I’ve always wondered how bad this book actually was.. It reads like a sad attempt to recreate To Kill a Mockingbird, except this one is set in the Civil Rights Era and topples in on itself with its didacticism. I can’t say I really cared about the characters, even the ones who weren’t as annoying as the 14-year-old white heroine. Maybe the adolescent voice is just that convincing?

I am appreciating Kafka on the Shore much more now.