A monumental two million copies of Harper Lee’s long-lost novel Go Set a Watchman will be printed and sold around the world this summer, nearly six decades after the book was originally written. Stranger still, Lee, now 88 and living in an assisted living facility due to poor physical and mental health, had vowed never to publish again. Perhaps the epic status of To Kill a Mockingbird intimidated even its author.

In its 55 years of print, To Kill a Mockingbird’s status has changed from literary masterpiece to a school primer on the civil rights issues in the 1930s South. What do St. Paul Academy and Summit School students think about this unusual, gotta-have phenomenon?

Junior Cait Gibbons articulated the common opinion that To Kill a Mockingbird is “a well-written, iconic book.” Other SPA students, unable to recall details of Mockingbird, showed tepid interest in the upcoming Go Set a Watchman’s entertainment value, though most seem to be aware this follow-up book has literary value and historical significance.

Perhaps this is because To Kill a Mockingbird has sold a million copies every year since its release. Within 10 days of its announcement, Go Set a Watchman hurtled to the top of the Amazon Bestseller list. Evidence of the impressive reaction to the release and an opportunity to add to the unreleased book’s popularity can be found at Amazon.

Despite the encouraging response from English teachers and Amazon customers around the world, some SPA students reacted to the release with questionable enthusiasm. Unimpressed, senior Brian Heilig recalled what he has read about the book in the news: “like the original book, but with flashbacks.” Heilig, with seniors Eliot Tong and Roy Larkins, take turns listing the original book’s memorable themes and characters. Tong hit the points of racial and judicial injustices toward the black Tom Robinson. Larkins remembered Robert Ewell antagonizing Atticus Finch in the courts of Maycomb. The seniors became animated as Heilig detailed the Maycomb kids’ erroneous assumptions about their mysterious, yet morally-principled neighbor, Boo Radley.

Go Set a Watchman is neither a departure from nor an orthodox sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. According to National Public Radio, Go Set a Watchman was actually written before To Kill a Mockingbird. The most exciting escapades of To Kill a Mockingbird are reprocessed fragments of Go Set a Watchman, making the “new” novel more like a dusty first draft of the instant classic.

The already-bestseller reboots To Kill a Mockingbird star Scout, her lawyer father, and her hometown Maycomb, but features a time frame shifted twenty years into the future. Just as To Kill a Mockingbird has become a classroom staple, Go Set a Watchman’s new time period, the racial rumpus of the 1950s, has potential to provide an updated view of civil rights to students. In an interview with The Guardian regarding Lee’s new release, Dr. Ian Patterson of Cambridge University contemptuously said, “I can’t but imagine it must be of historical interest rather than anything else, at this point.”

Sophomore Sarah Wheaton challenged this expert’s opinion. “I really liked To Kill a Mockingbird, but Lee has never written anything else. I’m looking forward to reading Go Set a Watchman to see if she can meet our expectations with a new book,” she said.

Most members of the modern literary community agree that Lee is still an amateur writer, having only drafted three books and publishing one. Somehow, despite her lack of experience, Lee has synthesized enough success for people to regard her limited work with renown. This oddity deserves respect.

The literary and SPA community are concerned the increasingly frail Lee is not getting respect for her original wishes, but is being manipulated by her lawyer, who found the long-last draft in an attic last summer. Lee, who has always shied away from the spotlight, suddenly wants Go Set a Watchman to see the light of day. Suspiciously, the book remains unacknowledged by Lee’s official website. Contradicting previous statements and her quiet character, Lee announced the release of her new, old book to the shock of millions of her fans.

“People are worried she might be being exploited… and people wonder why she is releasing it now, at the most vulnerable position in her life,” sophomore Heba Sandozi said. Sandozi also said that she is aware Lee was left forgetful, blind, and deaf after suffering a stroke in 2007. Next, Lee’s physical and mental impairments were intensified upon the recent loss of her 103-year old sister and lawyer, nicknamed by her neighbors “Atticus in a skirt,” according to The Washington Post.

Despite the undetermined entertainment value and suspicious circumstances of publication, the release of Go Set a Watchman will be watched by all upon its release on Jul. 14.