Mockingbird Summer cover art

Mockingbird Summer

A Novel

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Mockingbird Summer

By: Lynda Rutledge
Narrated by: Ren Hanami
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About this listen

A powerful and emotional coming-of-age novel set amid the turmoil and profound changes of the 1960s by the bestselling author of West with Giraffes.

In segregated High Cotton, Texas, in 1964, the racial divide is as clear as the railroad tracks running through town. It’s also where two girls are going to shake things up.

This is the last summer of thirteen-year-old Corky Corcoran’s childhood, and her family hires a Haitian housekeeper who brings her daughter, America, along with her. Corky is quick to befriend America and eager to share her favorite new “grown-up” novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. America’s take on it is different and profoundly personal. As their friendship grows, Corky finds out so much more about America’s life and her hidden skill: she can run as fast as Olympian Wilma Rudolph!

When Corky asks America to play with her girls’ softball team for the annual church rivals game, it’s a move that crosses the color line and sets off a firestorm. As tensions escalate, it fast becomes a season of big changes in High Cotton. For Corky, those changes will last a lifetime.

Set on the eve of massive cultural shifts, Mockingbird Summer explores the impact of great books, the burden of potential, and the power of friendship with humor, poignancy, and exhilarating hope.

©2024 by Lynda Rutledge. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Coming of Age Friendship Historical Fiction United States Witty

Critic Reviews

“A brilliantly written coming-of-age novel that is set on the eve of massive cultural shifts throughout Texas and the American south, Mockingbird Summer is a deftly crafted novel by Lynda Rutledge.” Midwest Book Review

“This is a well-thought-out book with a plot that keeps the reader engaged and presents realistic situations from the early Civil Rights Movement. The characters are complex and the depiction of racism only furthers the reader’s compassion for such hateful actions. Highly recommended.” Historical Novel Society

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Coming of Age in the 60s

Great story about racial differences in the mid 60 and a girls awakening to the less pleasant side off life Well read too

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