Submitted by: Garrett Lenderman
I didn’t fall in love with reading until I was forced to read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
I read this great American novel for an English course in middle school because, like most troublemakers, I trapped myself in a compromising position. I could read the book, ace the test, and pass the class, or I could go to summer school. It was an easy decision for me to make, and to my surprise, I didn’t have to force myself to read the book. In fact, I blazed through it.
![To Kill A Mockingbird, picture of a bird on a branch](https://bookspring.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/mockingbird-300x200.jpg)
As a lifelong fan of superheroes, encouraged by a flexible bedtime, on nights my mother and I would watch the non-hit TV series Lois and Clark, I enjoyed comparing Atticus Finch to Superman. The two characters inspired me in similar ways. I saw them both as people who did the right thing in the face of adversity, and also as people who refused to take the easy way out.
![Harper Lee Quote Bravery](https://bookspring.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Harper-Lee-Quote-300x200.jpg)
Unlike Superman, To Kill a Mockingbird showed me that it didn’t take superpowers to do something meaningful or extraordinary. Anyone who does the right thing can be someone else’s hero.
![Harper Lee Quote Point of View](https://bookspring.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Harper-Lee-Quote2-300x166.jpg)
Age: 25
Title: Researcher and Writer
Hometown: Roswell, Georgia
Atticus Finch and Superman
![](https://bookspring.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/to-kill-a-mockingbird-blog-720x-480.jpg)