The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Recently I finished an amazing book. The Help by Kathryn Stockett is one of those books you fall in love with right away and it never disappoints. I have been hearing a lot of buzz about this book over the past couple months. I first heard about it from an online newsletter to which I subscribe. Then I read about it on a couple of book review blogs. And then last week it was featured on The Today Show segment - Spring into a Good Book. As you can imagine, my anticipation and excitement to read this book just kept growing as I heard more and more great things about it. Sometimes when that happens I end up very disappointed, but not this time. This book definitely lived up to its reputation. If any of you are in a book club and need a good title, I recommend The Help.

The Help, which is Kathryn Stockett's debut novel (!), takes place in the early 1960's in Mississippi. This is during the time of the Jim Crow laws regarding segregation of the races. The novel is told from the view points of three women - 2 black maids (Aibiliene and Minny) and one young, wealthy, white woman. Skeeter Phelan has just graduated from Ole Miss and much to her mother's dismay did not find a husband while a student there. She is now back living at home in Jackson, Mississippi and hoping to become a writer. Upon the advice of a New York editor, she sets out to write something that "really matters to her" and that hasn't already been written by someone else. She decides to write a collection of stories of the black maids of Jackson - in their own words. She wants to write the "true stories about maids and their experiences waiting on white families." As you can imagine the black maids are at first petrified to tell their stories to Skeeter. If they are caught, losing their jobs would be the least of their worries. Blacks are commonly beaten in Jackson for using the "white" toilet (even in error) or sitting at the wrong lunch counter. Eventually, 13 maids consent to tell Skeeter their stories for her book. These tales give the reader a personal view into the minds and lives of these maids that is heartwarming, tender and also filled with fear, humiliation and self-sacrifice. Through the telling of these stories, the reader is transported to a time before the Civil Rights Movement and is witness to the maids' and Skeeter's attempt to make a change in society - however small. The Help is a terrific book. One of the best I've read so far this year!

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Hanna Heath, an Australian rare book conservator, has been called to Sarajevo to analyze and conserve a mysterious codex. When Hanna discovers some tiny artifacts in the book’s binding, she begins to unravel the mysteries of the book’s tumultuous past. In alternating chapters, Brooks tells the story of the book’s journey through Seville, Tarragona, Venice, Vienna and finally to Sarajevo. Throughout the centuries the book is saved numerous times from the destructive forces of Anti-Semitism. Brooks weaves a tale of courage, strength and faith in each chapter as she tells the story of the book’s treacherous journey through time and the brave people who risked their lives to save it from destruction.

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The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty

Laura Moriarty’s debut novel, The Center of Everything, is the beautifully told coming of age story of Evelyn Bucknow, growing up in Kansas with her young and somewhat immature mother, Tina. Even though the deck seems to be stacked against her, Evelyn has a couple of things going for her. The first is her relationship with her overly-religious grandmother, who provides Evelyn with the stability that her mother is not always able to provide. Evelyn is also blessed with teachers who recognize her potential and provide her not only with encouragement and direction, but also serve as role models and mentors. As Evelyn grows from a self-conscious fourth grader through her high school graduation, she learns not only to believe in herself, but also to have faith in her surprisingly resilient mother.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossieni

In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini tells a story of Afghanistan, through the eyes of two women. In war-torn Afghanistan under the Taliban rule, Mariam and Laila find themselves married to an abusive man without recourse or means of escape. As their lives become more and more endangered, Mariam and Laila are forced to make dangerous and terrifying choices that will change their lives in irrevocable ways.

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