I've been on a reading bender for the past seven months now. I've pledged to read 100 books in 364 days. Not too sure if I'll get through 100 books, as I'm only on book 37 as of today, but I've enjoyed nearly all my time spent reading.
(Warning: May Contain Spoilers)
Today, I finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This is a book that is gripping from page 1. It tells the tale of an unlikely friendship between a white socialite and two black maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. Now anyone who knows anything knows that segregation was king in the 60s South, and this book offers a unique view of the forbidden intermingling of the well-liked Miss Skeeter and Aibileen, her friends' maid.
Miss Skeeter has big dreams of being a journalist in New York City. Despite her best efforts, she is stuck at her parents' home in the deep South writing for the local newspaper as a help columnist. After consulting with Aibileen on the Miss Myrna Column questions, Miss Skeeter crosses the invisible black and white line that separates the whites from the blacks and enters into an endeavor that could harm both herself, Aibileen and many other maids in the city.
Written from multiple perspectives, Stockett delivers a home run on her first novel. The #1 New York Times Bestseller "could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird...If you read only one book...let this be it." (NPR.org)
