#FirstImpressionFriday: Go Set A Watchman

Harper Lee is a name synonymous with American literature. She captured history and heart in To Kill a Mockingbird, and I know the book pretty well. I've read it, taught it, and grown to love it, so I was both excited and nervous to hear that Lee was planning on publishing a follow up: Go Set A Watchman. Everyone has been buzzing about the news since the announcement earlier this year, and today, just four days before it's release, the first chapter was made available online!

You can read the first chapter of Go Set A Watchman at the Guardian, where there are some lovely illustrations, as well as an audio version narrated by Reese Witherspoon.

Set twenty years after To Kill a Mockingbird, the excerpt comes across in Lee's signature storytelling style - as Scout, now Jean Louise, returns to Maycomb, where things have certainly changed. A major spoiler is revealed in the first chapter, and it's a heartbreaker. But we are also introduced to an exciting new character who has the potential to make some waves in Jean Louise's life.

I was disappointed not to have been reunited with Atticus in the excerpt, but it was a reminder that this has always been Scout's story. It's easy to see that a little of that precocious tomboy remains in the grown up Jean Louise, and I'm excited to see more of that side of her come out.

I have to admit I didn't know if I would be as enamored with Lee's sequel as I was with her debut, but after getting my hands on the first chapter, I'm super excited for the book's release on July 14th. I can't wait to see what else Lee has in store for Jean Louise, and I can't wait to be reunited with some old friends along the way.

If you haven't read the first chapter of Go Set A Watchman, you can read it here. If you have, share your first impressions/thoughts/opinions/cupcakes with me in the comment section below!

UPDATE: I haven't purchased Go Set A Watchman, but it's definitely on my wish list! That list is probably 6 feet long at this point, but I'll never stop adding to it. NEVER! *evil cackle* What can I say? I'm an addict.