To Sing Like a Mockingbird by Jan Notzon
StoryGraph Summary: This book is ideal for readers who appreciate morally complex narratives about idealism clashing with corruption, set against the backdrop of small-town power struggles and personal relationships.
To Sing Like a Mockingbird by Jan Notzon ~ #BookReview #LiteraryFiction 
#bookblog #BlogTour #tosinglikeamockingbird #breakevenbooks
Book Details
To Sing Like a Mockingird by Jan Notzon
Published by Independently Published on January 13, 2025
Genres: Literary Fiction
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 398
Justin Kopechne, an idealist butting up against the real world fights for all he is worth to educate/rehabilitate juvenile delinquents in a reformatory in nowhere, Texas. Two friends, one a minor capo in a drug cartel, the other a sheriff in Starmount County, cross paths with him as the capo tries to steer him away from getting involved while the sheriff succumbs to help from the cartel to win his reelection. At home, Justin alienates his wife and locks horns with his cynical brother and sister-in-law.
Source: BreakEven Books
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Purchase Links for To Sing Like a Mockingbird
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Notzon, Jan (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 333 Pages - 02/11/2025 (Publication Date)
Also available in Paperback
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Purchase Jan Notzon books online from your local bookstore.
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My thoughts on To Sing Like a Mockingbird
Jan Notzon’s To Sing Like a Mockingbird isn’t just a story—it’s a gut punch. It pulls you into a world where morality isn’t black and white, idealism gets tested at every turn, and where the weight of our choices and circumstances shapes who we become.
Set in the harsh environment of an impoverished area of Texas, the novel’s main protagonist is Justin Kopekne, a teacher who truly believes in the power of education to change lives. But when his brightest student, Míriam, is murdered, his faith in the system—and in himself—starts to crumble. After the school is shut down, Justin needs time to process his grief. He retreats to his brother and sister-in-law’s home, only to find himself confronting an even deeper reckoning: the starkly different paths he and his childhood friends have taken.
One of those friends is now a cartel capo, fully entrenched in the drug trade. The other is a sheriff who, despite being on the “right” side of the law, isn’t exactly an upstanding moral character. Justin is caught in the middle, a man who once shared a deep bond with both but now struggles to recognize who they’ve become or perhaps who they always were. The novel doesn’t hand out easy answers. Instead, it asks: Do we shape our own destinies, or are we just playing out the hands we’ve been dealt?
Notzon’s writing doesn’t pull any punches. He digs into his characters’ flaws and complexities, making sure no one comes out looking like a saint. Even Justin, with all his good intentions, wrestles with disillusionment and doubt. The book takes a hard, honest look at what it means to believe in change and if that change is even possible in today’s world.
If you’re looking for a feel-good story where justice wins and everything wraps up neatly, this isn’t it. To Sing Like a Mockingbird is raw, complex, and sometimes painful, but it’s the kind of novel that stays with you long after you turn the last page. It’s also one that would make for an incredible book club discussion. See below for a list of possible discussion questions to get you started.
Book Club Questions
- The title To Sing Like a Mockingbird carries strong symbolism. What do you think it represents in the story?
- The book highlights how different characters’ lives become unexpectedly connected. Which relationships or interactions stood out to you the most?
- Míriam is an important, pivotal character in the story. How did her fate affect your reading experience?
- Did the novel challenge or reinforce any of your own beliefs about education, justice, or morality?
- The story takes place in a South Texas school/reformatory. How does the setting shape the novel’s themes and tone?
- What did you think of the way the novel depicted the drug trade and its impact on individuals and communities?
- Would you recommend this book to your book club?
I received a digital copy of the book from the author, publisher, or tour company.
This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.
Unless otherwise noted, books are from my library or Kindle Unlimited.
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I love to read books through my Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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About Jan Notzon
Jan Notzon is a novelist and playwright who has made Charlotte, NC his home since 1994.
His first novel, The Dogs Barking, is a coming-of-age story set in a sleepy backwater Texas border town in the 1950s, through the dislocation of university life in the ’60s and on to the raw, frenetic power of New York City. His second novel, And Ye Shall Be As Gods, recounts a brother’s fight to rescue his beloved sister from the clutches of despair and his lost love from the prison of catatonia. The Id Paradox, is the story of three friends, assumed betrayal, rescue and healing from the horrors of spiritual annihilation. His fourth, Song for the Forsaken, chronicles the tale of two sisters and the loss of faith that tests the bond between them. His penultimate, Suffer Not The Mole People, tells the story of his ancestors’ perilous emigration from 19th century Poland. His recently published, ONLY THE DEAD (Know the End of War), chronicles the lives of three families, two Mexican and one Anglo as they make their way to the showdown of the founding of the Texas Republic. His most recently published novel, To Sing Like a Mockingbird tells the story of one young man’s fight to mature beyond naïve idealism.
He has also written seven full-length plays, a one-act, The Forsaken, which was produced in two different venues in New York City and premiered in Columbia, SC. His play The Cosmological Constant was workshopped and presented as a staged reading at Actors’ Theatre in Charlotte, NC by the Applebox Production Company. His play When Good Men Do Nothing was a finalist in the Dramarama Competition in San Francisco. He has also written one children’s story, The Gift of Arbol Ceiba.
Jan has also worked as an actor, appearing on Another World, Search for Tomorrow, Matlock, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and, most recently, in Beverly Lewis’ The Confession on The Hallmark Channel, a work directed by Michael Landon Jr., starring Adrian Paul and Sherry Stringfield.
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Tour Schedule
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More BreakEven Book Tours I’ve Done
Your Career Your Business by Gina Cajucom
Sunny Gale by Jamie Lisa Forbes
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