Set in High Cotton, Texas in the summer of 1964, Mockingbird Summer is Kate “Corky” Corcoran’s coming of age story. Now that she is 13, Corky’s spends her summer working at the soda fountain at her father’s drugstore. When her father hires Evangeline and her daughter, America, to help out Corky’s mom with the housework, Corky’s life is irrevocably changed. America is fast and an incredible athlete. Which means she is the perfect addition to the Baptist Church’s girls’ softball team, except for that fact that in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, High Cotton is still a segregated town. Through her friendship with America and her first reading of To Kill A Mockingbird, Corky begins to understand the realities of her world. Tensions are high and come to a head at the annual summer softball game.

Though a bit naïve, Corky is a great vehicle for this story. While the majority of the action of the book happens to her, it is the actions that are happening around her that ultimately shape who she becomes at the end of the story. I appreciated the flash forward from 1964 to the present. So many books end leaving you to wonder what happens to the characters, but in this case, there is a very clean wrap up to the plot.

A powerful coming of age story that really emerses you into the world of a small Texas town back in the 60's. I enjoyed this book so much and highly recommend it.

I was super excited to get this ARC as I am a huge fan of both To Kill A Mockingbird and the author's West With Giraffes. This was a solid coming of age story featuring a white girl in a Texas small town in the 1960s. Although not officially designated a Young Adult novel, it reads like one. This book highlighted for me the remarkable contrast between the relative innocence of youth growing up in a time period well before cable TV and social media (i can not imagine a 13 year old today not knowing some of the things the main character did not know) and the terrible racist statements and behaviors that they were exposed to. Although the book had a clear main character I appreciated the rich development of other characters as well, including the dog. I appreciated the author tying things up at the end after what felt like a fairly abrupt ending to the original storyline.

West With Giraffes was one of my favorite books last year, and I was very excited to read this new release from Lynda Rutledge.

Mockingbird Summer is a very powerful coming of age story about Corky Corcoron and America. Two brave teens whose curiosity had them challenging the racial divide in segregated High Cotton, Texas.
Their forbidden friendship sparked by their mutual love of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Rutledge crafted her characters beautifully with distinctive personalities,and the girl's naivety to the rasism and an unkind world touched my heart. Also, her description of the 1960s era was well researched and very engaging.
Rutledge expertly captures life in a small town and the racial tension of the era during the Civil Rights Movement and I think this novel would be perfect for bookclubs or buddy reads. It would spark some great discussions about the importance of the story.

I really enjoyed the glimpse into history and will continue to read everything Lynda Rutledge writes.

Thank you to Netgally and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I read about a quarter of this book before deciding it’s not the right fit for me. It reads a bit juvenile (more like a teen book than an adult book with the way things are frequently unnecessarily explained). I think I may have enjoyed this read as a teen, but not so much as an adult. While the characters are interesting and I appreciate the way To Kill A Mockingbird (a book I absolutely love) is woven into the story, the character’s reactions and actions felt a bit too naive and like the story is leading in a “white-savior trope” direction, making me lose interest.

Thank you NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Lynda Rutledge for a free e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This was my first book by this author and I loved this story! Amazing characters! Highly highly recommend.

I loved this story and its a must-read for anyone who dreams of a world where love and humanity can triumph over hate and division.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

All thoughts and opinions are my own thoughts and feelings and aren't influenced by anyone else

I really have enjoyed reading, Mockingbird summer. Corky is a great character and the story line is educational and also keeps your entertained. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read this book!

I love Corky, it seems she is desperately trying to figure out and understand the way things work in the turmoil of the 1960s and more than once, her good intentions go awry. Yes, it is a coming of age story told from a 13-year-old girl’s point of view, but that makes it all the more fresh and endearing. There are lots of things to think about concerning our past for those of us who are old enough to remember the 60s, but also, for the way we view things and people nowadays. I loved this author since West with Giraffes, and I love this book. I would highly recommend this author to everyone, but especially to those who like to escape the times we live in for a time gone by and the simplicity of the past, warts and all. Thank you NetGalley for this advance read copy.

Unfortunately, I am DNFing this title. I love the premise of the novel and jump at the chance to read anything related to the 1960s. I'm sure that the book is wonderful when read by the right audience, but the writing style and narration were quite jarring to me. This is marketed as an adult book about a young girl, but it seems much more like a YA or MG book, and not in a good way. I am disappointed, but there it is.

This book follows Corky Corcoran as she navigates life in the 1960s segregated South. The plot is based on To Kill a Mockingbird and indeed, the characters mirror the ones in the book. Corky is as lovable as Scout and Mack makes a great Jem. The writing is really good and engaging, too! However, it moves very slowly and nothing much happens until the end. So, while I love the characters, I hesitate to teach it because it moves so slowly, though I am sure my students would adore the characters. I am grateful for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you.

Mockingbird summer is a stunning masterpiece that transported me to the sweltering heat of High Cotton, Texas, in 1964. I was completely swept up in the transformative friendship between Corky and America, two brave and curious girls who dared to challenge the suffocating racial divide that defined their town. Through their story, I felt the thrill of forbidden friendship, the ache of broken barriers, and the triumph of courage over prejudice. The author's masterful storytelling painted a world so vivid, I could smell the fresh-cut grass and feel the sting of injustice. The characters' struggles and triumphs left an indelible mark on my heart, reminding me that even in the face of systemic oppression, individual acts of courage and empathy can spark a revolution. This book is a must-read for anyone who dreams of a world where love and humanity can triumph over hate and division.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.♥️

When young Corky reads “To Kill a Mockingbird” for the first time it changes her perspective to the world around her. As this 13 year old navigates life during the end of segregation and the beginning of the Civil Rights Act she gains a new view of her small Texas town.

Watching Corky learn what segregation is and begin to realize how to affects her day to day life all while learning about the value of friendship made this story one of my top reads in 2023. I have already sent my friends pre-order links.

This was my first read in the historical fiction genre and I absolutely loved it. I have been growing more interested in history as I have gotten older and I found reading this book not only entertaining but educational. If there is one thing that I feel can make or break a book, it’s the research the author put into it. I can tell that every line of this book was researched thoroughly and the effect of that is I, myself, felt like I lived in Corky’s neighborhood.

I absolutely cannot wait to watch this book succeed in 2024.

This book is about many things. It’s a coming-of-age book. It's about small-town life in Texas. It's about racial tensions in the South in the 1960s. It’s about a dog named Roy Rogers (Roy for short ) who can intuit that when there is something in the air. All of these themes intertwine.

Corky (real name Kathryn) is our 13-year-old main character. She had no idea that racism existed until she wanted her friend, America, to join the girls' softball team. America is of Haitian descent. This sets off a series of events that cause Corky to realize that there is a “colour line” that is hard to cross. Corky is fighting her idealism against reality and racism.

At times it is painful to remember how divided the country was between black and white. These were the days of the lunch counter sit-ins. Even though society has made progress, there is still a long way to go.

The story is full of interesting characters. Some weren't likeable but I believe that they are realistically depicted. Of course, Corky was my favourite. She is so full of questions, she wants to know and understand how the world operates. And, Roy Rogers, the dog, managed to get himself involved in everything. He is lovable.

I love the depiction of life in the small town, racism aside. I love the idea of a soda fountain in the drugstore, dogs can roam around at will (I realize it's not safe), customers coming to the lunch counter with the same order every day, local girls' baseball. It was a much different time.

This is a very satisfying read. I appreciate the Epilogue at the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

3.5 stars, rounded down
I couldn’t wait to read Mockingbird Summer for two reasons. First, I adored West With Giraffes. But also, this takes place in 1964, and the 60s were such a time of incredible change. “Corky had just turned thirteen. During her short life, the country had already experienced the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy assassination, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.” This hit home for me, as I would have been just a bit younger than Corky in 1964. Turns out, Lynda Rutledge is also of a similar age and grew up in a segregated town like High Cotton. Unfortunately, the book didn’t work for me the way West With Giraffes did.
The book isn’t identified as YA, but the writing totally comes across as if YAs are the intended audience. I guess it is to be expected with a thirteen year old MC but too often I felt the author was talking down to me, explaining things that would be obvious to any adult. This excessive information slowed the pace of the story down to a crawl at times. The narrative style is omniscient and we seem to hear from everyone in the family. I could have done without Roy Rogers, the dog (not the cowboy) being anthropomorphized.
The story deals with all sorts of serious issues - racism, segregation and the civil rights movement, women’s rights and the growing conflict in Vietnam. . But it’s all very simplistic. There are good guys and bad guys. I wanted more gray shading, more nuance, in the characters. But there was still a great sense of suspense and I was invested to see what would happen and how things would play out. I liked that at least the ending of the book was ambiguous and she didn’t attempt to tie everything up in a neat bow.
My thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Loved! This book reminded me of Because of Winn-Dixie because of the family dog, Roy Rogers, who had his own chapter. Also reminded me of Fannie Flagg books for its small town description.

I grew up about the same time and it really took me back. Corky was a fun character and felt real. I felt her angst when she felt she had insulted America and possibly ruined their friendship. There were a lot of characters but they all felt real, likeable or not, just like a small town. The ending did not disappoint either. Excellent book! Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Every so often a book comes along that leaves me breathless, and this book is one of those rare gifts. Mockingbird Summer is reminiscent of one of my favorite books of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird. Yet, not at all derivatives and taking place in the 1960’s, like the girl in To Kill a Mockingbird, who was confused about race relations, young Corky Corcoran navigates the part of the Civil Rights Movement that touches the little town of High Cotton, TX, in which she lives.

I’m not going to discuss the plot or what happens: you will have to read this remarkable and touching book for yourself. Suffice to say that young Corky, who grows up to be the adult Kate, is deeply changed by the events of the summer over which this book unfolds, starting with making her first Black friend, an older girl named America who literally lives on the other side of the tracks.

Reading this book brought me back to the events of that era, when I was a young teenager myself. Things changed so drastically and often so violently, even in the middle west where I lived, that I will never forget them. The characters in this book are rich, often funny, often mischievous, and some of the bit players downright wacky, and totally relatable. I almost cried at the end, and with good reason.

Please read this remarkable, moving story that is worthy of ten stars.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Rutledge.

Mockingbird Summer is the coming of age story of Corky Corcoran, a 13 year old tomboy living in small town Texas in 1964. It is a summer of change for Corky as she has her first kiss, but more importantly meets America, a 16 year old Black girl from the other side of town. The impact of that relationship is lifelong. While they only know each other a short time, the events of those weeks change Corky considerably.

Drawing inspiration from To Kill a Mockingbird and from her own life (as told in the Author’s Note), Lynda Rutledge’s novel is compelling and insightful. We get a glimpse into a turbulent time in our country’s history told from the perspective of a young, naive, curious girl. I really enjoyed this novel, the first I’ve read from this author and will certainly be putting her earlier novels on my TBR list.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Corky is a 13-year old girl in the racially segregated 1960s, High Cotton, Texas. Her friend America is 16 and has super athletic skills so she wants to join the local softball team. Corky now starts to witness the racial division, the scandal in town, the challenging norms and defying them. She also navigates teen emotions and their friendship.
A coming of age story, but the narration had so many details it kept slowing my reading down, maybe it wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

Book Title: Mockingbird Summer
Author: Lynda Rutledge
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pub Date: January 30, 2024
My Rating: 4.5 rounded up
Pages: 303

. Our protagonist Kathryn Kay ‘Corky’ Corcoran is turning thirteen and her little world revolves around her father’s drugstore, the library, church, and school. The Librarian, Miss Raynelle Delacourt knows Corky loves to read and believes that now is a good time for her to read the 1930’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Corky Corcoran is about to burst from tomboy to full-blown teenage boy crazy and then hopefully a young adult.

Corky's mother Belle contracted polio as a child leaving one leg weaker than the other so father hires\Evangeline a woman from Haiti to help with the household help. She has a sixteen year old daughter America Evangeline Willcox. Corky quickly befriends America’ and takes her to softball practice with her. Corky immediately recognizes America’s athletic ability and talks her into playing for the church’s softball team. However this sets off a racially divided High Cotton, Texas. Corky doesn’t understand the racial division; but there are some folks in town who definitely have feelings as to who belongs where.

Story is based somewhat on ‘o Kill a Mockingbird’ thus the title of this story.

This is a great story. The ending is GREAT!

Additionally I love the ‘Author’s Note- in fact, it is a story in itself!
I also remember the 60’s. I grew up in a small blue collar town in West Virginia.
I also enjoyed her Acknowledgements. I truly appreciate when the author takes time to give us the background information; love the ‘inside scoop on the motivation and/or inspiration in writing a story.

Also want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 30, 2024.