The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I've been waiting for a long time to read this book!  It was so popular at my library that I was about 12th on the reservation list, they changed the check-out time to two weeks instead of three, and I couldn't renew if I wanted to.  So I was hoping it was as good as all that.  And it sure was!

The story is set in Mississippi in the 1960's, and follows the lives of black women working as household servants and child care.  The attitudes of most whites in that time and place are still that of blacks being inferior, but one young white woman hatches a plan to expose the horrendous, but also often heart-warming, treatment of the 'help.'  She has to very secretly meet with house maids, gain their trust, and compile their stories, all while faced with unreasonable deadlines and an editor from New York who has shown only mild interest in the idea.  Throughout the book, the treatment of these women range from tragic and outrageous, to kind and generous, and sometimes they fight back in their own subtle and funny way.

This was an enjoyable book to read, even though it had its low points as far as the hardships the author writes about.  I definitely recommend it!