Greer Bellamy

To Sing Like a Mockingbird is one of those books that sneaks up on you. At first glance, it’s a story about juvenile reform and small town politics, but by the end, it becomes a meditation on integrity and the price of sticking to your beliefs.

Justin Kopechne is written with refreshing honesty. He’s not a saint his rigidity often makes him difficult to support, but that’s exactly what makes him compelling. I admired his persistence with the boys at the reformatory, even as I cringed at the way his stubbornness pushed his wife away.

The sheriff’s arc was equally strong, showing how ambition and compromise chip away at good intentions until there’s nothing left but survival. The writing itself is spare and direct, which worked beautifully with the subject matter. This isn’t a book that hands you hope on a silver platter, but it leaves you with respect for the messy fight between conviction and reality.