“The book to read is not the one that thinks for you but the one which makes you think.” -Harper Lee

On February 19, 2016, Ms. Harper Lee passed away due to her recent declining health. Author of best-selling novel To Kill A Mockingbird, and recently published Go Set A Watchman, Lee leaves behind many sullen hearts, with only their eighth grade copy of To Kill A Mockingbird to remember her by.

“The first time I read a work of Harper Lee’s, I was in the eighth grade and I wasn’t quite convinced of her brilliance. It wasn’t until later that I realized how great To Kill A Mockingbird actually is and that is why I am crying as I tell you this,” Mrs. Emily Potts says while wiping her eyes. Mrs. Potts is a lifelong fan.

Mr. David Potts proves his wife’s love for Harper Lee even further by describing their summer trip to Monroeville. “Instead of flying to New Orleans, Mrs. Potts decided that we should drive there in order to stop in Monroeville where Harper Lee grew up.”

Holding Lee in such a special place of her heart, Mrs. Potts was devastated to hear the news of her death.

Mrs. Judy Reynolds has been teaching To Kill A Mockingbird for twenty-one years. “I have always liked Harper Lee because she seems down to earth,” explains Mrs. Reynolds, “She helped students see a time period through the eyes of someone who lived through it.” Mrs. Reynolds bought Lee’s new novel, Go Set a Watchman, as soon as it came out; however, she has been reluctant to read it because she does not want it to “disillusion her perception of Atticus.”

Lee’s legacy will continue to live on–in English classrooms, in libraries, and in readers’ hearts for generations to come.

Harper Lee will be greatly missed; in the words of Mrs. Linda Yeatts, “Who is going to control Boo Radley?”