the one that EVERYONE is reading.

I can totally see this book becoming a movie.  Kathryn Stockett, the author, sounds like she's loaded and grew up without a care or concern in this world.  She's a good author though and she knows how to spin a tale.  In this case, a tale of 3 women who anonymously write a book about the domestic help in Jackson, Mississippi and the horrid racism that existed there in the 1960s and probably still lingers.

That Hilly Holbrook . . . she is about the worst villian that ever was.  Many of the characters in the book make mistakes and you find a way to forgive them for their ineptitude.  Hilly is evil.

The coming of age that Skeeter experiences and her mother's bout with cancer was emotional to read.

I can't imagine that Kathryn Stockett will write another novel quite this good.  She writes the voices in this one pitch perfect because she lived the experience.  I have heard that some critics feel this book was written to help whites feel better about the time.  That it was "soft."  That Kathryn tries to impose her idea of what it's like to be domestic help and perpetuates stereotypes.  That the book is utterly predictable and doesn't hold memorable lines.  I would perhaps agree but at least the novel initiates a conversation for the many followers it will surely find in women's book groups.  And that is a start.

Looking forward to the discussion with our Stillwater Book Club.