The most highly anticipated book release of the year is almost officially upon us.
Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" will be released Tuesday but has already been widely discussed in the media and among literary fans.
The story takes place years after Lee's debut novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," takes place and features the same characters.
The first paragraph of the first chapter reads, "She grinned when she saw her first TV antenna atop an unpainted Negro house; as they multiplied, her joy rose."
"She" is Jean Louise Finch, known to "Mockingbird" fans as Scout.
Here are three things to know about the book.
1. Reese Witherspoon gets a cameo, sort of
A few select media outlets, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Guardian, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, received an advance copy of the novel.
Chapter 1 is available online in a few places.
The Guardian's presentation is a colorful, engaging layout packaged with ambient sound and a Reese Witherspoon narration.
2. The title comes from the Bible
"Watchman" will be printed by Harper, a Harper Collins imprint, and is the most preordered book in the company's history, according to the New York Times.
The book goes on sale Tuesday, July 14.
The title comes from the Bible passage Isaiah 21:6, "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth" and was the original intended title for "To Kill a Mockingbird," according to AL.com.
The "watchman" in the title is a reference to the moral compass, a historian told AL.com in February, which falls in line with the first novel's theme of fairness and equality.
>> RELATED: Find more on the book here.
The story begins with Scout Finch on a train, heading back to her town of Maycomb, based on Lee's hometown of Monroeville, Ala., because her father, Atticus, has rheumatoid arthritis.
"Henry closed the fingers of his right hand halfway and said, “He can’t close them any more than this. Miss Alexandra has to tie his shoes and button his shirts when they’re like that. He can’t even hold a razor."
>> RELATED: For more on Monroeville, click here.
3. 'Watchman' was written earlier but set later than 'Mockingbird'
The release of Lee's new novel isn't without some debate or controversy.
Reports of the author's new novel began to surface in February, but a New York Times report looks at whether the story was actually discovered in 2011.
Debate over the discovery and Lee's willingness to publish of the manuscript involves lawyers, confidentiality on behalf of Harper Collins, the publisher, and much more.
In a statement made about the manuscript by Lee's lawyer, Tonja Carter, on her behalf, the author said, "I hadn’t realized it had survived, so [I] was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it."
"Watchman" is Lee's second book, and the first one that she has authored in more than 50 years.
Lee was 34 when "Mockingbird" was published, and the book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961.
>> RELATED: Test your "Mockingbird" knowledge here.
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