YA Review: In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth

Erin is about to turn 16, and her dad has just announced he's going to marry again.  Erin's mom died when she was very young, but she's not crazy about the idea of getting a new mom when she barely knows her real mother.  One of the few things she does know is that her mom loved Harper Lee's book To Kill A Mockingbird, and that her mom once wrote Harper Lee a letter asking how you know if you have what it takes to be a writer.  Erin found her mom's old, battered copy of the novel in the attic, and has read it countless times-- so many times that it's become a sort of security blanket for her.
In a moment of desperation the night before her 16th birthday, Erin leaves her home in Minnesota and hops a Greyhound bus for Monroeville, Alabama on a quest to meet the reclusive author.  Secretly, Erin hopes to find out answers about herself as well as her mother by visiting with the author.  Loretta Ellsworth's novel is short, but she is able to show a change in Erin as the teenager meets new people and sees new places on her journey south.  The many references to Mockingbird make it an especially enjoyable read for the many people who've read the book; I think I high school students who've read it recently might especially enjoy it for that reason.  Some of the characters lack depth, and the story has an unsurprising ending.  However, it's a quick, fun read that focuses on loss, forgiveness, and like Mockingbird-- humanity and coming of age.