A charming if somewhat unrealistic tale of a 16 year old girl named Erin who receives an unusual gift for her 16th birthday. The gift is the diary that her mother kept as a teenager. This means a lot to Erin as her mother died when she was a baby and she is frustrated by the fact that her father never talks about her. She does have her mothers well worn and scribbled in copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and now she has her mother's diary. She is so upset about her father's upcoming remarriage that she decides to act upon a idea she has had for a while--to travel to the town where Harper Lee lives. Somehow she feels like this will help her connect with her mother and sort out the issue in her life. So off she goes, travelling by bus, and so the story plays out as a pilgrimage tale, not only for Erin but also for the people that she meets and befriends while she is on the bus.
I enjoyed this short and sweet story, however parts of it seemed very far fetched to me. My book group discussed it and while it didn't make for a long discussion it did bring up some interesting points about the role of literature and authors in our lives. I'd suggest it if you'd like a quick feel good read. ( )

Pleasant but unremarkable. ( )

Erin’s favorite book is To kill a mockingbird, partly because it’s such a good book and partly because it was her mother’s favorite, too. The day before her 16th birthday, Erin’s receives her mother’s diary — a precious link to the woman who died when Erin was a baby. She finds out her mother wanted to be a writer, just like she does, and even wrote a letter to Harper Lee, the author of To kill a mockingbird. Suddenly, Erin can’t stand it anymore.

She leaves in the middle of the night and buys a Greyhound bus ticket to Alabama. She’s going to go to Monroeville and find Harper Lee, to ask advice on becoming a writer and to find out if her mother’s letter was ever answered.

It’s a long trip and Erin meets some interesting people along the way, who help her and are helped by her in return. Will she make it to Alabama before the police catch her and take her home? And if she does, will Harper Lee be home when she arrives?

This is a short, sweet novel about the connections between people: Erin and her dead mother, Erin and her father, Erin and the people she meets on the bus, and even Erin and Harper Lee. ( )

I really like this book. I did read Mockingbird, and think that if you did not read it, that before reading this book you should read that one.

I like how the main person goes on adverture like the main person in Mockingbird ( )

Erin has never met her mother, who died when she was two, and among the only possessions she has from her is a marked-up copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. Recognizing the book’s impact on her mother’s life and also her desire to meet Harper Lee, Erin herself runs away to meet the author, meeting along the way a series of characters who help her learn more about herself and her relationship with the woman she no longer remembers. This book is simply written and would be great for younger teens. ( )