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51 52<link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> 53<link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml" /> 54<meta name="generator" content="WordPress 4.2.4" /> 55<link rel='canonical' href='https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/press/' /> 56<link rel='shortlink' href='https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/?p=213' /> 57 <style type="text/css">.recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding:0 !important;margin:0 !important;}</style> 58</head> 59 60<body class="page page-id-213 page-template page-template-press page-template-press-php masthead-fixed full-width singular"> 61 62<div id="page" class="press"> 63 64 65 <div id="header"> 66 <div id="logo"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/" rel="home">Marja Mills</a></div> 67 <div class="menu-main-container"><ul id="menu-main" class="nav-menu"><li id="menu-item-98" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-98"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/">Home</a></li> 68<li id="menu-item-11" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-11"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/about/">About</a></li> 69<li id="menu-item-12" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-12"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/book/">Book</a></li> 70<li id="menu-item-235" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page current-menu-item page_item page-item-213 current_page_item menu-item-235"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/press/">Press</a></li> 71<li id="menu-item-111" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-111"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/appearances/">Appearances</a></li> 72<li id="menu-item-13" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-13"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/contact/">Contact</a></li> 73</ul></div> <div class="line"></div> 74 </div> 75 76 77 <div id="main"> 78 79<div id="content"> 80 81 <header class="page-header"><h1 class="page-title">Press</h1></header><!-- .entry-header --> 82 <div class="page-content"> 83 84 85 <div class="press-item"> 86 <a target="_new" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-the-mockingbird-next-doorlife-with-harper-lee-by-marja-mills/2014/07/09/cd567a02-fc87-11e3-932c-0a55b81f48ce_story.html?wprss=rss_opinions"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/w-post-300x51.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p><strong>There are many reasons to be grateful for <em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em>, Marja Millsâs wonderful memoir of Harper Lee and her sister</strong>, and being enticed to re-read <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> is just one of them . . . <strong>[S]ympathetic and respectful it may be, but <em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em> is no sycophantic puff piece.</strong> <strong>It is a zesty account of two women living on their own terms yet always guided by the strong moral compass instilled in them by their father</strong> . . . It is also an atmospheric tale of changing small-town America; of an unlikely, intergenerational friendship between the young author and her elderly subjects; of journalistic integrity; and of grace and fortitude . . . Despite her enervating illness, <strong>Millsâs writing is energetic . . . <em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em> is warm yet wistful, a lament for the books Harper Lee never wrote .</strong> . .<strong>The world she depicts is sadly gone, but â lucky for us â she caught it just in time.</strong>“</p> 87</div> 88 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–The Washington Post</p> 89</div> 90 <div class="review-date">July 9, 2014</div> </div> 91 92 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 93 94 95 <div class="press-item"> 96 <a target="_new" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2014/07/14/the-mockingbird-next-door-life-with-harper-lee/12416643/"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/usa_today_01_logo_detail-300x169.gif" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“A lot of people have a lot of ideas about what it means to be American, but here’s one more: <i>To Kill a Mockingbird . . .</i>That fact alone makes <em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em>, a memoir by Chicago Tribune reporter Marja Mills about her friendship with the book’s author, Harper Lee, a valuable artifact. It’s also a thoughtful, sweet-tempered, witty piece of work . . . <strong><em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em> offers a winning, nuanced portrait. Indeed, given Lee’s deep privacy and advanced age, it seems unlikely we’ll ever have a better record of a remarkable American life.</strong>“</p> 97</div> 98 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–USA Today</p> 99</div> 100 <div class="review-date">July 14, 2014</div> </div> 101 102 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 103 104 105 <div class="press-item"> 106 <img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/vector-about-people-magazine-logo-item-magz-75569-300x127.png" /> <div class="review-text"><p>“[Marja Mills] has written an intimate, moving book about a rare talent.”</p> 107</div> 108 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–PEOPLE</p> 109</div> 110 </div> 111 112 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 113 114 115 <div class="press-item"> 116 <a target="_new" href="http://www.npr.org/2014/07/14/331050607/mockingbird-next-door-a-genteel-peek-into-harper-lees-quiet-life"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/fresh_air-300x300.png" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“<strong>Charming . . . <em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em> offers a rich sense of the daily texture of the Lee sisters’ lives</strong>
116 . . . The world that Mills was invited into over a decade ago has disappeared: both Alice (now 102) and Harper Lee (now 88) are in nursing homes, memories faded. Fortunately, in Mills, the sisters found a genteel family chronicler knocking at their door at the eleventh hour.”</p> 117</div> 118 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–Maureen Corrigan, NPR Fresh Air</p> 119</div> 120 <div class="review-date">July 14, 2014</div> </div> 121 122 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 123 124 125 <div class="press-item"> 126 <img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/the_oprah_magazine_logo_3512.gif" /> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“15 Titles to Pick up Now: <b>Mills has done what no writer before her could:</b> She got Harper Lee to open up about her life, her work, and why she never wrote another book.”</span></p> 127</div> 128 <div class="review-attribution"><p class="p1">âO The Oprah Magazine<br /> 129July 2014 The Best Books of Summer</p> 130</div> 131 </div> 132 133 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 134 135 136 <div class="press-item"> 137 <a target="_new" href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/07/12/review-the-mockingbird-next-door-life-with-harper-lee-marja-mills/EwniyOr6IgcXVH0rXkPp4O/story.html"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/the-boston-globe-300x87.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“A rare, surprising, and respectful look at the Lees and their milieu.”</p> 138</div> 139 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–The Boston Globe</p> 140</div> 141 <div class="review-date">July 12, 2014</div> </div> 142 143 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 144 145 146 <div class="press-item"> 147 <a target="_new" href="http://nypost.com/2014/07/13/this-weeks-must-read-books-37/"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Ny-post-logo-300x55.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“Itâs a testament to one-time <em>Chicago Tribune</em> reporter Millsâ skill â and being in the right place at the right time â that she befriended Lee and her lawyer sister, Alice, in the authorâs hometown of Monroeville, Ala., and was chosen to set the record straight on Lee. <strong>A wonderful, insightful and long overdue tale about the author of one of the greatest American novels.</strong>“</p> 148</div> 149 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–New York Post</p> 150</div> 151 <div class="review-date">July 13, 2014</div> </div> 152 153 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 154 155 156 <div class="press-item"> 157 <img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/vanity_fair.png" /> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Hot Type: The Mockingbird Sings: More important than these answers, however, is the voice of Lee herself — and <b>her message, which we still need to hear.”</b></span></p> 158</div> 159 <div class="review-attribution"><p class="p1">âVanity Fair<br /> 160July 2014 Fan Fair</p> 161</div> 162 </div> 163 164 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 165 166 167 <div class="press-item"> 168 <a target="_new" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-dormady-eisenberg/review-the-mockingbird-ne_b_5610030.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/huffington-post-logo-300x105.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“I’m grateful for the time Marja Mills spent with both Lee sisters and their perceptive hometown friends . . . a gentle and evocative portrait of Monroeville today . . . Ms. Mills’ brief, charming memoir offers a rare picture of the reclusive author in her later years, a valuable addition to Harper Lee lore. “</p> 169</div> 170 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–Huffington Post</p> 171</div> 172 <div class="review-date">July 23, 2014</div> </div> 173 174 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 175 176 177 <div class="press-item"> 178 <img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/elle-logo-black-300x102.jpg" /> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1"><i>â</i>In telling their story in <i>The Mockingbird Next Door</i>, <strong>Mills writes with the amazement of one who feels kissed by fate. We in turn are blessed with an intimate portrait of Lee.</strong>â</p> 179</div> 180 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âElle</p> 181</div> 182 <div class="review-date">July 2014</div> </div> 183 184 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 185 186 187 <div class="press-item"> 188 <a target="_new" href="http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/2014/julaug/coffee-with-harper-lee.html"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/logo.gif" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“…[U]nlike the masses that went before her, Mills pulls off a journalistic coup by getting first Lee’s sister Alice to open doors for her and then Lee herself . . . Mills has enjoyed unprecedented access to Lee, and we should be grateful for the tidbits she throws our way.”</p> 189</div> 190 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–Books & Culture</p> 191</div> 192 </div> 193 194 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 195 196 197 <div class="press-item"> 198 <a target="_new" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594205191/ref=s9_hps_bw_g14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=0KKWRVVTGCED35P5RF6Z&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1839461242&pf_rd_i=4919328011"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/a.com_logo_RGB-300x88.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“Underneath the plain, clear language of <em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em> is <strong>an enchanting, atmospheric portrait of two sisters and the southern town they inhabit</strong> (when Harper Lee is not living in New York). Mills makes a point of avoiding gossip, but that hardly matters. <strong>The book is compelling and charming; and it brings Harper Lee and her world, both past and present, to full life.</strong>“</p> 199</div> 200 <div class="review-attribution"><p><em>—</em>An Amazon Best Book of the Month Review, Chris Schluep</p> 201</div> 202 <div class="review-date">July 2014</div> </div> 203 204 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 205 206 207 <div class="press-item"> 208 <a target="_new" href="http://gardenandgun.com/article/books-mockingbird-next-door"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/garden_and_gun-300x53.png" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1">“<span style="font-weight: bold;">A skilled writer and storyteller… Mills found herself living a journalist’s dream:  drinking coffee at McDonald’s alone with Harper Lee</span>;  joining the sisters while they fed the ducks;  eating supper with them and neighboring friends. All along, we witness the telling, telling, telling of stories: stories about A.C. Lee, Nelle’s lawyer-father, the inspiration for her famous fictional character Atticus Finch;  stories about their hometown and its characters. We witness the sisters’ love of history, language books. We learn of family tragedies and hear about Nelle’s estrangement from Truman Capote:  we get a feel for Nelle’s need for privacy, her directness and occasional anger.</p> 209<p class="p1">From a personal angle (and this will ring true for many readers with older Southern relatives), this book helped me remember my mother and her sisters, their companionship and nurturing of each other, their play with language, their spats, their soft satire about a neighbor’s habits, their frugal stoicism (a Monroeville neighbor — as my mother did — refreezes used ice).</p> 210<p class="p2">It might even be an advantage that Mills was down from Chicago, peeking into a Southern community with an open mind, passing to the reader perspectives less likely to come from a Southerner. “</p> 211</div> 212 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âClyde Edgerton, Garden & Gun</p> 213</div> 214 <div class="review-date">June/July 2014</div> </div> 215 216 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 217 218 219 <div class="press-item"> 220 <a target="_new" href="http://www.shelf-awareness.com/max-issue.html?issue=109"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo-2-300x76.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“The development of trust and friendship between Mills and the Lee sisters took time, but even in those first minutes, the relationship was nearly unprecedented â¦<strong>Told charmingly in the Lees’ southern drawl and with the affection and closeness that the story reveals, <em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em> is quietly admiring and satisfyingly intimate</strong>, and will captivate not only fans of Lee’s great American novel, but fans of real people living modest lives in small-town Alabama, or anywhere.”</p> 221</div> 222 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âJulia Jenkins, Maximum Shelf Awareness<br /> 223June 25, 2014</p> 224</div> 225 </div> 226 227 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 228 229 230 <div class="press-item"> 231 <a target="_new" href="http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2014/06/16/sip-flip-spend-a-day-with-harper-lee/"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Southern-Living-Logo-300x69.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Reading <i>The Mockingbird Next Door </i>is like opening a window into Harper Leeâs private world. <b>As the window closes on the last page, weâre left with nostalgia for one of literatureâs greatest talents and the feeling we had the very first time we read her remarkable novel.”</b></span></p> 232</div> 233 <div class="review-attribution"><p class="p1"><span class="s1">âSouthern Living</span></p> 234</div> 235 <div class="review-date">July 2014 Sip and Flip (monthly book club)</div> </div> 236 237 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 238 239 240 <div class="press-item"> 241 <a target="_new" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/16/summer-books-oprah-magazine_n_5493537.html"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/OWN-Logo1-300x187.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><div style="text-align: center; height: 345px; margin-bottom: 16px;">
241<script src="http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=281&width=560&height=345&playList=518268206"></script>
241</div> 242<p>“<strong>Another real discovery</strong> … This intrepid journalist … learned more about the stories behind <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> and Harper Lee than anyone  before, after or since.”</p> 243</div> 244 <div class="review-attribution"><p class="p1">âLeigh Haber, Book Editor, O, the Oprah Magazine</p> 245</div> 246 <div class="review-date">June 2014</div> </div> 247 248 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 249 250 251 <div class="press-item"> 252 <img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/goodhousekeeping_logo.png" /> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“<b>This glimpse of a rare bird is delightful</b>.”</span></p> 253</div> 254 <div class="review-attribution"><p class="p1">âGood Housekeeping</p> 255</div> 256 <div class="review-date">July 2014 New Book Picks</div> </div> 257 258 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 259 260 261 <div class="press-item"> 262 <a target="_new" href="http://flavorwire.com/466343/truman-capote-was-a-psychopath-and-other-revelations-about-harper-lees-life-from-the-mockingbird-next-door?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/flavorwire_logo-300x62.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“<strong>Marja Millsâ engrossing first book . . . is an extraordinary account of roughly a decade in the day-to-day life of the reclusive writer behind one of Americaâs seminal texts: <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> </strong>. . . The result is a gentle read, best enjoyed over a mint julep, say, or some sort of sipping drink, that sheds some necessary light on a persistent literary mystery . . . This <strong>one-of-a-kind work</strong> may stand as the closest thing to an autobiography that weâre getting. Millsâ take on the Lee sisters . . . is <strong>a portrait of a lovely friendship between a searching young woman and some remarkable and intelligent sisters who have lived lives out of time</strong>.”</p> 263</div> 264 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–Flavorwire</p> 265</div> 266 <div class="review-date">July 10, 2014</div> </div> 267 268 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 269 270 271 <div class="press-item"> 272 <a target="_new" href="http://bookpage.com/reviews/16784-marja-mills-mockingbird-next-door#.U71dvLEpT9p"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/logo.png" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“A winning and affectionate account…<em>The Mockingbird Next Door</em> offers a tender look at one of our most beloved and enigmatic writers, as well as the town that inspired her.”</p> 273</div> 274 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–BookPage</p> 275</div> 276 </div> 277 278 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 279 280 281 <div class="press-item"> 282 <a target="_new" href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Southern-writers-secret-5633839.php"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/houston-chronicle-logo-300x40.gif" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“For <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> fans it’s a must-read.”</p> 283</div> 284 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–Houston Chronicle</p> 285</div> 286 <div class="review-date">July 20, 2014</div> </div> 287 288 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 289 290 291 <div class="press-item"> 292 <a target="_new" href="http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-mockingbird-next-door-life-with-harper-lee"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bookreporter_logo-300x45.png" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“Millsâs book is remarkable.”</p> 293</div> 294 <div class="review-attribution"><p>–Book Reporter</p> 295</div> 296 <div class="review-date">July 18, 2014</div> </div> 297 298 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 299 300 301 <div class="press-item"> 302 <a target="_new" href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59420-519-4"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/publishers_weekly-300x96.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p>“Here, Mills recounts the surprisingly easy and natural way she did indeed meet, first, older sister Alice, a still-practicing attorney in her 80s, and then Nelle, whose sharp, eccentric personality, keen opinions, and generous reminiscences make this a must-read for fans. Subjects covered include the tribulations attending a first-time novelist’s instant fame to Lee’s childhood friendship with Truman Capote.  An atmospheric image of the South, then and now, emerges as Mills recounts daily life with the sisters … <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nelle’s sweet friendship with Mills elicits a forthcoming portrait of the author, her family, her time, and her South that is thoughtful, witty and rich in feeling</span>.”</p> 303</div> 304 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âPublisher’s Weekly</p> 305</div> 306 <div class="review-date">May 19, 2014</div> </div> 307 308 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 309 310 311 <div class="press-item"> 312 <img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Booklist350-300x66.jpg" /> <div class="review-text"><p>“When the Lees express their hope that Mills will record their reminiscences and âset the record straight,â she rents the house next door and devotes herself to listening to tales of the Lee family; Nelleâs relationship with their childhood neighbor, Truman Capote (âTruman was a psychopath, honeyâ); and the nearly overwhelming repercussions of Nelleâs novel.  Millsâ struggles with lupus bring her even closer to the sisters.  <span style="font-weight: bold;">As she portrays the exceptional Lee women and their modest, slow-paced world with awed precision, Mills creates a uniquely intimate, ruminative, and gently illuminating biographical memoir.</span>“</p> 313</div> 314 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âDonna Seaman, Booklist</p> 315</div> 316 <div class="review-date">June 1, 2014</div> </div> 317 318 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 319 320 321 <div class="press-item"> 322 <a target="_new" href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marja-mills/the-mockingbird-next-door/"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/kirkus_500x95-300x57.png" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1">“Often, friends joined in the outings, breakfasts and dinners that Mills and Lee shared. Together, they watched two movies about Truman Capote, with whom Lee had worked as researcher for <em>In Cold Blood</em>; their relationship soured later. âTruman was a world-class gossip,â Lee told Mills.</p> 323<p class="p1"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The sistersâ trust that Mills was not a gossip is borne out in this charming portrait of a small Southern town and its most famous resident.”</span></p> 324</div> 325 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âKirkus</p> 326</div> 327 <div class="review-date">May 15, 2014</div> </div> 328 329 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 330 331 332 <div class="press-item"> 333 <a target="_new" href="http://libraryreads.org/july-2014-libraryreads-list/"><img class="review-logo" src="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Library-Reads-Logo-Color-266x300.jpg" /></a> <div class="review-text"><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“A warm and engaging telling of the life story of Harper Lee. Like no other biography, this book offers insights directly from Leeâs point of view as shared with the journalist she and her sister embraced in friendship late in their lives. <b>Informative and delightful!”</b></span></p> 334</div> 335 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âJan Fisher,  Fairfield Public Library, CT<br /> 336July 2014 LibraryReads Top 10</p> 337</div> 338 </div> 339 340 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 341 342 343 <div class="press-item"> 344 <div class="review-text"><p><i>“The Mockingbird Next Door</i> is <span style="font-weight: bold;">quirky, honest, unpretentious, delightful, insightful, and moves at its own sweet pace.</span> It is wholly unlike anything I’ve ever read, a reflection of both the author and her sympathetic subject. We should all be glad that Marja Mills went down to that Best Western in Monroeville in search of Harper Lee.â</p> 345</div> 346 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âDavid Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of<br /> 347<em>Barack Obama</em> and <em>First in His Class </em></p> 348</div> 349 </div> 350 351 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 352 353 354 <div class="press-item"> 355 <div class="review-text"><p>âYou might come to <i>The Mockingbird Next Door</i> to find out why Harper Lee never wrote another novel. But youâll stay with it for its <span style="font-weight: bold;">lush evocation of the South, and for the insight into what made this reclusive author the person she became.</span> In these pages, youâll see the book-crowded house where Harper Lee lives with her sister, Alice. Youâll go along on outings, sit in living rooms and at restaurant tables with the Lees, read faxes they and the author send back and forth, and appreciate the small and not-so-small revelations they offer: life when they were growing up with their father, who was the model for Atticus Finch; how reading sustains a person for a lifetime, how deeply embedded values donât change just because the times do, why itâs a good idea to regularly count the ducks you feed. I suppose we all thrill to the notion of learning personal things about a deeply private but world-famous person. What we donât necessarily expect to see is how gently, respectfully and, above all, naturally it can be done. While I a
355ppreciated getting to see and hear the ârealâ Harper Lee, I enjoyed as well the chance to meet Marja Mills, the woman who did what no one before her had because of her guileless trustworthiness, kindness, and care.â</p> 356</div> 357 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âElizabeth Berg, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>Open House</em></p> 358</div> 359 </div> 360 361 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 362 363 364 <div class="press-item"> 365 <div class="review-text"><p>âIn <i>The Mockingbird Next Door</i>, Marja Mills offers readers a rare gift, the opportunity to know an American icon. We all know that Harper Lee made a singular impact on American culture and letters with her classic <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>. But, we have never had the opportunity to know the great lady herself. Iâm so glad that she and her sister Alice Lee decided to open up their world to Mills. I promise that<span style="font-weight: bold;"> the real Harper Lee is more than worth the wait, and Alice Lee emerges as a fascinating character</span> in her own right. Mills was lucky enough to be invited into the lives of the Lee sisters, and itâs a treat for all of us to join her there.â</p> 366</div> 367 <div class="review-attribution"><p>âAndrew Carroll, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>War Letters</i></p> 368</div> 369 </div> 370 371 <p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/line.gif" alt="line" width="500" height="3"></p> 372 373 374 </div> 375 376 377 378<div id="sidebar"> 379 380 381<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-18" src="http://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/the_mockingbird_next_door-196x300.jpg" alt="the_mockingbird_next_door" width="196" height="300" /></p> 382<h3><strong><span style="color: #ff9900;">ORDER</span></strong></h3> 383<p><a href="http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781594205194,00.html?The_Mockingbird_Next_Door_Marja_Mills" target="_blank">penguin</a></p> 384<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Mockingbird-Next-Door-Harper/dp/1594205191/" target="_blank">amazon</a></p> 385<p><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mockingbird-next-door-marja-mills/1117225151?ean=9781594205194" target="_blank">barnes & noble</a></p> 386<p><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781594205194-0" target="_blank">powellâs </a></p> 387<p><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594205194" target="_blank">indiebound</a></p> 388<p><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Mockingbird-Next-Door/Marja-Mills/9781594205194?id=5976021016567" target="_blank">books a million</a></p> 389<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-mockingbird-next-door/id731072950?mt=11" target="_blank">iBooks</a></p> 390 391</div><!-- #sidebar --> 392 393 <br style="clear:both" /> 394 395 <div class="menu-footer-menu-container"><ul id="menu-footer-menu" class="footer"><li id="menu-item-79" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-79"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/">Home</a></li> 396<li id="menu-item-80" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-80"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/about/">About</a></li> 397<li id="menu-item-78" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-78"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/book/">Book</a></li> 398<li id="menu-item-234" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page current-menu-item page_item page-item-213 current_page_item menu-item-234"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/press/">Press</a></li> 399<li id="menu-item-127" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-127"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/appearances/">Appearances</a></li> 400<li id="menu-item-77" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-77"><a href="https://www.themockingbirdnextdoor.com/contact/">Contact</a></li> 401</ul></div> 402</div><!-- #content --> 403 404 405 </div><!-- #main --> 406 407 <footer id="colophon" class="site-footer" role="contentinfo"> 408 409 410 411 </footer><!-- #colophon --> 412 </div><!-- #page --> 413 414
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