The friendship of Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote, inspiration for Scout and Dill in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is fictionalized in “a flavorful bowl of southern homestyle yarns.”

A girl dressed like a boy and a boy dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy meet and become fast friends in Monroeville, Alabama, “sometime in the Great Depression.” They contrive adventures to spice up life in Monroeville, and their stories add up to a fine re-creation of small-town Southern life. Young readers will enjoy Nelle and Tru’s treehouse, adventure at the courthouse, their brush with the Ku Klux Klan, Nelle’s father, Amasa Coleman Lee, staring down the Grand Dragon, and reclusive spooky neighbor Sonny Boular firing their imaginations. Older readers, including all of the teachers of the classic novel, will see in these childhood adventures the makings of To Kill a Mockingbird, and the author’s note adds helpful information and mentions Go Set a Watchman without getting into the intricate relationship of that novel to its famous offspring. Since Nelle and Tru loved writing stories, Neri even includes “reimagined” short stories from Nelle’s and Tru’s lives. The charming and elegantly written novel doesn’t shy away from issues of mental illness, child abandonment, and racism, but they are woven neatly into the fabric of the characters’ lives in the tiny Southern town.

An engaging portrait of two children’s world before they became famous. (Historical fiction. 10-12)

-Kirkus Review

Definitely meant for a young audience, this sweet story is the slightly fictionalized friendship between Truman Capote and Harper Lee. I’ve been to their hometown and seen the rock wall between the plots where they used to live. This would be a great introduction for people who know less about famous authors. It’s a bit disjointed, but I love all the real facts that are worked into the story.

“One thing I learned on the river is that if you don’t act scared, you can talk to anyone.” ( )

Fun story based on the real-life friendship of Capote and Lee that feels very nostalgic. ( )

3.5 ( )