morals taught by lovable and decent father Atticus, as well as the lessons learned by Jem and Scout. Invaluable knowledge could be gleaned from such a wise and morally decent man. 
 I found it of particular interest, the way that the character, Boo Radley, was cleverly woven into the story. The end left of the book admittedly left me feeling a little bit, "eh," that being said, the journey to get there was a good one. 
 The story was most definitely painful at times... but filled with hope. The hope that, there are some good people, such as Atticus, who will be strong enough to do right, when not many others are willing, even if they recognize it to be the decent thing to do. However, the story also showed the true colors and darkness of some... such as Mr. Ewell. Overall, a very good story about the hard realities of life.