As a 25 year veteran literature who has had the privilege of reading To Kill a Mockingbird with countless young people. As a 7 year school librarian, I have had the privilege of introducing the book to even more readers. So, my initial reaction to a sequel? Thrilled of course. What literary person, what reader, hasn’t wondered what happened to Scout. What was she like as a grown woman? What did she do with her life? So, I will order Go Set a Watchman, and I will read it. Likely, I will donate it to my school library, and I will encourage others to read it.

But...at some level, I find myself starting to wonder if Harper Lee is fully engaged in the process of this publication. I have read the stories of recent lawsuits; I have heard that she suffered badly after a stroke. I remember that Lee’s sister, largely responsible for the protection of the author’s privacy, has recently died.

The following articles in The Atlantic online shed some interesting light on the topic for me without providing any definitive answers.

“Harper Lee: The Sadness of a Sequel”

“How Harper Lee’s Long Lost Sequel Was Found”

Like so many others, I will be following this story with great interest in the months to come.